Iowa Corn Roots Summer 2017 ICPB Special Edition by Iowa Corn

Roots IOWA CORN

ICPB SPECIAL EDITION June 2017

iowacor n.org

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DMWW Lawsuit Dismissed

ver the last couple of years, the fight for Iowa’s water quality has been a continued priority for Iowa’s corn farmers. In spring 2015, the Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) elected to pursue litigation against drainage districts in the Sac, Calhoun and Buena Vista counties — more than 100 miles from Des Moines. Iowa corn farmers immediately began wondering if the unnecessary tactics being pursued by DMWW would steer scarce resources away from current projects without any guarantee of improving our waters. The DMWW lawsuit had all the implications of forcing a ‘one size fits all’ approach to improving water quality — which would not have worked towards improvement at all. In a bid to counteract the lawsuit, the drainage districts filed a motion for summary judgement and after months of work, a federal district judge dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety. The dismissal was excellent news for our state, as it has been a distraction to the implementation of working water quality efforts. Iowa Corn watched this lawsuit closely throughout the duration and applauded the judge’s decision for dismissal. This is

good news for our state and this favorable outcome will allow Iowa farmers to continue to advance our efforts on improving soil and water conservation without the burden of harmful and unnecessary regulations. We know that our farmers want the safest, best quality water for Iowa. And we believe a collaborative approach is key to improving Iowa’s water quality. Because of this we will continue to use cooperation and collaboration in proactively improving water quality. Through our work with the Soil Health Partnership, Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance and many others — we are helping to increase the adoption of conservation practices. To learn more about what Iowa Corn is doing to help improve and protect Iowa’s water quality, please visit iowacorn.org/water.

Soil Health Partnership Field Days Are Coming! The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is expanding to 100 farms across the Corn Belt. With this expansion, comes more opportunities to learn about the economic and environmental benefits of improving soil health. Iowa Corn is a proud supporter of the SHP. Visit SoilHealthPartnership.org for more information on these and future field days. July 12: Corning, IA July 12: Donahue, IA July 19: Sioux Rapids, IA July 26: Lake City, IA

August 8: Ames, IA August 22: Rock Valley, IA August 30: Waverly, IA September 7: Hastings, IA

Ladies Night Out

ducation is an area that Iowa Corn Promotion Board focuses heavily on and dedicates a number of resources towards. The amount of educational groups and programs is continuously growing, and one program that we are proud to sponsor is CommonGround. CommonGround is a National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) initiative that has successfully made its way out into 19 different states with over 200 women farmer volunteers. In Iowa, we focus on engaging those who make the food purchasing decisions for their families and giving them the tools to make informed decisions about their food. Our goal is for consumers to make their food purchasing decisions based on facts, not fear. In order to reach our target audience, CommonGround Iowa will be hosting a ‘Ladies Night Out’ for Iowa’s leading ladies this fall. Women decision makers, media personalities, reporters, chefs, fellow farmers, bloggers and mothers are invited for a night out on the farm with our CommonGround volunteers.

CommonGround volunteer and Iowa Corn member Kellie Blair will be hosting the event on her farm near Dayton, Iowa. The goal for the evening is to create a relaxing atmosphere that encourages causal conversations about farming, food and life. “We’d like attendees to leave knowing that farmers are a trusted resource and are always happy to answer questions about how their food is raised today,” says Blair about the fall event. Each CommonGround volunteer has their own area of expertise from GMOs, animal welfare, food safety and antibiotics all the way down to sustainability — which will lend a helping hand in answering a wide breadth of questions. In addition, those in attendance will also have the chance to savor food prepared by Iowa native and former “MasterChef” contestant Cassie Peterson. CommonGround Iowa is excited to offer this event and to continue to educate consumers at the grassroots level. If you are interested in learning more about the work that is happening in Iowa, please visit findourcommonground.com/ blog/community/iowa.

Since most of the invitees do not have much experience on a farm,

Iowa Corn Member and Iowa CommonGround Volunteer, Kellie Blair, helps her husband, A.J. at the couple’s farm in Dayton, Iowa.

Iowa Corn Member and Iowa CommonGround Volunteer, Sara Ross, of Minden Iowa.

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The Importance of International Relations

round 44 % of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board’s budget is invested in market development, including programs operated by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) in develop export markets for U.S. corn, barley, grain sorghum and related products, including ethanol and distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS). Exports are vital to the global economic development and to U.S. agriculture and in order to continue to grow markets — USGC has offices stationed all over the world and across the county in order to strengthen trade and build relationships. It is no secret that our relationship with our southern

neighbor and largest buyer of U.S. corn is strained, and many farmers remain uneasy over the fact that the U.S.’s relationship with Mexico is not as strong as it has been. Uneasiness within the countryside is justified and the importance of the Mexican market for U.S. corn farmers cannot be overstated. Ryan LeGrand, Director of the U.S. Grains Council Mexico Office, understands the importance of U.S. ag trade with Mexico and opening up new markets: “In this last marketing year, Mexico was the top buyer of U.S. corn — purchasing grain worth $2.5 billion. Mexico is the second largest

purchasers of U.S. DDGS and, in the future and with the right policies in place, could be a strong buyer of U.S. ethanol. “Every sale into this market helps support the prices farmers receive for their grains, so continuing to grow the market is a top priority for groups like Iowa Corn and the U.S. Grains Council.” To learn more about the work that Iowa Corn and the U.S. Grains Council is doing, please visit iowacorn.org/corn-uses/ exports/us-grains-council/.

ICPB District 9 Director, Wayne Humphreys from Louisa County, travels to Mexico to meet with top buyers to build relationships and share the USGC Corn Quality Report.