2024
Industry Overview

Welcome

letter

The importance of the corn refining industry and the work done to advocate on its behalf was on full display in 2024, and I’m pleased to submit this report detailing the progress CRA and its members made on many fronts over the course of this pivotal year.

In advocacy efforts, CRA staff observed a clear need to build a greater understanding of the importance of science- and risk-based policymaking. This led to conversations with lawmakers, staff, and the media about the important underpinning of the American regulatory system and how it fuels the innovation so critical to the corn refining industry and countless others.

On the policy front, CRA was able to leverage its relationships to advocate on many issues, including a dispute in the U.S.-Mexico trade relationship, Farm Bill language to secure a strong future for the ag bioeconomy, and strengthening the scientific foundation for federal dietary guidance.

The presidential election cycle dominated the news, but the shift of power on Capitol Hill further demonstrated the importance of CRA’s longstanding bipartisan approach to issue management.

Looking ahead, I am confident in the strong foundation CRA has built over our more than 110 years of advocacy to continue to deliver solid results for American agriculture and, specifically, the members of the Corn Refiners Association.

I hope you find this report to be an illustrative picture of the exceptional results CRA produces through the outstanding work of its dedicated staff. It is a privilege to work on behalf of CRA members, and we are pleased to do so every day.

Sincerely,

John Bode

John W. Bode
CRA President & CEO

Download Report

CRA VALUES STATEMENT IN PRACTICE

CRA put its values of community, respect, and action into practice in 2024 by supporting the next generation of community and industry leaders through our engagement with organizations and programs advancing diversity, career mentorship, and education.

CRA’s internship program once again offered valuable experience to young people looking to advance their careers in communications, food policy, government affairs, trade analysis, and sustainability advocacy. Interns are given important responsibilities daily to further the mission of CRA and to develop useful skills for their future careers. CRA is more than a stopover on a path to their future, with many former CRA interns remaining connected to their supervisors after their experiences conclude.
CRA was honored to participate in several opportunities to promote careers in agriculture and food policy, including through engagement with Agriculture Future of America and through a presentation to the summer interns of other farm groups.
CRA was proud to support the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 53rd Annual Legislative Conference and the Black Professionals in Food and Agriculture.

Students from Agriculture Future of America visited the CRA offices as part of their September 2024 experience in Washington, D.C.

CRA staff frequently speak with members of other organizations, including Senior Vice President Robin Bowen’s remarks to members of the National Corn Growers Association.

Diversity & Inclusion

Download Report

ADVANCED BIOPRODUCTS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Corn is a versatile resource that can be used for a variety of advanced bioproducts, from personal care products and packaging to chemicals and bioplastics. In 2024, CRA collaborated with the Plant Based Products Council (PBPC) and other members of the Ag Bioeconomy Coalition (ABC) to spotlight the growing role of biobased products in the agricultural bioeconomy.

Throughout 2024, CRA engaged in advocacy efforts that advanced influential legislation and helped secure integral wins for the agriculture industry.

Following the 2023 introduction of the bipartisan, bicameral Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act and the Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation and Opportunity (Ag BIO) Act, CRA championed efforts to include the legislation as part of Congress’s work on the Farm Bill.
While 2024 ended without a new five-year Farm Bill, CRA was pleased to see recognition of the industry’s priorities during a May House Agriculture Committee markup session as well as in Farm Bill frameworks offered by Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

CRA engaged in strategic partnerships to bolster public awareness around industry priorities and to highlight the impact of bioproducts, the agricultural bioeconomy, and the industry at large.

CRA contributed policy advocacy resources as an industry group member of the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Hub, a consortium recognized as one of the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s 31 Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs. This partnership included CRA participation in a Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week panel on regional collaborations in bioprocessing.
In collaboration with the Plant Based Products Council and Ag Bioeconomy Coalition, CRA celebrated USDA National Biobased Products Day on March 8th, 2024.
CRA continually engaged in discussions on corn-based bioproducts and the agricultural bioeconomy with NASDA rural development partners, ambassadors of the Indiana Agricultural Leadership Program, and members of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association.
CRA staff also participated in the Circular Solutions conference hosted by the Plant Based Products Council in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advanced Bioproducts

Plant Based Products Council

Safe

Workplace Priorities

For more than two decades, CRA has led the industry in tracking and improving workplace safety through a voluntary safety reporting program for its members. Since its launch in 2000, the program has helped drive significant progress, with CRA members making greater safety gains than similar industries and the national average. In 2024, CRA recognized the outstanding achievement of five members: ADM, Cargill, GPC, Ingredion, and Primient.

One key measure of workplace safety is the Recordable Incident Rate (RIR) used by OSHA to track injuries across industries. In the early 2000s, the corn wet milling industry had an RIR of nearly 6.0, typical of heavy manufacturing work such as aluminum smelting and auto manufacturing. Through intensive work led by CRA’s Workplace Safety Committee, workplace safety programs and best practices were improved, leading to injury rates in corn refining work steadily declining. Today, the industry’s RIR stands at approximately 1.0 — as low as what’s seen in office environments.

This progress is a testament to the industry’s dedication to worker safety and continuous improvement, making corn refining facilities among the safest in manufacturing today.

Workplace safety

Download Report

By prioritizing sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency, emissions reduction, and waste management, the industry is laying the groundwork for a more sustainable future within corn refining and beyond.

The industry's commitment to sustainability

The sustainability journey of CRA and its members reflects a robust commitment to continuous improvement, innovation, and collaboration across all aspects of the corn refining value chain.

Throughout the year, CRA members led by example and implemented programs and practices that advanced sustainability commitments and surpassed goals in sustainable agriculture, emissions, energy, waste, water, and more.

CRA participated in COP29, our 11th consecutive year of participating in global conversations to drive more sustainable climate practices.
CRA marked its sixth year as a member of Farmers for Monarchs.
CRA worked with other allied associations across the agricultural value chain to ensure USDA’s climate-smart policies work in tandem with the industry’s robust existing efforts.
CRA marked its fourth year as a member of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance.
CRA adopted grid resilience as a key issue and developed a letter signed by food and beverage industry stakeholders supporting the Energy Permitting Reform Act, which would accelerate the permitting process for critical energy projects.

sustainability

Download Report

CRA Senior Vice President of Advanced Bioproducts James Glueck and Senior Director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs Jamaica Gayle speak on a panel at COP29.

feeding the economy

In 2024, CRA published the eighth annual Feeding the Economy report in partnership with 31 other food and agriculture groups.

The economic impact study explored new data on jobs, wages, and economic output at district, state, and nationwide levels.

The 2024 report was recognized for its excellence by the League of American Communications Professionals Vision Awards, where Feeding the Economy received a platinum award, special recognition for technical achievement, and was ranked the sixth highest-rated report in the world for the second consecutive year. Feeding the Economy was also recognized for the first time by the PR News Platinum Awards, where it won the top prize for an association or company’s external publication.

Visit FeedingTheEconomy.com to learn more.

feedingtheeconomy.com

download report

CRA Senior Director of Communications Spencer Chase attended the PR News Platinum Awards in New York City, where Feeding the Economy was awarded as the winner for outstanding external publication.

A GOOD NEIGHBOR IN FOOD AND AG POLICY

Food Policy

In 2024, CRA chaired the Food and Beverage Issue Alliance’s (FBIA) Food Processing Taskforce. FBIA includes 45 food and beverage trade associations, representing critical infrastructure industries and companies feeding the U.S. and the world. The group serves as an informational resource and fosters opportunities to coordinate educational and advocacy efforts.

For more than 15 years, CRA has offered the Carbohydrate Check Sample Program (CCSP), a testing methods service, for CRA and non-CRA members. Globally, CCSP enables companies to compare the precision of their product testing methods with the performance of other facilities to maintain analytical accuracy. In 2024, there were more than 70 program participants across 23 countries.

food policy

download report

In 2024, CRA chaired the International Federation of Starch Associations (IFSA), an alliance of starch trade associations across seven different countries and regions. A forum for information sharing and collegial learning, the IFSA meets on a semi-annual basis to discuss the key issues impacting the starch industry worldwide.

Trade Policy

One of CRA’s signature trade accomplishments is the publication of the weekly Trade Update, which shares relevant news on food and agriculture trade with readers around the world. The Trade Update serves as a premier source of trade and industry developments for policymakers in Congress and federal agencies as well as trade advocates throughout agriculture.

In 2024, CRA’s major trade work included:

CRA maintained its long-running work to support and promote rules-based trade, including through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. That effort brought a significant policy victory in December, when a dispute panel ruled in favor of the U.S. in a challenge over Mexico’s efforts to ban genetically modified corn imports. Kristy Goodfellow discussed the issue on the “Cobcast” hosted by the National Corn Growers Association in the lead-up to the ruling.
In our effort to facilitate ongoing positive relationships with Mexico, CRA President & CEO John Bode participated in the North Capital Forum held in Mexico City, which included speaking on a panel entitled “Food Security Across North America.”
CRA coordinates a biweekly trade advocacy call with CEOs of major food and agriculture trade associations to promote a greater understanding of trade policy issues impacting the industries. The group generated several coalition letters in 2024 to advance policy initiatives for the food and agriculture sector.

CRA submitted comprehensive comments on our industry’s significant foreign trade barriers that feed into the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual National Trade Estimate report. CRA’s comments highlighted challenges with Mexico, the European Union, China, and several other global issues.
CRA hosted a Food and Agriculture Trade Strategy meeting with nearly 50 industry representatives. The closed discussion helped the group identify common challenges and opportunities and share information that helped improve alignment and effectiveness in trade advocacy.
In recognition of CRA’s leadership on trade policy issues, two staff members were placed in important roles to offer advice on critical issues to USDA and USTR. John Bode was elected chair of the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee and Kristy Goodfellow was added to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Sweeteners and Sweetener Products.

Trade policy

download report

CRA President and CEO John Bode speaks on a panel at the North Capital Forum.

2024 STAFF

JOHN BODE | President and CEO

KENIECE BARBEE | Chief of Staff

ROBIN BOWEN | Senior Vice President, External Affairs

JaMES GLUECK | Senior Vice President, Advanced Bioproducts

SHAWNA NEWSOME | Vice President, Food Policy

KRISTY GOODFELLOW | Vice President, Trade and Industry Affairs

JAMAICA GAYLE | Senior Director, Sustainability and Environmental Affairs

SPENCER CHASE | Senior Director, Communications

Kent roberson | Director, Government Relations

MAX CAMATEROS-MANN | Manager, Sustainability and Workplace Safety

RUTH RICHARDS | Executive Assistant

Learn more about CRA team members in our
CRA Staff Profile series.

CRA's 2024 Staff Highlights

CRA welcomed two new leaders to our team:

Shawna Newsome serves as CRA’s Vice President of Food Policy

SHAWNA NEWSOME
Vice President of Food Policy

Spencer Chase is the Senior Director of Communications for the Corn Refiners Association

SPENCER CHASE
Senior Director of Communications

CRA’s John Bode and Jamaica Gayle at the 2024 Stevie Awards.

CRA celebrated the promotion of Jamaica Gayle to Senior Director of Sustainability & Environmental Affairs.

Keniece Barbee represented CRA at the annual meeting of the American Society of Association Executives, where she furthered her education on best practices to achieve organizational excellence.

John Bode and Jamaica Gayle were recognized as recipients of Stevie Awards by the American Business Association. Gayle was dubbed “Climate Hero of the Year” and was the recipient of a gold Stevie Award for sustainability. Bode was awarded a silver Stevie Award for government or nonprofit thought leadership.

Robin Bowen was an integral part of CRA’s member outreach in 2024, including a September presentation to Primient leaders. Her presentation at the company’s senior management retreat focused on the importance of government affairs.

James Glueck was a featured speaker at several events, including USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum, the Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit, and COP 29.

Kristy Goodfellow was selected as a member of the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for sugar and sweetener issues and was appointed to the U.S. Grains Council Advisory Team for Trade.

Ruth Richards celebrated her one-year anniversary at CRA as she facilitated executive office operations and maintained critical staff support.

Kent Roberson served as the President of the Black Professionals in Food and Agriculture and as a Delegate in the Maryland state legislature, where he serves as the Caucus Chair for the Prince George’s County Delegation.

CRA's 2024 EVENTS

CRA proudly sponsored and participated in other events during 2024 that propelled the agricultural industry forward.

february

Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) 38th Annual Conference

March

Feeding the Economy release on National Ag Day

Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit

2024 Commodity Classic

may

National Association of Farm Broadcasting 2024 Washington Watch

june

D.C. Agricultural Policy Intern Network Lunch-N-Learn

july

Washington International Trade Association Annual Dinner

Republican National Convention

august

Democratic National Convention

september

Friends of the National Arboretum Dinner

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 53rd Annual Legislative Conference

Black Professionals in Food and Agriculture Annual Awards Celebration

october

U.S. Mexico Foundation’s North Capitol Forum

The Spirit of Mt. Vernon Sunset Reception and Dinner

November

COP 29

2024Industry Overview

Welcome

letter

CRA VALUES STATEMENT IN PRACTICE

ADVANCED BIOPRODUCTS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Safe

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

Safe

Safe

Workplace Priorities

Workplace Priorities

Safe

2024
Industry Overview