WASHINGTON, March 3, 2013- Defending the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) will be the top priority for NCGA in the upcoming year. According to the largest commodity group’s voting delegates, the RFS2 and crop insurance are important issues to address and protect in 2013.
The delegates of the Corn Congress voted on policy positions and top priority issues during the Commodity Classic in Kissimmee, Florida, last week.
Crop insurance in the farm bill, specifically risk management to provide revenue protection, is paramount for most of industries represented at Commodity Classic, including the corn growers. NCGA delegates listed it as a top issue for the upcoming year, as well as passing a five-year farm bill.
In a survey conducted by NCGA Chairman Garry Niemeyer, corn delegates chose federally subsidized crop insurance when asked which government program they would choose if forced to have only one.
The delegates debated Tuesday whether or not to remove NCGA’s opposition to conservation compliance, but ultimately agreed to remain against conservation compliance. They then indicated in the Saturday survey that mandatory conservation compliance requirements for subsidized crop insurance would negatively impact 63 percent of their operations.
Of the NCGA voting delegates, 93 percent currently purchase federal crop insurance, while 65 percent use revenue protection or revenue protection with the harvest price exclusion.
With immigration reform a hot topic for Congress this year, the delegates also indicated their desire for a workable agricultural worker program. “We support immigrant policy that protects from penalty employers of non-U.S. citizens when those employers make reasonable efforts to document immigrant status,” they stated.
In support of the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” efforts to pass updated immigration policy, the delegates passed a resolution stating, “NCGA supports securing the borders of the U.S. to facilitate the mainstreaming of undocumented residents of the U.S. to documented residents of the U.S.”
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