Farm Director, KC Sheperd, sat down with the President of the National Corn Growers Association, Tom Haag, and talked about the state of the corn industry in the U.S. and the nation’s corn crop.
The most important thing Haag said he would like to see regarding the 2023 Farm Bill, is to protect crop insurance.
“It is that safety net the American farmer needs in his toolbox in order to keep going,” Haag said.
The dispute on biotech corn exports to Mexico, Haag said, has been a priority for NCGA as far as communicating the importance of avoiding disruption to U.S. corn exports. NCGA has asked the Biden Administration to repeal plans by Mexico to block imports.
According to a press release by NCGA, the dispute centers around Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s decree that would end imports of corn grown using biotech and certain herbicides by 2024.
NCGA has strongly encouraged USTR to file a dispute under the agriculture chapter of USMCA, which calls for cooperation between members on an individual government’s regulation of imports. An op-ed by Haag was recently published in The Hill, a newspaper widely read by Washington policymakers and decision-makers. Corn grower leaders also continue raising the issue with lawmakers and major media outlets.
“Their ag secretary believes that the GMO- we are going to continue to buy this, but their president says no,” Haag said.
Remaining bipartisan and working with different parties is difficult, Haag said, but it is critical regarding matters such as the writing of the 2023 farm bill.
Haag also talked about this year’s corn crop in the midst of the drought.
“These genetics we have right now- it is amazing what they do, because we thought we would be using crop insurance this year,” Haag said.
Due to different environmental conditions, various varieties of corn are grown all over the U.S., Haag said, but among the diversity, he has seen genetics improve each year even against harsh weather conditions.
