A sugar beet field in Minnesota.

A recent story in the Star Tribune covered what it called a “declaration of war” by corn syrup makers on sugar refiners and U.S. sugar policy.

The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) is based in Washington D.C. and represents companies that manufacture products like corn sweeteners. The CRA would like to see U.S. sugar policy weakened.

Since the story was published, we’ve received inquiries at the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) about our position on U.S. sugar policy. MCGA supports the maintenance of current U.S. sugar policy. That position is clearly stated on page 4 of our 2015 resolutions handbook, which summarizes MCGA positions on a wide range of issues.

Minnesota’s corn farmers fully support our state’s sugar beet growers. All of agriculture is damaged when in-fighting occurs between agriculture organizations.

Here’s to good weather the rest of the summer, stronger markets and a bountiful harvest this fall — both in our state’s corn fields and sugar beet fields.