<b>By DOUG SCHMITZ<br>
Iowa Correspondent</b> </p><p>

JOHNSTON, Iowa — Even though January is nearly over, the Iowa Corn Growers Assoc. (ICGA) and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) – collectively known as Iowa Corn – has mapped out its plans to make 2008 even more productive and prosperous for the state’s corn growers.<br>
Among Iowa Corn’s first priorities for this year are legislative, which would focus on renewable fuels, namely E85; the further promotion of Iowa as the nation’s leading corn and biofuel producer; and the state’s infrastructure used for transporting the livelihood of Iowa farmers and the food of Iowa and United States consumers.<br>
With ethanol and E85, Iowa’s corn growers are supporting proposals that could provide benefits to Iowa consumers, but only if Iowa Corn officials can get state lawmakers to pass legislation. ICGA President Tim Recker, an Arlington corn grower, said the tax credit is just one of the ethanol proposals the ICGA is backing for the 2008 Iowa legislative session.<br>
“We would really like to see Iowa provide a consumer tax credit of $500 for anyone who buys E85 fuel,” he said.<br>
Iowa Corn officials said their 6,000-member corn growers would also work to increase the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Board’s (RFIB) cost share for E85 and higher blends of biodiesel, expand retailers’ opportunities to get RFIB funding and advance the use of higher blends of ethanol such as E15 and E20.<br>
In addition, with the growth in ethanol processing in Iowa, Recker added that livestock continues to be the largest market for Iowa corn usage. Julius Schaaf, a Randolph corn grower who chairs the ICPB, said ethanol processing and livestock production, so far, have been working well together.<br>
“There is a significant cost input advantage when you feed distillers dried grains from the ethanol process to livestock,” he said.<br>
But Schaaf said though the relationship between ethanol and livestock works toward the same goal, they can often be thought of as disjointed.<br>
“When corn is made into ethanol, a third of each bushel still feeds livestock,” he said. “Corn farmers work for ethanol and livestock expansion, and welcome responsible growth in our cattle industry.”
Regarding Iowa’s infrastructure, Recker said the ICGA hopes the state legislature will consider a permanent solution to the annual weight exemption for trucks hauling grain.<br>
“That will avoid the confusion we go through every year as we wait to see what the rules will be on harvest weight exemptions,” he said.<br>
Recker said the ICGA would also work with Iowa farmers and legislators to make sure “rural roads receive fair funding to maintain the state’s transportation system.” As a result, Iowa Corn officials also said Iowans benefit overall from the infrastructure efforts of the state’s corn growers.<br>
“Failing infrastructure goes beyond potholes,” said Warren Kemper, a Wapello corn grower and ICGA director. “It can be a closed bridge, discontinued rail service, an obsolete river system or dial-up Internet.<br>
“Farmers pay the price in fuel wasted to go around an obstruction, more time and labor expended to move a crop and lost opportunities to grow Iowa’s economy.”<br>
For more than 10 years, Kemper said the ICGA has made Mississippi’s lock improvements one of its top legislative priorities, which are:<br>
•Farmers who want to move crops to markets more efficiently. Competitors for world export markets are investing heavily in infrastructure, while the Mississippi system is stuck in the 1930s.<br>
•Thousands in Iowa’s workforce who will find jobs working on river improvements or in industries supplying and supporting the process.<br>
•Iowa manufacturers and businesses that rely on raw materials shipped up the Mississippi. Greater efficiency and lower shipping costs can help them maintain their competitive position in a tough business environment. Barges can move a ton of freight 2.5 times further on a gallon of fuel than a truck can, offering significant cost savings, especially when fuel prices are sky-high.<br>
•Communities all across eastern Iowa, because they, too, rely on raw materials moving up the river or because of a healthier economic climate as farmers, workers and local companies pump more money into Main Street businesses.<br>
•Iowa’s environment, which will also benefit, since the river authorization includes a plan for extensive habitat restoration, which can mean more income from tourism and recreation along the Mississippi.<br>
“Better infrastructure is an investment that benefits every Iowan,” Kemper said. “It’s a plus for each of us, and it’s essential if we’re going to keep Iowa competitive in today’s markets.”<br>