Kandiyohi County Corn and Soybean Growers Home Page

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything he buys at retail, sells everything he sells at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
Quote from John F Kennedy in speech at National Plowing Contest in Sioux Falls, South Dakota September 22, 1960.

Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council elects representatives
Four of Minnesota's farm commodity research and promotion councils held elections in May, including the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council (MCR&PC). The elections were coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

The vote returned two veteran grower leaders to the eleven member body. The MCR&PC oversees the collection Minnesota’s corn check-off, and distributes those funds to research and marketing efforts, all with the aim of enhancing the economic viability of Minnesota's approximately 31,000 corn producers.

The results of the proceedings brought these corn producers to three-year council positions:

District 1, 2, & 4 - Dwight Mork, Lac Qui Parle County
District 7 - Richard Peterson (incumbent), Cottonwood County
District 8 - Jerry Demmer (incumbent, vice chair), Freeborn County
District 9 - Martin Amundson, Goodhue County

Retiring from the Council are Gene Fynboh of Stevens County and Gayle Bergstrom of Mower County.

Click here to find out more about the commodity elections.

MCGA website gets new look, new features
If you haven’t already noticed, we’ve revamped the Minnesota Corn Growers Association website. There are many changes and adjustments that are still taking place within the site so we ask for your patience in the next few weeks as we fine tune our online home. Some of you have asked about the markets and weather links found on the old site – these items will re-appear soon!

Coming soon to the site: more talking points on specific corn-related issues to help you personally join the campaign to combat misconceptions about corn, farming and renewable fuels; information and updates on research projects funded by MCGA/MCR&PC and news feeds to keep you informed about happenings around the state, nation and world. In addition to these new features you will continue to find MCGA news stories, press releases, membership information, an events calendar, photo galleries, legislative contact information and much, much more. Check it out today at www.MNCorn.org.

Chinese Buyers Agree To Purchase $4.5 Billion Worth Of U.S. Soybeans
A delegation of Chinese buyers from 14 import companies ended their tour of the United States with a final stop in St. Louis on Monday, June 16, to sign contracts worth a total of $5.3 billion, $4.5 billion of which is in soybean contracts. ADM, Cargill and Bunge were among eight U.S. soybean export companies that signed contracts on Monday. The American Soybean Association (ASA), United Soybean Board and U.S. Soybean Export council helped facilitate the contracts with the China Chamber of Commerce for Import/Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products (CFNA). ASA Chairman Rick Ostlie attended the signing ceremony in St. Louis, where he talked about what ASA is doing to strengthen the growing relationship between U.S. soybean farmers and Chinese importers. "We send farmers over there to work with the Chinese, to show them ways to better use our soybean meal in their mix with aquaculture, pork feeding, and swine and poultry operations," Ostlie said. The CFNA delegation also met with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, visited the Chicago Board of Trade, and toured soybean farms in Indiana. Ostlie emphasized the importance of such visits from international buyers. "They get to see first-hand how the American family farmer produces the high-quality beans that we do. It’s very important to these buyers that

they can see that we will continue to be a very dependable supplier of high-quality soybeans," Ostlie said. Joining the delegation was China’s Vice Premier, Wang Qishan, and Vice Minister of Commerce, Madam Ma.

Price Check: Corn vs. Oil
With food prices rising, commentators are blaming biofuels, corn ethanol in particular. But all sense of proportion is being lost. The impact of biofuel production pales in comparison to factors like the price of oil. Consider some historical context:

In 1949, the price of corn averaged $1.24 per bushel. Yesterday, corn futures were going for $6.13 per bushel on the commodities market.

That's an increase of 394 percent in 59 years.

Now compare that to oil.

In 1949, it averaged $2.54 per barrel. Yesterday, it was going for $113.70 per barrel.

That's an increase of 4,376 percent in the same 59 years.

Petroleum products figure prominently in the price of food -- for agricultural production, packaging and transportation. So, in case anyone doubted it, with food inflation, the price of oil is a big fat elephant in the room. -American Coalition for Ethanol, April 2008

Put ethanol water usage into perspective
The Water Year Data Summary from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offers 2005 data: Minnesota used 1431.2 billion gallons of water. The ethanol industry used two billion gallons of water last year. Golf Courses utilized 5.6 billion gallons of groundwater. Click here to read the rest of this story.

Website for New Farm Policies and Farm Bill Information
A new website is up for anyone that has questions about what is going on with the new Farm Bill and Policies. Please visit www.farmpolicyfacts.org or click on that address for instant access. The Minnesota Corn growers have teamed up with other commodity groups to insure we have a strong and necessary voice in Washington DC. Please take a look and make sure you give some feedback as this has been put together for farmers and anyone interested in a strong Agriculture system in the US.

NCGA site delivers truth about Ethanol
If you are a consumer looking for ethanol performance and cost answers or a science class wanting to learn more about biofuels, you can visit www.ethanolfacts.com. The website has been expanded recently to include additional information on ethanol and E85 as well as viewpoints on the debate over "food vs. fuel". Please take some time and check it out!