WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, applauded Senate adoption of a resolution celebrating the 125th anniversary of the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA).
Boozman joined Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to introduce the resolution that was agreed to by unanimous consent as the Senate wrapped up its business for the calendar year.
Along with celebrating the anniversary, the resolution recognizes the association and its members for transforming the bounty of American farmers into safe, nutritious, sustainable and affordable human and animal food and commends it for its longstanding and continued efforts to advocate for grain, feed and processing interests critical to the agricultural value chain and the competitiveness of the United States.
“For the past 125 years, NGFA’s advocacy has led to advancements that have benefitted its membership, the industry as a whole and consumers across the country. Throughout its existence, the association’s membership has risen to the challenge, especially over the past two years, when we all learned just how important at strong food supply chain is to our wellbeing. We appreciate all NGFA and its members do to ensure that American agriculture continues to produce the world’s safest, most affordable and abundant supply of food, fuel and fiber,” Boozman said.
In 1896, a group of 38 grain dealers gathered in Chicago, Illinois, to found the Grain Dealers National Association. In 1901, the association formally established an arbitration system, which is believed to be the oldest industry-based arbitration system in North America, to provide a cost-effective and timely mechanism to resolve disputes involving grain, feed, and barge transactions. In 1970, the Grain Dealers National Association became NGFA.
With 27 regional and state affiliated associations, NGFA consists of more than 1,000 grain, feed, processing, exporting and other grain-related companies that operate approximately 8,000 facilities and handle the majority of all grains and oilseeds in the United States. Its mission is to “advocate a global open market environment to efficiently produce and provide a safe, abundant, affordable, sustainable and wholesome supply of grain, oilseeds, feed and related products responsive to market demand” and it strives to fulfill this through representation, employee safety and feed quality training, communication, development of future leaders, facilitation of the exchange of ideas, and education to members, government, and the public.
Boozman and Stabenow were joined in introducing the resolution by the following senators: Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Thune (R-SD), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).