LANSING, Mich. — The Corn Marketing Program of Michigan (CMPM) and Michigan Agricultural Commodities are working together this year to bring farmers the 2017 Between the Rows tour.

CMPM staff will be going on the road to check corn yields across the state. At each of the eight tour stops, CMPM will host a meal where it will share the findings from yield checks, along with a market update and information about CMPM programs and activities.

There is no cost to attend one of the following, but pre-registration is requested. Register online at www.micorn.org

•August 22 – Dinner at 6:30 p.m., Miller Family Farms, 6757 Warren Rd., Elsie, MI 48831

•August 23 – Dinner at 6:30 p.m., Zwerk & Sons Farms, 7647 Sanilac Rd. (M46) Vassar 48768

•August 24 – Dinner at 6:30 p.m., Gentner-Bischer Farms, 5072 Finkle Rd, Minden City 48456

•August 25 – Lunch at noon, John Ferkowicz’s Farm, 9335 Merrill Rd., Silverwood 48760

•August 28 – Dinner at 6:30 p.m., Main Farms, 2364 N. Gravel Ridge Rd., Trufant 49347

•August 29 – Dinner at 6:30 p.m., Berrybrook Enterprises, 26761 Dewey Lake St., Dowagiac 49047 

 

* August 30 – Dinner at 6:30 p.m., North Concord Farms, 3400 N. Concord Rd., Concord 49237

•August 31 – Dinner at 6:30 p.m., James & Laurie Isley’s Farm, 2683 S. Grosvenor Hwy., Palmyra 4926

 

LANSING, Mich. — Following Gov. Rick Snyder’s late May appointment and reappointments to the Michigan Wheat Program, the check-off board elected its 2017-2018 officers at its June 5 meeting. There will be no change in the officers in the coming year, with the following board members serving:

•David Milligan of Cass City, chairman.

•Dean Kantola of Ravenna, vice chairman.

•Art Loeffler of Frankenmuth, secretary. 

 

•Frank Vyskocil of New Lothrop, treasurer.

“We have a great team in place that has the experience and vision to ensure the Michigan Wheat Program meets the needs of Michigan wheat farmers,” said executive director Jody Pollok-Newsom.

“The board will continue its strong focus on research, particularly projects that lead to improved quality and yield, which is exactly what growers asked for,” she added.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — At a recent spirits competition, all the awardwinning entries had one thing in common: corn. Corn-based spirits were judged at the 2017 Heartland Whiskey Competition with eight Illinois distilleries earning 12 medals in the multi-state competition sponsored in part by Illinois corn farmers, through the Illinois Corn Marketing Board.

In the blind judging supervised by the American Craft Spirits Assoc. (ACSA) in Chicago, Fox River Distilling’s Bennett Hill Straight Bourbon Whiskey was judged Illinois’ top craft whiskey. The competition drew more than 75 whiskey entries from 10 states.

“Competition entries exceeded our expectations by quite a bit, so medalists persevered from a large pool,” stated Margie A.S. Lehrman, executive director of ACSA. “Today, each of these states has a group of craft spirits distillers that produce high-quality whiskey, so claiming best of state is a significant achievement.”

It was a strong showing for several Illinois craft distilleries that are located throughout the state. Whiskey Acres, which is located on a farm in DeKalb, won three silver medals and two bronze medals. Six other Illinois distilleries won one medal each, including Fox River, which won a gold that earned it “State’s Best.” Other silver medal winners from Illinois were J.K. Williams Distillery in East Peoria, Copper Fiddle Distillery in Lake Zurich and CH Distillery in Chicago. The three bronze medal winners from Illinois were Oppidan Distillery in Wheeling, Quincy Street Distillery in Riverside and Stumpy’s Distillery in Columbia.

The competition was underwritten by several states where corn is an important crop to the farm families who take pride in growing it.

“As a farmer first, we know Illinois farm families like ours grow the world’s best corn thanks to generations of farming expertise, rich Illinois soils, sunshine and ample natural sources of water,” says Jamie Walter, who, with his father Jim and business partner Nick Nagele, operate Whiskey Acres.

“ACSA thanks Illinois farmers for supporting our burgeoning industry and the small businesses that compose it,” Lehrman added. “Our member products are made from grain, largely from the states in which they manufacture, and oftentimes our producers have personal relationships with the local farmers planting the seeds. High quality ingredients, with a bit of ingenuity from the producers, result in stellar spirits.”

For more information, contact Tricia Braid at tbraid@ilcorn.org or 309-830-3393.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Delegates attending the National Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA) Corn Congress in Washington July 19 elected four farmers to serve on the organization’s Corn Board.

Taking office on Oct. 1, the start of NCGA’s 2018 fiscal year, are new board members Brandon Hunnicutt of  Nebraska, Gary Porter of Missouri and Kenneth Hartman of Illinois. Current board member Don Glenn of Alabama was reelected. All four were elected to three-year terms.

The NCGA Corn Board represents the organization on all matters while directing both policy and supervising day-to-day operations. Board members represent the federation of state organizations, supervise the affairs and activities of NCGA in partnership with the chief executive officer and implement NCGA policy established by the Corn Congress.

Members also act as spokesmen for the NCGA and enhance the organization’s public standing on all organizational and policy issues.