NAMA News July/August 2009
Inside this Issue
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NAMA members Jeff Dillon, Didion Milling Inc., (left) and Jack Cwach, ADM Milling Company, join NAMA’s Director of Government Relations, Jane DeMarchi, in a food aid trip to Guatemala. |
- Grain Industry submits comments to Dietary Guidelines Committee
- NAMA members supplying wheat to KSU
- NAMA urges further consideration of climate change legislation
- NAMA to become member of NCFAR
- Conference calendar
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Register for the 2009 Annual Meeting Come join NAMA in Washington, DC, for our 2009 Annual Meeting, October 19-21, 2009. Registration forms can be found on NAMA’s web site at http://www.namamillers.org/Register.html. Email your form to Jenni Weems at jweems@namamillers.org or fax it to 202.488.7416 by September 21. Update -- We now accept payment of your registration fee with a credit card. Please make your hotel reservations directly with the Sofitel Lafayette Square Hotel by calling 202.730.8800 and referencing the North American Millers’ Association before September 14. |
Detailed information about the meeting program is on NAMA’s web site at http://www.namamillers.org/2009_AM_General_Info.html.
Confirmed Speakers:
- John W. Bode, Principal Attorney, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz P.C. - "Food Safety: A Political Analysis"
- Brian C. Briggeman, Economist, Regional Affairs, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City – Omaha Branch – "The Economy and Banking"
- Kay Simmons, National Program Leader, Crop Production and Protection, U.S. Department of Agriculture - "Wheat and Oat Research: Meeting Administration and Stakeholders Objectives"
Technical Committee Meeting in Baltimore
The fall meeting of NAMA’s Technical Committee is scheduled immediately following the AACC 2009 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD. Agenda items include food safety, audits, revisions to the wheat standards, mycotoxins, and fumigants.
Fall 2009 Technical Committee Meeting
September 17, 2009
7:30 am – 12:00 pm
Hilton Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD
NAMA travels to Uganda, Kenya and Guatemala
on food aid mission
In August, NAMA member John Gillcrist, Bartlett Milling Company, and Paul Green, NAMA, traveled to Uganda and Kenya; while NAMA members Jeff Dillon, Didion Milling Inc., Jack Cwach, ADM Milling Company, and Jane DeMarchi, NAMA, traveled to Guatemala.
Both trips were part of the International Trade Committee’s mission to promote NAMA products in food aid through discussions with food aid cooperating sponsors on the use and benefits of U.S. origin fortified and blended grain products in food aid interventions. NAMA highlighted the nutritional value of these foods, particularly when compared with bulk grains, urging program designers to measure cost effectiveness in $/kilocalorie or $/micronutrient delivered, as opposed to $/ton.
NAMA submits new comments to USDA
regarding amylase corn
In comments submitted July 6, the coalition of NAMA, grain handlers, and exporters urged APHIS to suspend all efforts to deregulate Event 3272 until sufficient research has been performed on the potential risks—including economic harm to the food sector. The comments state the docket is insufficient and the Environmental Assessment does not meet required standards. The coalition advised APHIS to consider their future role in the regulation and deregulation of plant biotechnology in this precedent setting decision. To see the comments in full, visit NAMA’s web site at http://www.namamillers.org/Comments_APHIS_070609.html.
Syngenta petitioned for full commercial production of Event 3272 amylase corn for ethanol by 2010. This is the second set of comments the coalition has submitted as they continue to work on this issue.
Chairman names Nominating Committee
NAMA Chairman, John Miller, Miller Milling Company, names Nominating Committee responsible for recommending one member to the Executive Committee, as well as any Honorary Members. The committee includes Chairman Rick Schwein, Grain Millers Inc.; Paul Maass, ConAgra Mills; Bruce Roskens, PepsiCo/Quaker Oats; Lynn Rundle, 21st Century Grain Processing; and Guy Shoemaker, Horizon Milling LLC/Cargill.
DeMarchi serves on ARS’s 2009
Hall of Fame Awards Review Panel
Jane DeMarchi, NAMA’s director of government relations, was invited by the Agricultural Research Service/USDA to serve on the 2009 Hall of Fame Awards Panel. The panel consisted of five people who reviewed applications from nationally and internationally recognized ARS scientists who have produced a major impact on agricultural research by solving a significant agricultural problem.
Grain Industry submits comments
to Dietary Guidelines Committee
Members of the grain industry submitted a joint letter to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee highlighting the benefits of carbohydrates in decreasing obesity. The letter cited a recent study published in the July 2009 Journal of the American Dietetic Association that found, 'participants [of the study] who consumed 47% to 64% of their diet in the form of carbohydrates had the lowest risk of being over-weight or obese." Co-signing the letter were the American Bakers Association, Grain Foods Foundation, National Association of Wheat Growers, NAMA, and Wheat Foods Council. The DGAC is responsible for setting national nutritional standards for consumers and numerous government food programs. For more information on this study, visit http://www.namamillers.org/Comments_DGAC_072809.html.
NAMA members supplying wheat to Kansas State University
NAMA members have responded generously to a request from Kansas State University's (KSU) Department of Grain Science for wheat for their teaching mills. Cereal Food Processors will supply 1,000 bushels of wheat for the fall semester and Horizon Milling/Cargill will supply the same amount of wheat for the spring semester. The donations will help the Department meet the funding challenges that it is facing. Dirk Maier, Head of the Department, expressed his deepest thanks to NAMA Directors Breck Barton and Guy Shoemaker.
NAMA urges further consideration
of climate change legislation
NAMA, as part of a coalition, sent letters to the Senate Agriculture Committee to express concern about the possible effects the climate change legislation H.R. 2454 could have on food prices, security and safety. The coalition; made up of food, feed, ingredient, beverage, and consumer product processors, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers; urged committee members to consider the potential adverse impacts this legislation may have on an industry that emits "roughly two percent of the nation’s greenhouse gases, … [but are] disproportionately vulnerable to indirect costs." To read the letters in full, please visit NAMA's web site at http://www.namamillers.org/Ltr_Climate_0709.html.
NAMA to become member of NCFAR
NAMA has joined the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research (NCFAR) which promotes funding for agricultural research. NAMA has already been working with NCFAR for several years to increase appropriations for agriculture research and has seen some modest gains in the latest budget proposals.
Members of NCFAR recognize that enhanced public funding for food and agricultural research, extension and education is vital to the future of the food and agricultural system and the nation. The coalition brings together stakeholders in the research, extension and education community and entities representing research 'customers.' To learn more about NCFAR, visit their web site at http://www.ncfar.org.
Conference calendar
Fall 2009 Technical Committee Meeting, Baltimore, MD
September 17, 209
7:30 am – 12:00 pm
Hilton Baltimore Convention Center
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
2011 Division Meetings, Marco Island, FL
Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort & Spa
March 12-14, 2011
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