Colorado Corn

Congratulations to Don Rutledge on his appointment to the National Corn Growers Association’s Production & Stewardship Action Team (PSAT).

“Stewardship is not a passing fad for farmers. It is an obligation we fulfill each day of the year. Implementing good stewardship practices allows us to produce an abundance of corn while relying on fewer crop inputs. American farmers have a positive story to tell that is backed by sound data. In the end, this sound data, and ultimately the story that it supports, cannot be swayed by political winds or agenda-driven media reports.” Steve Ebke, 2010 Chair of the Production & Stewardship Action Team

In FY 2011, some of the PSAT accomplishments included: a partnership with the American Farm Bureau Federation as intervener in their lawsuit against EPA regarding the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; followed up on the unsuccessful Supreme Count amicus  brief for appeal of the 6^th Circuit decision on pesticides and NPDES Clean Water Act permits, with support for H.R.872 that will overturn the case legislatively – Senate deadline of October 31, 2011; created searchable database of National Corn Yield Contest entries to allow data mining for best practices and other production research.

Action Team Members will be addressing several issues in FY 2012 including Farm Bill, livestock, and transportation.

We appreciate your commitment of time and energy to this appointment; we look forward to supporting you in your responsibilities to define and implement programs that address the priorities of U.S. corn growers, as directed by the Corn Board. Thank you for your willingness to take an active role in Colorado Corn and NCGA.