Page 20-Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 11, 1997
Farmers Approve Major NCGA,
NCDF Organizational Changes
SAINT LOUIS, Mo. In a
move impacting com growers
nationwide, board members
from the National Com Grow
ers Association (NCGA) and
the National Com Develop
ment Foundation (NCDF) vot
ed in favor of significant
changes that combine both or
ganizations to create a new na
tional com farmer organiza
tion.
The new association is de
signed to increase farmers’
profitability and influence
within the com industry by en
hancing farmer involvement
and decision-making at the
grassroots level.
Growers at the meeting said
they believed that the organiza
tions are moving in the right
direction by creating a nimble,
fast-acting organization.
‘Today’s vote gets the ball
rolling in our transition to new
national com organization,”
said Wallie Hardie, president
of the NCGA,
This move follows recom
mendations from two special
study groups comprised of
growers appointed by the
NCGA and NCDF boards of
directors earlier this year.
These groups explored ways to
improve the structure and re
sources needed to enhance
com farmers’ future profit
ability and productivity. The
new organization will continue
to be called the National Com
Growers Association because
the name is nationally re
cognized, but the structure and
work of the new organization
will differ significantly from
the former NCGA and NCDF.
“This vote affirms growers’
willingness to look toward the
future and take positive steps to
achieve their goals,” said Har
die, a com farmer from Fair
mount, N.D. “Accomplishing
them requires a fast-acting,
flexible organization that can
strategically plan and react to
the many changes that are
transforming agriculture.”
Teamwork, representation,
and participation increase for
com farmers under this unique
new association. In order to
prioritize, address and solve is
sues, the new National Com
Growers Association will in
volve farmers in three working
bodies, the Com Board, the
Com Congress, and Com Ac
tion Teams. “For the first time,
com farmers can participate in,
and direct, the work of these
three bodies, whether farmers
are involved in their state
checkoff board or their state
grower association,” said
NCDF Chairman Everett Nor
dine, who served as chairman
of one study group.
"There’s an abundance of
talent among com farmers, and
our new organization will be
able to tap into this talent base
by allowing com growers to se-
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PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC,, INC.
lect and lend expertise to issues
that they feel are important to
them without working through
a burdensome organizational
process. Participating farmers’
valuable time can be targeted
and used more productively,”
said Hardie, who chaired one
of the two study groups that
proposed the changes. “Farm
ers will work directly on issues
that impact their bottom lines.”
The three new organization
al bodies will be phased in dur
ing the next year and will be up
and running by Oct. 1, 1998.
The former NCGA and NCDF
boards will appoint a transition
team to assist with the start up
of the new organization. The
transition team will report to
the NCGA and NCDF Execu
tive Committee in November
and the boards of directors in
December. The team will clari
fy and define the processes
needed to combine the two or
ganizations. NCGA and NCDF
board members will vote in
December on recommenda
tions from the transition team.
“The process that we’ve
gone through is a very healthy
exercise for both organiza
tions, and exercise leads to in
creased strength and endur
ance. All businesses periodi
cally go trough the processes of
organizational evaluation,”
said Hardie. “It’s necessary to
make sure that you’re doing the
right things to grow your busi
nesses and the markets that you
operate in. The members of the
boards of the two organizations
took an objective look at the re
commendations of the study
groups and voted for the fu
ture.”