National Corn Growers Association

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is "a membership organization and a federation of states" that exists to "create and increase opportunities for corn growers." It is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(5) organization, which means it is tax exempt as a "labor, agricultural, or horticultural organization." 501(c)(5) may engage in unlimited lobbying related to the organization's exempt purpose and may engage in political campaigns for or against candidates "provided that such intervention does not constitute the organization's primary activity."

In the words of the NCGA, "Founded in 1957, the National Corn Growers Association represents approximately 35,000 dues-paying corn growers and the interests of more than 300,000 farmers who contribute through corn checkoff programs in their states. NCGA and its 48 affiliated state associations and checkoff organizations work together to help protect and advance corn growers’ interests.

Rebranding High Fructose Corn Syrup
As consumers reject high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and manufacturers begin producing foods made with sugar instead of HFCS, NCGA is joining the Corn Refiners Association in its bid to rebrand HFCS as "corn sugar."

2012 Farm Bill Positions
In 2011, NCGA revealed a proposal for the 2012 Farm Bill to create a program called the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Program (ADAP). The program would be complimentary to crop insurance, which would remain in place under the proposal. However, it would replace the ACRE program that was put in place in the 2008 Farm Bill.

Position on Corn Ethanol
A "current action alert" for its members provides text for a letter to representatives claiming that, "as for the Food vs. Fuel issue your colleagues are trying to drum up once more, it's been proven time and time again that ethanol had little to do with food prices," and that "the ethanol industry is saving money for American consumers and producing jobs during a time of financial difficulty for rural America." Yet even in 2001, Cornell ecologist David Pimentel stated, "Abusing our precious croplands to grow corn for an energy-inefficient process that yields low-grade automobile fuel amounts to unsustainable, subsidized food burning."

"Corn Farmers Coalition"
NCGA is affiliated with the "Corn Farmers Coalition" (CFC). The CFC website says, "The Corn Farmers Coalition is an alliance of the National Corn Growers Association and 14 state corn associations . . ." It formed in 2008 to lobby at the federal level "about how tech-savvy, innovative farmers are growing more corn every year . . ."

As indicated by its website, CFC exists primarily to counter observations like Pimentel's (above) regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of growing corn for ethanol. The CFC website argues that "this debate is bogus" because commodity crop growers can grow plenty of corn: "Farmers grew the second-largest corn crop on record last year, enough to export a fifth and even set aside lots of corn in case America needs it later. There will be plenty of reasonably priced corn . . ." -- suggesting that the argument was solely about production and price rather than about energy-efficiency, waste, and poverty as well.

Board
The board consists of:
 * Chairman: Darrin Ihnen
 * President: Bart Schott
 * First Vice President: Garry Niemeyer
 * Chairman, Association Relations Committee: Bill Chase
 * Board Liaison to PSATeam: Guy Davenport
 * Chairman, Finance Committee: Jerry Larson
 * Finance Committee: Rob Elliott
 * Board Liaison to Ethanol Committee: Clark Gerstacker
 * Board Liaison to the Trade & BiotechTeams: Mike Geske
 * Liaison to the Public Policy Action Team: Daryl Haack
 * Chairman, Bylaws Committee: Jon Holzfaster
 * Board Liaison to the GSATeam: Pam Johnson
 * Martin Barbre
 * Dave Nelson
 * Wesley Spurlock

Management and Staff
Management and staff are as follows:

Executive and Administration:
 * Rick Tolman, Chief Executive Officer
 * Kathy Baker, Executive Assistant
 * Susan Claiborne, Receptionist
 * Jeremy Green, Office Support Coordinator
 * Rodger Mansfield, Director of Administration
 * Joy Windish, Bookkeeper
 * Darcy Wolf, Accounting Manager

Marketing:
 * Fred Stemme, Vice President of Marketing
 * Tim Brackman, Director of Development
 * Jessica Brown, Administrative Assistant and Meeting Planner
 * Ken Colombini, Director of Communications
 * Vickie Darland, Administrative Assistant
 * Jenn Hausman, Online Marketing Manager
 * Joe Hodes, Marketing Manager
 * Mark Lambert, Senior Communications Manager
 * Beth Musgrove, Graphic and Presentations Designer
 * Susan Powers, Communications Manager
 * Mary Quigley, Administrative Assistant, Marketing Communications
 * Mike Shelby, Association and Membership Services Specialist
 * Janice Walters, Communications Manager (Washington Office)
 * Cathryn Wojciki, Communications Manager

Production and Utilization
 * Paul Bertels, Vice President of Production and Utilization
 * Elena Claiborne, Administrative Assistant
 * Jamey Cline, Director of Biofuel Programs and Business Developement
 * Kyle Fergason, National Corn Yield Contest Manager
 * Nathan Fields, Director of Biotechnology and Economic Analysis
 * Melanie Gibson, Administrative Assistant, Production and Utilization
 * Alaina Schultz, National Corn Yield Contest Coordinator
 * Max Starbuck, Director of Production, Stewartship and Livestock
 * Richard Vierling, Ph.D., Director of Research and New Uses
 * Sandra Wright, Administrative Assistant, Production and Utilization

Public Policy (Washington Office):
 * Jon Doggett, Vice President of Public Policy
 * Sarah Gallo, Director of Public Policy
 * Ethan Mathews, Office Support Coordinator
 * Rod Snyder, Director of Public Policy
 * Janice Walters, Communications Manager
 * Sam Willett, Senior Director of Public Policy

Contact Information

 * St. Louis/Headquarters
 * 632 Cepi Drive
 * Chesterfield, MO 63005
 * Ph: (636) 733-9004
 * Fax: (636) 733-9005
 * Email: corninfo@ncga.com
 * Web: http://www.ncga.com/
 * Washington Office
 * 122 C Street, N.W., Suite 510
 * Washington, DC 20001
 * Ph: (202) 628-7001
 * Fax: (202) 628-1933

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