The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) extends gratitude and appreciation to the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois (GFAI) for its recent $10,000 donation to the National Grain and Feed Foundation!

“When reviewing all the positive work accomplished by the National Grain and Feed Foundation, the decision by the Board of the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois to contribute was unanimous,” said Jeff Adkisson, GFAI executive vice president.

“Having a foundation focusing exclusively on the visibility, reputation, knowledge, and future growth of the industry is so critical our collective continued forward progress.”

This generous donation places GFAI as a member of the Foundation’s “Cultivator Society.”

NGFF’s Safety Mission The Foundation is the NGFA’s 501(c)(3) sister organization that funds research and public education efforts to benefit the grain, feed, processing and export industry.

The Foundation Board of Trustees, chaired by Greg Beck, senior vice president of the Grain Division at CGB Enterprises in Covington, La., who also serves as NGFA First Vice Chairman, has prioritized the Foundation’s 2020 focus on supporting grain handling safety projects and training, particularly for on-farm bin-entry safety. NGFA’s latest safety videos are funded by the Foundation, including Safety and Grain Quality and Grain Bin Entry Safety.

Also, Slips, Trips and Falls, an interactive training module available online for free, is funded by the Foundation.

The Foundation also supports travel expenses of NGFA staff who conduct regional safety and regulatory compliance seminars multiple times each year in cooperation with State and Regional Agribusiness Associations affiliated with NGFA.

Other recent Foundation projects include:

FSMA Hazard-Assessment Tool: This online hazard-assessment tool assists NGFA members in complying with FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) animal food rule.

Inland Waterways Education: The Foundation provides $25,000 annually to the Waterways Council Inc. The money supports an on-going public education campaign that highlights the importance of inland waterways transportation to agricultural producers and agribusinesses. Watch an NGFF-supported video that features Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

Fire and Explosion Data-Gathering: In conjunction with Purdue University, the Foundation helps fund annual reports on grain facility explosions. Prevention of these kinds of accidents is a major focus of the Foundation, which houses the resources of the NGFA’s former Fire and Explosion Research National Grain and Feed Association 8 Return to contents July 31, 2020 Council that was founded in 1978 and sponsored more than 30 research projects that discovered the causes and identified ways to reduce fire and explosion risks.

Many more projects are listed at ngfa.org/foundation.

NGFF Donors

All donors to the Foundation are recognized on the Foundation webpage.

Recognition levels are cumulative.

Contributions are directed to research and public education projects identified by a seven-member industry Board of Trustees that directly benefit the grain, feed and processing industry.

As a 501(c)(3) organization, all contributions are tax-deductible. And all funds donated go directly to research and education projects; there are no administrative fees assessed.