We can look back with pride and celebrate another record-breaking year of corn production last year, after a tough and frustrating spring. As we look forward to 2012, we know inevitably, there will be more issues and challenges facing the corn industry.

In order to help growers prepare for the year ahead, we were and will be part of many of the upcoming meetings that will offer information to help growers prepare for the challenges.

In previous articles, I have talked about the importance of the Michigan Corn Growers Assoc. (MCGA) and your membership. In a world in which everything is political, it is more important than ever to support your association through your membership dues and involvement. Through your MCGA membership, we are able to do crucial policy work on your behalf in both Lansing and Washington, D.C.

That policy work will be highlighted at the MCGA annual meeting scheduled for Feb. 7, at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing. We know Lansing is a tough venue for some of you, but for us, it is imperative to have that connection with legislators, and that is only available in Lansing.

This year, the MCGA annual meeting will feature topics and speakers including the future of Michigan’s agricultural industry with Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chief Deputy Director Gordon Wenk; market strategies with Virgil Robinson of Pioneer Hi-Bred International; a national perspective from Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA); an ethanol update from Jeff Sandborn, MCGA president and NCGA Ethanol Committee member; and a report on the U.S. Grains Council’s 2011 Corn Mission to Japan, China, Korea and Vietnam from Pat Feldpausch, Corn Marketing Program of Michigan (CMPM) president.

In addition to the legislative and educational presentations, MCGA members will recognize Friend of Corn award recipients; state Corn Yield Contest winners; Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) verified farms; and the 2011 MCGA scholarship recipients.

Board members will also conduct the annual business meeting which includes filling board member positions up for reelection, which include: District 3 – Huron, Saginaw, Sanilac and Tuscola counties; District 6 – Allegan, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties; District 8 – Washtenaw, Lenawee and Monroe counties; and an at-large position that encompasses the entire state.

To register for the annual meeting, please call the Michigan Corn Office at 888-323-6601. MCGA members may attend the meeting free of charge, and non-MCGA members may attend at a cost of $20 per person.

If you would like to become a member and vote during the business session of the annual meeting, you can sign up to be a member. Membership in the MCGA is $60 for one year, $155 for three years or $500 for a lifetime. Students may join the association at a cost of $20 for a one-year membership.

The MCGA would like to thank this year’s sponsors of the annual meeting for their ongoing support of both the MCGA and the corn industry. We would not be able to hold the caliber of meetings we do with out the support of our sponsors.

These include: American Coalition for Ethanol; Corn Marketing Program of Michigan; Conklin AgroVantage – Tom Warschefsky; Crop Production Services; Dairyland Seed Co.; Eastern Michigan Grain; Greenstone Farm Credit Services; Growers National Cooperative; Michigan Milk Producers Assoc.; Pioneer Hi-Bred International; Specialty Hybrids; and Tri-County Equipment.

As part of the policy mission of the MCGA, it is important we are part of ongoing national discussions regarding corn policy affecting Michigan. In order to help set that national direction for policy, Michigan once again participated in a NCGA Priority and Policy Conference to discuss state and national priorities, as well as NCGA’s policies on such subjects as trade, ethanol and biotechnology.

Recently, Jeff Sandborn, MCGA president, Alvin Ferguson, MCGA secretary, Clark Gerstacker, NCGA and CMPM board member, and Val Vail-Shirey, MCGA policy coordinator, participated in the conference. The Michigan contingent came together with representatives from across the country to draft, discuss and debate national corn priorities and policies for 2012.

The priorities set at the 2012 NCGA Priority and Policy Conference will provide direction to the NCGA throughout the year and will affect the more than 35,000 corn grower members from across the nation.

The priority list for the MCGA include: transportation, including rail and roads; the bridge to Canada; water assessment tool; wildlife control; blender pumps; E15; alternative “green” energy; Renewable Energy Month; government regulation; sporting swine; and the state’s financial condition.

The NCGA priorities as recommended by the MCGA include: wetland determinations; E15; youth employment; farm bill crop insurance; locks and dams; ethanol import tax; National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES); ethanol promotion; livestock; Transpacific partnership; and water regulation.

The priority list for the CMPM, the state’s checkoff, includes: infrastructure, including roads, bridges and utilities; ethanol; education-ag curriculum; livestock-increasing processing, education and advocacy; water regulations-withdrawal; DEQ regulations; and wildlife control. The NCGA priorities from the CMPM board include: infrastructure; exports-reducing trade barriers; research; ethanol; education-national ag curriculum; livestock; exports; food safety regulations; funding-market access program and foreign market development; and the farm bill.

To learn more about our activities and priorities, be sure to come and visit the CMPM and the MCGA as we attend a variety of other events over the next few months:

•Feb. 2 – Corn & Soybean Research meeting in Lawrence

•Feb. 3 – Corn & Soybean Research meeting in Peck

•Feb. 7 – MCGA annual meeting in Lansing

•Feb. 10 – Coffee with Corn discussion meeting in Auburn

•Feb. 21 – Bean & Beet Symposium & Trade Show in Saginaw

As always, if you have any questions about upcoming events, would like to join MCGA or if you have any questions or suggestions for CMPM or MCGA, please call the Corn office at 888-323-6601 or visit us online at www.micorn.org