Brownfield's Ken Anderson did a report from the Nebraska Ag Classic earlier this week that explores potential corn checkoff options that the Nebraska Corn Growers Association (NeCGA) and Nebraska Corn Board are exploring.
At their annual meeting at Ag Classic, Anderson reported that NeCGA delegates said they want the Nebraska corn checkoff board, which is considered a state agency, to be more autonomous.
Tim Scheer, a farmer from St. Paul and the Corn Board's vice chairman, conducted a lengthy interview with Anderson, covering everything from how the checkoff is organized and how a re-organization could allow the checkoff to be administered more efficiently. He also discussed a potential increase in the checkoff rate and how that could benefit corn farmers and the state as a whole.
NeCGA president Carl Sousek, a farmer from Prague, was also interviewed.
Sousek said NeCGA will also be more aggressive in pursuing an increase in the corn checkoff rate, which has been one-quarter of one cent ($0.0025) per bushel since 1988.
Sousek said they’d like to see it increased to four-tenths ($0.004) or even one-half ($0.005) of one cent per bushel.
"We do have the lowest checkoff rate in the country. We don’t want to fall behind when it comes to our responsibilities on a national level,” Sousek told Anderson, "and we don’t want to fall behind on our responsibilities right here within the state. We want to make sure we support our local investments in research and education and market development right here in the state—and that takes resources."
For the full report, with audio, click here.
UPDATE: A bill was introduced in the legislature today relating to the checkoff. Click here.
I wish Nebraska well in their quest to change the state checkoff. I believe it would benefit all of Nebraska corn farmers as well as the entire business of agriculture in the state. Promotion, education and research are vital to keeping corn farmers profitable in these volatile times.
ReplyDeleteBruce Gaarder, Iowa