Trade Team sees harvest, first-hand production & use of DDGS in Nebraska

The Nebraska Corn Board hosted a U.S. Grains Council trade team from Turkey the beginning of this week. Three of the nine participants of the trade team from Turkey made it to Lincoln on Monday to tour Nebraska agriculture. Unfortunately, the other six participants were unable to catch the same flight out of London as the three that made it, and had to miss the first day of the Nebraska tour.

Nonetheless, the three Turks that did make it enjoyed a great tour facilitated by the Nebraska Corn Board. Kelly Brunkhorst, director of research for the Nebraska Corn Board, put together the tour that started out Monday at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Animal Science Department. The group heard from Dr. Sheila Scheideler, professor specializing in poultry research and nutrition. Dr. Scheideler talked about the dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) usage in poultry diets and discussed research which shows how feeding DDGS in poultry can decrease ammonia production in poultry manure and the nutritive benefits of yeast cells.

The trade team also heard from Dr. Paul Kononoff, assistant professor specializing in dairy research and nutrition. Dr. Kononoff discussed recent research in DDGS usage and how inclusion of this corn co-product in the dairy cow’s diet increases milk production.

Next, the team traveled outside of Lincoln to see and experience corn and soybean harvest at NCB Chair, Alan Tiemann’s farm in Seward. All three team members jumped in the cab of the combine as Alan turned the corner, and rode for a few turns as Alan showed them the technology he utilizes and answered questions. The team and Alan enjoyed lunch in Staplehurst, then toured the Tiemann’s farm headquarters outside of Staplehurst.

After lunch, the crew loaded up and headed towards Adams to tour the E Energy Adams ethanol plant. E Energy Adams, LLC is a 50 million gallon dry mill ethanol plant that is locally owned by nearly 800 investor owners and began operations in October 2007. This tour was the highlight for the Turks as they all deal with distillers grains, but had never seen a running plant.

The last tour of the day included walking around and learning about Prairieland Dairy in Firth. Prairieland Dairy is a partnership between four multi-generational family farms that begun in 1998. The team enjoyed seeing the cows close-up, learning about their feed rations and the production systems of the dairy.

The evening concluded with a reception and dinner at Wilderness Ridge. The team was joined by Bobbie Kriz-Wickam from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Roger Berry from Nebraska Farm Bureau, and Kelly Brunkhorst, Kelsey Pope and Regina Janousek, all staff of the Nebraska Corn Board.

Fortunately, the rest of the trade team was able to join in on the second day of tours, which started Tuesday with a tour of United Farmers Cooperative in Tamora. UFC is headquartered in York and is the fifth largest farm cooperative in Nebraska, serving over 6,200 voting members and close to 5,000 non-voting members in 22 counties in Nebraska and Kansas from 32 locations.

After the UFC tour, the group traveled to Columbus to tour Kent Feeds. Kent Feeds is a nearly century-old feed supplier with ten locations across the nation. It started in the cattle industry and has expanded to cover livestock, pet and specialty products. Then, after lunch at Duster’s, the group departed for Pioneer Hi-Bred International in York for a tour and discussion of the seed industry.

After the tours, the trade team plans to fly to Chicago for the U.S. Grains Council Export Opportunities Conference.

To see more pictures from the Turkey Trade Team visit, check out our Flickr set.