...second largest on record in the U.S., corn prices have been well over $5 per bushel for the past six months and futures prices even popped up over the $6 mark recently for the first time ever. Many commodity market analysts say this new price level may be sustainable for the foreseeable future.

In fact, last year, corn passed beef production as the most valuable ag commodity produced in the U.S, generating nearly $52 billion in revenue compared to $49 billion.

Driving the prices to new heights is the increasing record usage of the crop (see Table 1). Most of the increased consumption can be credited to the work of NCGA's state affiliates, Tolman and his staff.

For these successes on behalf of the nation's com producers and the ag industry, Tolman was named the National Agri-Marketing Association's (NAMA) 2008 AgriBuisness Leader of the Year.

"There have been a lot of positive changes in the corn industry as it evolves and grows," Tolman says. "But I certainly can't take all of the credit. It has taken all parties to chart the course and to do their part."

Those parties include corn producers, the crop input industry, storage and handling, farm equipment, livestock feeders, shippers, processors, exporters, organizations developing products utilizing new uses of corn, and, of course, consumers.

WELCOME ABOARD

Tolman's career at NCGA got off to a fast start. Two weeks after he joined the organization, the StarLink catastrophe hit.

Starlink, a Bt-based strain that provided corn resistance to several insects had been approved by the Federal Drug Administration for use in livestock feed, but...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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