New Study Showcases Corn Farming’s Contribution to the Economy

(National Corn Growers Association) Corn growers were responsible for a $151 billion boost to the U.S. economy in 2023, according to a new report released this week by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).

The report, entitled NCGA Economic Contribution Study for 2023, looked at a number of ways in which corn growers shaped the economy, including economic output, contributions to the gross domestic product, tax revenues, labor income and employment statistics.

“This report highlights the crucial role America’s corn growers play in our nation’s agricultural and economic value chain,” said NCGA Lead Economist Krista Swanson who authored the analysis. "The data show that growers remain deeply rooted in rural America where they serve as pillars of economic growth. They work to foster technological innovation, expand commercial opportunities, advance free trade, build the bioeconomy, and feed a hungry world.”

In 2023 U.S. corn farmers produced 15.3 billion bushels of corn, valued at $73.9 billion, across 289,382 farms dedicated to growing corn for grain, according to the report.

Corn grower production directly contributed $20.7 billion to the gross domestic product and provided $12 billion in labor wages and benefits.

The economic impact of corn farming extended across 524 different industry sectors in all 50 states, reinforcing its broad influence on the national economy.

The report comes as corn prices have dropped and corn growers face many challenges, including higher input costs, tariffs and some trade barriers. NCGA leaders say the report should serve as a reminder to policymakers that corn grower contributions are important.

“The data in this report illustrate the critical role farmers play in shaping the U.S. economy,” said Minnesota farmer and NCGA President Harold Wolle. “Yet, we are facing many challenges that need to be addressed by America’s policymakers. Our message to Congress is to act on legislative and regulatory issues, like the farm bill, that will support our work.”

The study relied on IMPLAN, an economic analysis software, to calculate the direct, indirect, and induced impact of corn farming for grain production on the U.S. economy at the state and national level. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Weekly Agriculture: A LAST-DITCH PUSH: Industry stakeholders are making last pushes for their farm bill priorities ahead of a volatile campaign season, but are bracing for another extension.

A Sept. 30 farm bill deadline is fast approaching, and lawmakers need to decide on an extension plan before the end of the calendar year, when key programs in the 2018 farm bill expire. Congress will only be in Washington for only a few weeks between now and the November election.

The election’s impact: While lawmakers are at that impasse, industry leaders visiting the Hill have pushed for any movement on a farm bill. Some industry representatives have expressed concerns about how November election results might tilt what the final farm bill looks like, especially in light of recent campaign drama within the Democratic party.

Rep. Nikki Budzinski, a vulnerable Illinois Democrat on the House Ag Committee who voted against the House GOP-led farm bill in May, said she’s been meeting with ag stakeholders who are still hopeful for getting a bipartisan bill done. She told us discussions of how the election’s outcome could affect the farm bill and other policy talks are “hypotheticals.”

“I think what we need to be doing is working with reality,” she told MA last week. “I’m frustrated by Republican leadership that we’ve not seen any action on the floor even after that markup, no real conversations from what I understand between the House and the Senate on getting to a conference bipartisan farm bill. Those are things that can happen regardless of any election results.”

NCGA’s ELEVENTH-HOUR PUSH: The National Corn Growers Association is meeting with Hill staff this week to highlight their farm bill and other priorities in a last push before the election and farm bill deadline.

NCGA President Harold Wolle told MA in an interview that growers are prepared for another extension of the 2018 farm bill, but hopeful for updates that would support the industry as it grapples with high input costs and weather disaster recovery, like his own farm in Minnesota that was hit by recent flooding.

“While we can live with an extension, we are certainly advocating and want to see the improvements that are possible with a new bipartisan, full five year reauthorization,” Wolle said.

Corn producers are frustrated by the deadlock, Wolle said, but will continue to plan ahead under the provisions in the 2018 farm bill.

Wolle and other NCGA members will also visit key agency representatives to discuss future movement on sustainable aviation fuel tax credits, which are top of mind for the corn industry.

Still in a deadlock: House Ag Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) told MA last week he’s still working to find time on the House schedule for a full vote on his bill, which advanced out of committee in May.

He said a “big holdup” is the wait for updated Congressional Budget Office projections for the package, as farm bill funding has become one of the biggest contentions.

In the higher chamber: Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) has been focused on other priorities in her committee, including circulating text of her cryptocurrency regulation bill soon, even as she faces doubts from ranking member John Boozman (R-Ark.), our Eleanor Mueller reported.

Though committee negotiators told MA they’ve been meeting about the farm bill in recent weeks, they’ve planned no next steps. READ MORE