New Ohio Corn Marketing Program Officers Named

DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Corn Marketing Program (OCMP) has announced new officers for 2012 who will collectively represent and promote the industry success of Buckeye State corn and work on behalf of the state’s corn growers.

2012 OCMP Officers

• Chairman Paul Herringshaw — Bowling Green
• Vice Chairman Mark Schwiebert — Hamler
• Secretary Brian Harbage — South Charleston
• Treasurer Les Imboden — Ashville

“I’m confident that our new officers will help develop and expand markets for corn to financially safeguard Ohio’s corn producers,” said OCMP Interim Executive Director Tadd Nicholson.

The new officers are responsible for monitoring and taking action regarding trade, education, transportation, risk-management, industrial-demand and market-development issues of the sector.

Economic Impact of Ohio Corn

• Supports nearly 34,000 jobs
• Generates nearly $359,000,000 in labor income
• Contributes nearly $1,500,000 to the state’s GDP (value-added)

Ohio produced an estimated 511 million bushels of corn in 2011.

About The Ohio Corn Marketing Program

The Ohio Corn Marketing Program was approved by an affirmative vote of Ohio’s corn producers. The voluntary, self-help program allows for the collection of a half cent-per-bushel assessment by all first purchasers of the grain. Funds from the program can only be invested for research, market development, education and promotion purposes. Visit www.ohiocorn.org for more information.

NEWS RELEASE
December, 2011

Contact: Jack Irvin
Dir., Research & Community Affairs
614.306.8605 | jirvin@ohiocornandwheat.org

Ohio Corn Marketing Program Board Member Tapped for Asian Leadership Mission

DELAWARE, Ohio — Paul Herringshaw, a corn grower from Bowling Green, Ohio, will represent the Ohio Corn Marketing Program as part of a high-level leadership mission to three key Asian markets – Japan, China and Vietnam – from November 29 to December 9 to experience an array of export challenges and opportunities for corn and processed corn products.

“We will have the opportunity to meet with several industry leaders and farmers in each of the countries that we visit. It will be most interesting to see China’s impact on the world market directly,” said Herringshaw. “We’ll also have the opportunity to answer any questions or concerns that that these buyers and end users have about the U. S. corn crop.”

The mission is an opportunity for collaborative learning, as growers gain firsthand exposure to the dynamics of developing and defending export markets and at the same time, share their insights about the supply and quality of the new U.S. corn crop with key customers.

The mission will provide an especially broad understanding of Japanese customer needs, based on a schedule that includes a full range of corn end-uses from livestock feeding and starch processing, to an ingredient in foods such as the newly introduced ramen noodles with 20 percent corn content.

Port tours will allow mission members to assess how infrastructure issues affect corn and corn product shipments to Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, China’s Pearl River Delta and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition to Ohio, the mission roster includes participants from states representing more than 62 percent of U.S. corn production, which include Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.

“Japan is the chief U.S. corn export customer, but it is also a mature market that may be in transition,” said Tom Sleight, vice president of operations at the U.S. Grains Council, which organized the mission.

“In contrast, China is the No. 1 growth market in Asia and the big variable in today’s world trade environment. China’s demand is potentially colossal. Vietnam is still an ‘infant’ market but it is a good representative of the demand developing in Southeast Asia, where the United States has struggled to gain a foothold.”

About The Ohio Corn Marketing Program
The Ohio Corn Marketing Program was approved by an affirmative vote of Ohio’s corn producers. The voluntary, self-help program allows for the collection of a half cent-per-bushel assessment by all first purchasers of the grain. Funds from the program can only be invested for research, market development, education and promotion purposes. Visit www.ohiocorn.org for more information.

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State Sen. Karen Gillmor at the Friday launch of From the Earth

DELAWARE, Ohio – From the Earth (FromTheEarth-Bioproducts.com), a new website that allows Ohio state agencies and institutions of higher learning to research and locate bioproducts that are manufactured and distributed by Ohio companies, was recently launched at the first annual Ohio Bioproducts Symposium.

Currently, no other state in the nation has a program similar to From the Earth.

The online resource is designed to help procurement agents in their efforts to abide by Ohio Senate Bill 131 that was signed into law Feb. 27, 2010. It established a bio-based, product-purchasing program requiring state entities, colleges and universities to give purchasing preference to bio-based products when the products are comparable in price, performance and availability.

“Bio-based products have less impact on the environment than petroleum-based counterparts because they are biodegradable, comprised of renewable resources and have decreased disposal and cleanup costs,” said Tadd Nicholson, Director of Government and Industry Affairs, Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association. “Thanks to From the Earth, procurement agents now have an easy-to- access resource to locate bioproducts that are made from corn, wheat and soybeans and are manufactured by Ohio companies.”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), bioproducts are defined as commercial or industrial products, other than food or feed, composed wholly or in significant part of biological products including renewable agricultural materials such as plant, animal and marine or forestry materials. They are used to replace or reduce petroleum-based materials used in manufacturing products.

From the Earth’s list of USDA BioPreferred-designated products include items in the following industries:

• Cafeteria and Food Service • Construction and Maintenance • Furniture and Furnishings • Housewares and Cleaning• Industrial Supplies • Landscaping and Agriculture • Office Supplies • Personal Care and Toiletries • The Great Outdoors • Utilities

The launch of the From the Earth website was the highlight at the Ohio Bioproducts Symposium. Additional topics discussed included Ohio’s bioproduct procurement goals for state agencies, best practices from Ohio companies who have shown success in the bioproducts market, and the effects of Senate Bill 131 on Ohio’s economy and the impact it has on the public sector with regard to bioproduct purchasing procedures.

Event speakers included Sen. Karen Gillmor, R-Ohio; Ron Buckhalt, program manager, U.S. Department of Agriculture, BioPreferred Program; Rocky Black, deputy director, Ohio Department of Agriculture; Jeff Westhoven, administrator, Office of Procurement Services, Ohio Department of Administrative Services; Cathy Horton, president, Nutek, LLC; Keith Masavage, chief of strategy and operations, Univenture; and Christopher Montgomery, , Bricker & Eckler, LLP.

Companies may submit their bioproducts to be listed at the From the Earth website; however, all products must first be a BioPreferred-designated product. To submit bioproducts for approval by the USDA BioPreferred program, visit www.biopreferred.gov.

About From the Earth

From the Earth is a bioproducts resource program sponsored by the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association for Ohio state agencies and institutions of higher learning to research and locate bioproducts that are manufactured and distributed by Ohio companies. For more information, visit www.FromTheEarth-Bioproducts.com.

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What: From the Earth (FromTheEarth-Bioproducts.com), a new website that allows Ohio state agencies and institutions of higher learning to research and locate bioproducts that are manufactured and distributed by Ohio companies, will be launched at the first annual Ohio Bioproducts Symposium. The online resource is the first of its kind in the nation.

When: Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Where: Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center Bob Evans Auditorium A (145)
2201 Fred Taylor Drive, Columbus, OH 43210

Why: From the Earth is designed to help procurement agents in their efforts to abide by Ohio Senate Bill 131, which established a bio-based product-purchasing program requiring state entities, colleges and universities to give purchasing preference to bio-based products when the products are comparable in price, performance and availability.

Who: In-person or telephone interviews are available with the following speakers:

•  Sen. Karen Gillmor, R-Ohio

•  Ron Buckholt, program manager, U.S. Department of Agriculture, BioPreferred Program

•  Rocky Black, deputy director, Ohio Department of Agriculture

•  Jeff Westhoven, administrator, Office of Procurement Services, Ohio Department of
Administrative Services

•  Cathy Horton, president, Nutek, LLC

•   Keith Masavage, chief of strategy and operations, Univenture

•    Christopher Montgomery, associate, Bricker & Eckler, LLP

Contact: Michelle Leitzy
Clary Communications
mleitzy@clarycommunications.com
614.481.7534

An estimated 300 people attended the OGFS at the Veterans’ Memorial Civic and Convention Center in Lima December 16.  The night before the event, dozens turned out for an Ohio Corn/Soy PAC event featuring Karl Rove, a former special aide to President George W. Bush, author and FOX News contributor.

“We worked hard to ensure that our topics are up-to-date and that our speakers are at the top of their industry,” said John Davis, president of the Ohio Corn Growers Association.

Topics covered during the 2010 OGFS included on-farm regulations, the 2012 Farm Bill, consumer attitudes and the food industry, atrazine and watershed concerns. The Ohio Corn Growers Association, the Ohio Soybean Association and the Ohio Wheat Growers Association also held their annual business meetings at the event.

The day of learning was topped off by a performance by Drew Hastings, an Ohio farmer and comedian who has appeared on “The Tonight Show,” Comedy Central and “The Bob and Tom Radio Show.”

More than 35 companies that service the agricultural industry participated in the on-site trade show.

“It was an excellent event,” said Jeff Wuebker, president of the Ohio Soybean Association. “We’re already looking forward to next year and what we can do to bring in even more attendees, while giving timely and helpful information to Ohio farmers.”

About 95 people witnessed the 38th, 39th and 40th inductees enter the Fayette County Agricultural Hall of Fame Monday night at the Mahan Building.

Ray D. Warner, a respected breeder of Chester White Hogs and community leader, Ronald R. Rockhold, early technology adopter and agriculture leader, and William H. Diley, respected educator and FFA advisor, were honored as the Class of 2010 at the 10th-annual banquet.

Read the full story at http://www.recordherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=137893