FARMER TESTIFIES IN SUPPORT OF CHECKOFF RATE

Feb 27, 2012  |  Today's News

Here's your Audio Corn Scoops, a weekly update from the office of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. John Kiefner, a farmer in Will County, talks about his support for increasing the corn checkoff rate. Kiefner testified last week at the Department of Agriculture’s hearing on the request for a referendum.

Click the link that appears above to hear the report on your smart phone, laptop, home computer, iPad, or other device.

There are four specific areas that Directors of the IL Corn Marketing Board are concerned with because of a lack of resources:

  • Take action to address the nation’s inadequate & failing river transportation (locks & dams) system by elevating the public discussion to bring more awareness
    • We are one catastrophic failure away from basis widening like never before, with the river system maxed-out on exporting farm goods and importing inputs, making every bushel of corn less valuable and more expensive to produce
    • Panama Canal expansion and other international upgrades mean the US cannot compete as a preferred provider
  • Actively engage and dispute with hard evidence the U.S. EPA enacting nonsense burdens on water and air quality, impeding your “Right to Farm”
    • Document the improvements and positive impacts of voluntary farmer efforts and best management practices as they evolve over time
    • Prepare Illinois to protect and defend against a “Chesapeake Bay” style attack against fall applied nitrogen, tiling systems, NPDES permits, etc.
  • Strengthen the trust and relationships between urban and rural Illinoisans, creating and maintaining a positive perception of farmers and farming, both crops and livestock
    • Well-educated urbanites get their information about farming while driving by farms and seeing seed company signs on a “corporate farm” or by speaking with the farmer at a farmers’ market, comparing all other farmers to that one person
    • Chicago influential moms (voters, peer leaders, thought leaders) believe less than half of all IL farms are owned/operated by families, when the reality is 95%
  • Initiate programs, provide necessary research, and pursue full market penetration for E-15
    • Stagnant ethanol demand means lost markets, E-15 can absorb increased corn yields, protecting against downward price pressure based on larger carryout
    • Assist in the process of removing regulatory and statutory obstacles that are arbitrarily blocking the advancement of higher ethanol blends

Interested media that need a higher quality file for broadcast purposes, please contact Tricia Braid at tbraid@ilcorn.org for assistance. This report is available for print and broadcast media use with proper attribution.