Legislative Update: MCGA directors advocate for federal priorities in nation’s capital

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By Amanda Bilek, Minnesota Corn Growers Association Senior Public Policy Director

Last week, a group of Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) directors spent time in Washington D.C. advocating for federal policy priorities with members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation and other key House and Senate leaders, as well as important agencies.

One of the top federal priorities for MCGA and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is the successful congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Mexico and Canada are the U.S. corn industry’s largest, most reliable market. Mexico is the top buyer of American corn, purchasing 25 percent of corn exports. In 2016, more than 17.3 million metric tons of corn and corn co-products, valued at $3.2 billion, were exported to Mexico and Canada. For Minnesota, Mexico is our top market for corn.

Given the significant importance of the Mexico and Canada markets for our products, MCGA leaders urged swift passage of the USMCA trade agreement and retention of the current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) until USMCA’s ratification.

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MCGA farmer-leaders, along with other state corn organizations and NCGA leaders, had the opportunity to participate in a meeting at the White House with the office of U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Gregg Doud. The group received an update on current trade negotiations and discussed the importance of congressional approval of USMCA. MCGA directors then carried forward the message from Ambassador Doud in our visits with members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation.

There is a lot at stake for corn farmers in USMCA negotiations. According to a study from the U.S. Grains Council, without NAFTA the United States would experience an $800 million drop in corn production and a $13 billion hit to farm sector GDP. Minnesota corn farmers cannot afford the risk of losing this critical market.

Another top federal priority for MCGA in 2019 is approval of a regulatory proposal allowing year-round sales of E15. A recent MCGA post highlighted that the draft rule was made public last week. In addition to year-round sales of E15, the draft rule includes a Renewable Identification Number (RIN) reform package. The latter requires careful review to understand its implications, which will be followed by developing detailed comments on the proposed approach. 

MCGA leaders began the week in Washington by meeting with the agricultural advisor to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and key EPA staff. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the impending rule and to learn more about the specific elements that were proposed. This was helpful information and an important opportunity to discuss directly with EPA; the meeting also provided information to bring forward in meetings with members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation and other key House and Senate leaders.

A third federal priority discussed in meetings was protecting the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, more commonly known as the farm bill, and the importance of the bill in providing some certainty to agriculture when net farm income has decreased about 50 percent in the last six years.

MCGA is supportive of the modest but meaningful improvements to the farm safety net, fully protecting crop insurance, and if the agriculture recession continues, the opportunity to look at ways to strengthen commodity title provisions. MCGA also had the opportunity to discuss conservation program implementation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and highlighted MCGA participation in the Soil Health Partnership.

With five new members in Minnesota’s congressional delegation, the time spent by farmer-leaders in Washington to build relationships with new members and strengthen relationships with returning members of the delegation is critical to MCGA advocacy efforts on behalf of our members. We will be sure to keep you updated as MCGA works to advance our federal policy priorities.

Be sure to follow the MCGA blog and its social channels (Facebook, Twitter) throughout session for updates from the Capitol. You can also follow me on Twitter (@AjBilek).