During NGFA’s 124th annual convention in Austin, Texas, the National Grain and Feed Foundation will host a screening of the movie SILO. Inspired by true events, SILO follows a harrowing day in an American farm town. Disaster strikes when teenager Cody Rose is entrapped in a 50-foot-tall grain bin. When the corn turns to quicksand, family, neighbors and first responders must put aside their differences to rescue Cody from drowning in the crop that has sustained their community for generations. View a trailer of the film here. After the screening on the morning of March 10, Jess McCluer, ... Read More
Newsletter
APHIS to form consultation board for National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently issued an update on its efforts to establish a consultation board for the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP). In its Feb. 20 update, APHIS said it is working to establish a collaborative process to award future funding under the NADPRP, as directed by the 2018 farm law. APHIS recently announced the first phase of this program by providing $5.2 million in program funds “to advance the capabilities, capacity and readiness of the nation’s animal agriculture sector responders through training ... Read More
Inland waterways receive key funding in Army Corps Work Plan
By Bobby Frederick, Director of Legislative Affairs and Public Policy The NGFA’s quest to jump start construction on the dilapidated locks on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River System under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) received some positive momentum this month, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released its 2020 Work Plan. The Work Plan revealed that NESP would receive $4.5 million to conduct additional pre-construction engineering and design (PED) work, which is a necessary step before a lock and dam project can be constructed (known as a ... Read More
USDA unveils climate change initiative
A new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative will work to reduce agriculture’s “environmental footprint” by 50 percent by 2050 while at the same time increasing farm production by 40 percent, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced during USDA’s Ag Outlook Forum in Arlington, Va., on Feb. 20. In a statement, USDA listed several benchmarks of the initiative, dubbed the “Ag Innovation Agenda,” including: Food Waste: A goal to reduce food loss and waste by 50 percent in the United States by the year 2030. Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas: Achieve net reduction ... Read More
Sustainability panel assembled for NGFA’s 124th annual convention
Join the conversation about sustainability initiatives and their potential impacts on companies in the grain, feed, processing and export industry during the March 10 general session at NGFA’s 124th annual convention in Austin, Texas. Consumer-facing companies in food and agriculture are working to reduce their carbon footprints, conserve resources, encourage resource intensification, and operate more sustainably – and they are asking supply chain partners to participate in these efforts. Pipa Elias, director of agriculture in North America for The Nature Conservancy, and Ryan Sirolli, ... Read More
House passes legislation to increase ag inspections at borders
By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The House on Feb. 10 passed by voice vote an NGFA-supported bill that would authorize funding to hire additional Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel needed to conduct agriculture quarantine inspections at U.S. international ports of entry, the last step in the process toward the legislation becoming law. The NGFA joined more than 80 food and agriculture groups in support of the Protecting America’s Food and Agriculture Act of 2019 (H.R. 4482), which would authorize CBP to hire 240 agriculture specialists and ... Read More
NGFA provides recommendations for National Freight Strategic Plan
By Max Fisher, Vice President of Economics and Government Relations The NGFA this week submitted extensive comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) as it begins formulating a National Freight Strategic Plan. NGFA urged the agency to provide additional resources to states with increasing grain transportation demand, particularly for rural roads and bridges. In comments submitted Feb. 10 to DOT, NGFA outlined several additional regulatory and legislative policy recommendations that would increase efficiency and capacity for the most prevalent agricultural transportation ... Read More
USDA’s McKinney to address NGFA’s 124th annual convention
Ted McKinney, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) under secretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, will discuss USDA’s trade priorities during the March 10 general session at NGFA’s 124th annual convention in Austin, Texas. McKinney leads the development and implementation of USDA’s trade policy, oversees and facilitates foreign market access, and promotes opportunities for U.S. agriculture through various trade programs and high-level government negotiations. The NGFA’s 124th annual convention scheduled for March 8-10 also includes the annual business ... Read More
NGFA selects 2020-2021 Committee Apprentice Program class
The NGFA has selected its next class of participants in its unique Committee Apprentice Program (CAP). Thanks to all who applied! The NGFA’s 124th annual convention on March 7-10 marks the official kick-off of the 2020-2021 CAP year. A limited number of apprentice positions are available each year for the program, which is designed to help develop future leaders within the industry and the NGFA. In addition to participating in their committees’ activities, CAPs gather in Washington, D.C. each year for the “CAP DC Experience.” This visit combines Capitol Hill visits with members of ... Read More
USDA announces hemp risk management programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Feb. 6 announced the availability of two federal crop insurance programs for hemp producers. A pilot hemp insurance program offered through Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) provides coverage against loss of yield because of insurable causes of loss for hemp grown for fiber, grain or cannabidiol (CBD) oil. Meanwhile, a Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage protects against losses associated with lower yields, destroyed crops or prevented planting where no permanent federal crop insurance program is available. Producers ... Read More
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