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Join Us At the Farm Machinery Show for
Conversation and CommonGround
The Kentucky Corn Growers Association hopes
you will stop by the NFMS booth this year for some
conversation and CommonGround. Join us in the West
Hall Pavilion Booth 8015.
Communications Director Jennifer Elwell will be talking
with growers about topics important to consumers such as food safety,
environmental concerns, and animal welfare. With permission,
conversations will be videoed for placement on YouTube, Facebook and her
blog, "Food, Mommy!"
CommonGround volunteer and KyCGA member Carrie Divine, of
Morganfield
Elwell and farmer volunteers will also share the work of
the
CommonGround program with NFMS visitors in the hopes they too will
want to share their stories with consumers.
The Farm Machinery Show is also a great place to renew
your membership. Anyone who joins or renews for 3 years or life through
June 1 will be entered into a drawing for a $500 Cabela's gift card. A
board or staff member will be happy to talk with you about association
goals and membership benefits. See you there!
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NCGA Notes Refuge
Compliance Report Reflects New Bt Corn Requirements
Implemented to Improve Refuge Compliance
As planting for the 2012 season approaches, the
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) notes that
newly revamped on-farm refuge assessments are part
of the enhanced Compliance Assurance Program (CAP)
implemented last year, which is designed to improve
compliance with Insect Resistance Management (IRM)
requirements. Corn growers found to be out of
compliance with refuge requirements will be checked
more frequently by the Bt corn registrants and have
a higher probability of losing access to Bt corn if
compliance is not established and maintained.
The Agricultural Biotechnology Stewardship Technical
Committee (ABSTC), a consortium of Bt corn
registrants, submits an annual CAP report to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
describing industry-coordinated compliance assurance
efforts for Bt traits. The year’s report is the
first following the implementation of the enhanced
CAP.
“To implement the CAP, technology providers made
some major changes to their procedures last year as
directed by EPA,” said Mike Smith, ABSTC IRM
subcommittee co-chairman. “One of the changes was
the selection process for on-farm assessments. In
past years, we’ve randomly selected those
participants, but in 2011 we used a more targeted
approach and conducted assessments based on purchase
history, and, as anticipated, using this methodology
resulted in the identification of more non-compliant
growers than in years past. Changes were also made
to the grower survey and included more Bt corn
products with differing refuge requirements.”
Read more |
New Webcast Covers Ag Drainage Management Practices
and Results
Much of the Corn Belt is dependent upon subsurface
(tile) drainage to be productive.
Even the best corn growing soils are poorly drained and
could not be used for crop production before tile
drainage was installed.
In the latest presentation in Focus on Corn, "Ag
Drainage Management Practices and Results," Harold Reetz,
Principal of Reetz Agronomics and Executive Director of
the Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition,
discusses the mechanics, practices, and benefits of
drainage water management systems (DWMs).
DWMs can be a positive management practice for reducing
loss of nitrogen and phosphorus from crop fields,
increasing nutrient use efficiency and reducing
potential for contamination of downstream water
resources.
Field studies by the Agricultural Drainage Management
Coalition (ADMC) and various university, industry, and
farmer cooperators found that DWM reduced nitrate loss
by 34%. In addition, it reduced water loss by 35% and
increased crop yield by 1.5% over 20 locations in 5
states.
This presentation is open access through March 31, 2012,
and can be viewed at
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/edcenter/seminars/corn/AgDrainageManagement/.
Other Focus on Corn presentations can be viewed at
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/foc.
Focus on Corn is a publication of the Plant Management
Network (PMN), a nonprofit online publisher whose
mission is to enhance the health, management, and
production of agricultural and horticultural crops. It
achieves this mission through applied, science-based
resources. PMN is jointly managed by the American
Society of Agronomy, American Phytopathological Society,
and Crop Science Society of America. KyCGA is a Focus on
Corn sponsor.
To take advantage of PMN's full line of 12 resources,
please sign up for its free online newsletter at
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/update/default.cfm.
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