NAMA News December/January 2009
Inside this Issue
|  Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, site of NAMA's March 2009 Division Meetings. |
Time to register for the 2009 Division Meeting
Information about NAMA’s 2009 Division Meeting has been sent by email. All information about the meeting being held March 21-24 in Fort Myers, Florida at the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa is available on NAMA’s web site at http://www.namamillers.org/mbr_mtg.cfm. To receive NAMA’s reduced group room rate, make your hotel room reservation before February 11, 2009. Meeting registration forms should also be sent to the NAMA office before February 11, 2009. Check the NAMA website for more details or contact Terri Long, NAMA director of communications and meetings at 202.484.2200, ext. 11 or tlong@namamillers.org.
Plans underway for the
50th Annual Corn Dry Milling Conference
NAMA’s Corn Dry Milling Conference Committee met in Peoria, Illinois to begin planning for the 50th Annual Corn Dry Milling Conference scheduled for June 17-18. The preliminary program includes presentations on carbohydrates, endophytes, fungicides, the perfect hybrid, CODEX, germplasm enhancement of maize, seed corn economics, the future of white corn, corn beyond ethanol, how to feed the world, and a farm report. Because this is the 50th Annual Corn Dry Milling Conference, a special presentation about the history of the conference is a planned part of the program. At the conclusion of the conference, the people who have made the conference possible year after year, for the past 50 years will be recognized at a dinner to be held that evening.
Bair speaks at the POGA conference
In December, NAMA vice president Jim Bair represented the milling industry at the annual convention of the Prairie Oat Growers Association. Jim was the leadoff speaker at the Yorkton, SK meeting. Bair discussed the critical importance of Canadian growers to oat millers and US consumers. Several hundred growers, plus Canadian news media were in attendance.
USWBSI and Wheat Genome Conference
The US Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI) and Wheat Genome Conferences were held in Indianapolis in early December. NAMA is represented on the USWBSI Executive Committee by Jane DeMarchi, director of government relations. Presentations are available at http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Wheat/wheat_breeding/2008_uswbsi_forum.html. During the forum, meetings were held to develop a comprehensive research plan and budget recommendation for 2009. The objective of the plan is to develop, as quickly as possible, effective control measures that minimize the threat of Fusarium head blight. 134 projects were recommended for funding totaling $5,040,912. As in years past, the recommendations will not be finalized until Congress approves a 2009 budget with allocations for USDA-ARS. The Wheat Genomics Conference included a number of technical presentations on the genomics of abiotic stress; structural genomics and bioinformatics and genomics of wheat development and quality.
NAMA’s 2009 Committee Chairmen
Many thanks to those who are volunteering to serve on NAMA’s committees. We appreciate your time and expertise.
Appointed as chairmen of the committees for a two-year term were:
Budget/Finance Committee - Lynn Rundle, 21st Century Grain Processing
Corn Dry Milling Conference Committee - Robert Y. Harper, Hopkinsville Milling Company
Food and Facility Security Committee - James M. Meyer, Italgrani USA, Inc.
International Trade Committee - Roderick J. Geiger, Bartlett Milling Company
Kansas State Committee - Vance Taylor, North Dakota Mill & Elevator
Meeting Committee - Charles B. Stout, Pendleton Flour Mills, LLC
Product Promotion Committee - Breck Barton, Cereal Food Processors, Inc.
Technical Committee - Trevor Pizzey, Can-Oat Milling
Wheat Issues Committee – Richard C. Siemer, Siemer Milling Company
Ad Hoc Committee on Futures Market - Donald L. Mennel, The Mennel Milling Company
Ad Hoc Committee on Methyl Bromide - Richard C. Siemer, Siemer Milling Company
Ad Hoc Committee on Production Data - James Sharp, C.H. Guenther & Son, Inc.
Ad Hoc Committee on Whole Grains - Craig Hagood, House-Autry Mills, Inc.
International Trade Committee meets in Kansas City
NAMA's International Trade Committee, led by Rod Geiger, Bartlett Milling Company, met with officials from the Kansas City Commodity Office to discuss current issues related to providing food aid products for the US food aid program. Issues included recent changes to payment terms in Federal Acquisition Regulations, product procurement forecasts, bag technology, and USDA product testing results.
This annual meeting with staff of the Kansas City Commodity Office (KCCO) has proven valuable in past years in identifying issues that can be worked on by NAMA and KCCO to make food aid programs more effective. It also provided NAMA the opportunity to honor Nelson Randall, KCCO staff member who recently retired from responsibilities for purchasing processed food products for the food aid programs.
Facility Risk-Assessment and Security Guide
under development
Four major national agribusiness organizations are completing development of a guide to further assist industry firms in conducting risk assessments and developing risk-based facility security plans as part of the industry’s ongoing proactive efforts to protect the food and feed supply.
Initially developed by the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) in 2001 shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the guide is being updated and expanded to convey new information and to provide, for the first time, an easy-to-use template that agricultural facilities can use as a framework to develop or revise existing facility security plans.
The four organizations reviewed the latest draft of the guide during a meeting in December. The goal is to role out the final guide at the Spring 2009 International Association of Operative Millers Conference.
NAMA successful in getting oats
removed from retaliation list
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published its final notice regarding its intention to retaliate against the European Union (EU) for its ban on the importation of US beef from animals treated with growth hormones. The USTR had previously proposed including EU oats on the list of products against which it would retaliate by imposing 100 percent ad valorem duties. In the final notice USTR deleted oats from that retaliation.
NAMA member Mark Ramsland, General Mills, said, "I want to commend the NAMA staff for the excellent job that they did for us. I do not have to go back too many years to remember when Scandinavian oats were a huge backstop when there was a Canadian crop problem."
To read the comments NAMA submitted to USTR in December 2008, go to http://www.namamillers.org/is_briefs_OatsRetaliation2008.html.
Streetar retires from Minot Milling |
 Pictured on the left are the Streetars and on the right the Maranos. |
In the notice to NAMA announcing his retirement, Jim said, "I want to thank you for the good work you have done for the industry; it was a pleasure to be a part of the organization."
Corn research results reach 10.5 million readers
NAMA has been working through Mullen, the public relations firm of the Grain Foods Foundation (GFF), to spread the news about the results of the corn research conducted by Dr. Mario Ferruzzi at Purdue University. The results of that effort have reached a total of 10.5 million readers so far. Most of that coverage has been in milling and baking industry publications. GFF has been asked to author a column about the study and the industry by the editor at Food & Drink Quarterly (FDQ). FDQ is a trade publication for the restaurant and food and beverage industries. The circulation of FDQ is around 50,000. Coverage is also expected in the April issue of Good Housekeeping.
To read about the results of the research, read NAMA’s news release at http://www.namamillers.org/PR_CornResearch_10_22_08.html.
Future of international agricultural research uncertain
Funding for Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is uncertain. In a letter sent to legislators, NAMA and other ag associations involved in agriculture research stressed the importance of continuing the work done by CGIAR. "Funding for the CGIAR is critical to sustain international research efforts, increase agricultural productivity, defend against emerging plant diseases, and reduce poverty in developing countries. US investment in international agricultural research is fundamental to global food supplies and critical to reversing the course of diminishing global food security." CGIAR falls under the budget for USAID and received no commitment in the FY2009 budget.
To read the letter, go to http://www.namamillers.org/is_briefs_CGIAR.html.
2009 molds and mycotoxins short course
Molds and Mycotoxins in Food, Feed and the Environment is scheduled for March 17-19, 2009 in Lincoln, NE. This is the only three-day course in the nation that provides a comprehensive introduction to relevant mold species and the effects of the mycotoxins they produce both in lectures and in lab sessions. Registration can be completed on-line at http://fpc.unl.edu/workshops/molds.shtml. The course is presented by The Food Processing Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
NAMA in the news
NAMA Chairman John Miller selects committee chairmen
January 19, 2009
Drinks Media Wire, read the article at http://www.drinksmediawire.com/afficher_cdp.asp?rssid=4122-1
High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal, read the article at http://www.hpj.com/archives/2008/dec08/dec15/NAMAChairmanJohnMillerselec.cfm
Conference calendar
2009 Division Meetings, Ft. Myers, FL
Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa
March 21-24, 2009
2009 Leadership Meeting, Washington, DC
The Liaison Hotel
May 20-21, 2009
50th Annual Corn Dry Milling Conference, East Peoria, IL
Hotel Pere Marquette
June 17-18, 2009
2009 Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
Sofitel Lafayette Square Hotel
October 19-21, 2009
2010 Division Meetings, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
W Fort Lauderdale
March 20-23, 2010
2010 Annual Meeting, Del Mar, CA
L'Auberge Del Mar Resort
October 14-16, 2010
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