ILLINOIS CORN FARMERS HIT OUR NATION'S CAPITOL

Mar 20, 2012  |  Today's News

Today is the second day in Washington, DC for the Illinois Corn Growers Association and with several meetings under their belts, our Illinois farmers are looking forward to spreading more good news about agriculture over the nation’s capitol.

Yesterday, divided into six groups, we focused on locks and dams, trade, conservation, farm bill and crop insurance, and ethanol.  Each group met with various agencies to either encourage partnerships in these areas, dispel myths, or simply gain a better idea of what other associations have as goals for any of these issues.  This morning during breakfast, we debriefed on what each group learned during their visits and prepped for a very dynamic day today.

The groups are a little more fluid today, finishing up the agency visits and moving straight into Congressional visits where we will discuss our top three legislative priorities:

  1. To pass a farm bill in 2012 that provides an adequate revenue-based safety net for U.S. corn farmers.
  2. To secure additional co-sponsors for the WAVE-4 legislation sponsored by Congressman Whitfield of Kentucky, see the legislation passed, and enjoy locks and dam upgrades before the U.S. is no longer competitive in a world market.
  3. To preserve the integrity of the Renewable Fuels Standard as an energy security effort, a cost-savings measure for U.S. consumers, and a market for U.S. corn.

Rest assured that each and every farmer or staff out here this week is exhausted at the end of a day running around Washington, DC accommodating all the agency visits we had planned prior to our arrival on Sunday and all the visits we add as we discover new groups that we need to meet with.  At the end of the day, we can all sleep well knowing that we have certainly done our part to promote Illinois corn and make life easier for Illinois farmers back home.