More than three dozen federal officials visited the Charles County grain farm of Chip Bowling to see first-hand the seed treatments, planting practices, and equipment innovations that are bringing continuous improvement to sustainable farming practices.

The American Seed Trade Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and National Corn Growers Association jointly hosted officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs for the series of hands-on presentations and product demonstrations. The field day offered an opportunity for producers and manufacturers to demonstrate cutting-edge technologies in each respective industry, and how these innovations have made modern agriculture more efficient and sustainable than ever. The field day followed the successful demonstration of spray drift technology for the EPA in 2016.
 
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Maryland Grain Producers staff, Danielle Bauer and Lindsay Thompson, had the opportunity to educate over six hundred 7th graders from Queen Anne’s County middle schools last week on corn and other grains. The students learned about different products that contained corn, the parts of the corn plant, ways that Maryland farmers protect the Chesapeake Bay, and GMOs. The staff was pleased to find that many students had positive views of grain farming in Maryland and GMOs. This was a program received $5,000 in funding from the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board.   

About the Event

Last Monday, the United States senate voted to confirm long awaited Sonny Perdue as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. “We are ready to partner with Secretary Perdue and the rest of the Administration to build a better farm economy," says the National Corn Growers Association. "That begins with strong trade policy and continued investment in renewable fuels. It also means protecting risk management programs during a weak economy, and beginning preparations for the next farm bill. There is much work to do, and we are eager to begin.”

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The total gallons of gasoline consumed in the United States in 2016 contained more than 10% ethanol on average for the first time ever, according to an analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data released by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The EIA data dispels the myth that 10% is the marketplace limit for ethanol content in U.S. gasoline, and demonstrates that the so-called “blend wall” is not a real constraint on ethanol consumption.

Growing consumption of E15 (gasoline blends containing 15% ethanol), mid-level blends (containing 20-50% ethanol) and flex fuels (containing 51-83% ethanol) was responsible for the increase in the average ethanol content of U.S. gasoline in 2016. The RFA report finds that 2016 consumption of mid-level blends and flex fuels was at least 450 million gallons, and may have been more than 1 billion gallons if the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) assertions about ethanol-free gasoline (E0) demand are correct.

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Last week there was much unrest amongst commodity organizations, including the U.S. Grains Council, over concern that the administration would withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Following the incident, Tom Sleight, President and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council, released an op-ed story on the importance of NAFTA to U.S. grain farmers.  

“Mexico is our largest corn export market, taking 524.4 million bushels of corn worth $2.5 billion last marketing year, in addition to 23.86 million bushels of sorghum. Mexico is also a top market for U.S. barley and U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Canada is the top export market for U.S. ethanol. Mexico and Canada are the #2 and #4 markets for U.S. pork. Mexico is the top export market for U.S. dairy. In short, NAFTA is critical for U.S. grain producers, traders and exporters regardless of what form the grain takes when it crosses our borders."

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As planting season begins, National Corn Growers Association invites amateur and professional photographers alike to help tell the story of farming field corn in America through the fourth annual Fields-of-Corn Photo Contest. Through this contest, NCGA seeks high-resolution photos of corn growth from seed to harvest and the families that grow it. While the contest opened recently, interested participants will be able to submit multiple entries until November 30, 2017. 

Open to all, the Fields-of-Corn photo contest offers a free opportunity for photographers to share their work while competing for 25 cash prizes, including a $500 grand prize. Prizes include cash awards for the top three entries in eight categories including:  Corn, Growing Field Corn, Farm Family Lifestyle, Scenery/Landscape, Farming Challenges, SHP Conservation, Little Farmers and one for the most popular as determined by Facebook "likes."

Online Entry