Can regulations be based on an estimate?

The Nebraska Corn Board's Kelly Brunkhorst (@kbrunkhorst) recently spent some time reviewing the California Air Resources Board (ARB) low carbon fuel standard. (For background, click here and here.)

The timing was perfect because a lawsuit was recently filed against California's ARB for the standard. The suit was filed in the Federal District Court of Fresno by the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy, charging that the measure violates both the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

You can read more about the suit over at Corn Commentary.

In either case, Brunkhorst's thoughts are below - and he raises an important point.

Can regulations be based on an 'Estimate'?

Wikipedia defines “estimated” to mean a calculated approximation of a result which is usable even if input data may be incomplete or uncertain. But my question is…can an estimated figure be used to write state or Federal regulations when the science is incomplete and/or uncertain? For that matter can “approximation” be used as a basis for regulations.

Currently the state of California is in the final stages of adopting a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that provides a plan in which to reduce transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by 2020. This is an admirable task and goal, but the avenue in which they are proceeding, sure seems to be filled with holes and unanswered questions.

In order to come up with a carbon intensity figure, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is utilizing the modified GREET model. This model was initially developed by the staff at Argonne National Lab, but was modified by staff at CARB to better fit the California environment.

But in addition to the GREET model, CARB says that significant indirect effects such as land use change (LUC) must be included in the final carbon intensity score. To do this, CARB is utilizing the GTAP model to “estimate” this figure. Yes, “estimate” and this figure is being used in the regulation. Look on page 5 of the corn ethanol pathway, version 2.1 that can be found at CARB’s website (.pdf). To quote the paper exactly it states, “The GTAP model has been used to estimate Land Use Change impact for corn ethanol and is estimated to be 30 g CO2e/MJ.”

The whole land use change science is so uncertain, over 100 scientists have written a letter (.pdf) to CARB on this basis. In fact the very models that are being used to “estimate” land use change were not initially developed for this use.

So I guess to answer the question, you have to say yes, but it is very unfortunate that estimates can be used to base regulations on. Whatever happened to sound science and facts?

Podcast: A review of NeCGA's recent annual meeting

In this week's podcast, Jim Hultman, a farmer from of Sutton and a member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, provides a review of NeCGA's recent annual meeting, including announcing re-elected officers and directors, and that Sen. Mike Johanns was awarded the Golden Ear Award.

Hultman also provides some details on one of the seven resolutions debated and voted on by members.



Nebraska Corn Kernel podcasts are also available iTunes! Click here to subscribe.

Tolman to speak at Fremont Corn Expo

The Fremont Corn Expo is set for Wednesday, January 6, at Christensen Field in Freemont.

The expo is set to provide farmers and agribusiness professionals ideas and strategies to remain competitive in the corn industry.

One of this year's featured speakers is Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association. Tolman will discuss the Future of Farming -- Promise and Opportunity.

Other topics include:

• Irrigation and Energy Optimization Cost-share Opportunities – Dave Varner and Aaron Nygren, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension,
• Corn Plant Populations, Twin Rows and Yield Potential – Roger Elmore, Iowa State University,
• Farming in Today's Macro Economy – Brian Briggeman, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and
• Corn Trait Mixing, Matching and Stacking – Joe Keaschall, Pioneer Hi-Bred International.

Registration for the free event begins at 8 a.m. with a complimentary breakfast and a chance to view exhibits. The expo runs from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A complimentary lunch will be served to expo participants.

A special nitrogen applicator and irrigation management certification training will be conducted for Lower Platte North Natural Resources District producers immediately following the expo at 3 p.m.

For more information contact Dave Varner, at (402) 472-2775 or dvarner1@unl.edu.

The Fremont Corn Expo is sponsored by UNL Extension, Colfax-Dodge County Corn Growers, Nebraska Corn Growers Association, Nebraska Corn Board, Fremont Area Chamber Agricultural Business Council, Dodge County Farm Bureau and area agribusinesses.

Bogus Times, Grist articles on HFCS add to echo chamber

The Times Online (a paper in the U.K.) last week ran an article that claimed there was new research that "proved for the first time that a cheap form of sugar used in thousands of food products and soft drinks can damage human metabolism and is fueling the obesity crisis."

It then went on to cite this UC Davis study (which was released online in April) and claimed that was proof that fructose and, therefore, HFCS, was out to get us all (even though "fructose" ≠ "HFCS").

However, the reporter (Lois Rogers) got the story wrong - ALL WRONG - and that's according to one of the researchers who conducted the study. (More to come on that in a minute.)

While a single newspaper reporter getting it wrong is one thing, the Internet allowed the story to bloom.

Tom Laskawy, a blogger on Grist (which claims it uses a "Clarity-o-Meter to draw out the real meaning behind green stories") essentially regurgitated the "facts," linking to the Times story as proof (and not bothering to look up the original research). That allowed the anti-HFCS crowd to pick up on it and say: "See this proves we're right." And then repeat it from blog to blog to Twitter and Facebook. 

This is the echo chamber taking over -- with everyone citing everyone else and pointing to the original article that got the facts wrong.

Now about those "facts."

It turns out one of the authors of the original research saw the Times article and Grist blog post and decided enough was enough.

Here is what Dr. Kimber Stanhope had to say:

The information about the UC Davis study came from a Sunday Times article in which almost every sentence in the article contained at least one inaccurate statement. I have copied the sentences that came from this article in quotations below and follow each sentence with the correct information.

You can read her full destruction of the article here.

Among other things, Stanhope points out that the study examined fructose and glucose -- and made it clear that fructose and HFCS are not the same thing. Her response is quite good and worth a read if you happened to see the original Times or Grist garbage article. (I only wish she would have pointed out that HFCS, sugar and honey are essentially the same when it comes to fructose and glucose.)

Anyway, Stanhope's destruction of the original article prompted Laskawy to make a few corrections to his post but, of course, he still had to attempt to argue that the "science" is certainly against HFCS and toss out the expected misinformation and more of his form of "facts." After all, he doesn't want to loose his anti-corn, anti-HFCS, anti-corporate cred.

He also bashed the Times - saying that he'll never cite them again. Hmmm. Perhaps nobody should cite his posts, either.

If you're wondering about Grist, here's a good comment provided by one of the people who commented on the HFCS post:

Grist is full of "experts" posting articles about reports, studies and concepts they know little about. Its really not so much a fact based web site but a site full of speculations fueled by an anti corporate, environmentally correct political set of ideas.

Let's just leave it at that.

Oh, and one more thing to watch. Stanhope noted that she and other researchers are conducting a study comparing the effects of consuming HFCS and fructose at 0, 10, 17.5 and 25 percent of energy requirement in young (18-40 years), normal or overweight (BMI 18-35 kg/m2) adults.

While that may be interesting research, I'm not sure why you'd compare HFCS to straight fructose...they aren't even remotely the same, as Stanhope pointed out. Why not compare HFCS to plain old sugar? Or honey?

In either case, whenever that research is done, don't rely on Grist to get the story right. Grist, a self proclaimed "Beacon in the Smog," just dirties the facts.

You can’t have Christmas without corn!

Do you eat corn for Christmas dinner? Or give it away all wrapped up in pretty wrapping paper? Many may say, “no”, when in actuality, there is a very high chance you will consume corn in one fashion or another during the holiday season.

First, your main dish – maybe a ham or beef roast or lamb. Those hogs, steers and market lambs almost certainly were fed corn and/or distillers grains (a coproduct of ethanol production) and displayed in the grocery store in containers made from corn bioplastics.

Personally, my family eats fish (lutefisk to be exact -- from Sweden). Lutefisk is probably not fed corn as it is from the ocean, but many varieties of farm-raised fish are fed corn or ethanol coproducts, and according to panelists at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), they concluded that fish filets coming from fish fed byproducts of ethanol production, were great-tasting and a common holiday food.

Next, you may see fresh, frozen or canned corn as the star in many Christmas side dishes. A delicious corn pudding or cheesy corn-and-grits casserole for a Southern-style side, or corn scalloped in a rich creamy sauce could complement your Christmas meal. These are all common ways you may consume corn, but just wait…there is more.
Many of the packaging products used to process or store the food items for your meal are corn plastic called PLA (polylactic acid), which is made from corn starch and is 100% renewable and compostable. Cups, utensils, bowls, plates, deli containers, milk, water and juice bottles, candy wrappers and more all utilize corn PLA. This list goes on and on and new uses are being developed every day.

If you do your shopping at Walmart, you’re more than likely going to find PLA as well. Wal-Mart plans to use 114 million PLA containers a year, which company executives estimate will save 800,000 barrels of oil annually.

What about other corn products? High fructose corn syrup is found in your soda pop and many other products as a sweetener, cornstarch is found in pudding and ready-to-eat foods, dextrose improves the color and texture of breads and is found in peanut butter and sorbitol, which is used in the toothpaste you’ll need after eating your big meal and holiday snacks! Maltodextrin, another corn product, is found in instant tea, coffee and oatmeal.

After you’ve enjoyed your scrumptious Christmas meal, everyone knows what’s next…PRESENTS! Many gifts are made from corn PLA, instead of plastic made from oil, and even wrapped in paper made from PLA. iTunes or REI gift cards, Cargo Cosmetics packaging, batteries for the remote control cars, crayons, medicines, disposable diapers and baby wipes and adhesives all have corn as an ingredient in one way or another. That Samsung Reclaim cell phone you got for your significant other, is, in fact, a 'green' phone made from corn PLA bioplastics.

Corn-based clothing is also catching on, and can be found in upholstery, bedding, pillows, and high-end fashion fabrics. Even your carpet that is getting covered up by all of the opened presents and shredded wrapping paper could be made from corn-based polymers which are stain resistant and incredibly durable.

You Nebraskans want to know the best part?! Most of these PLA products have their roots right here in the state with Nebraska corn. NatureWorks, located in Blair, and owned by Cargill Dow, has created an environmentally friendly material that reaches the consumer in food packaging, cold drinking cups, duvets, pillows, blankets and even clothing. These products are environmentally friendly and are 100% renewable. The Blair plant uses more than 40,000 bushels of corn every day in the production of PLA (see here).

The Nebraska Corn Board produced a brochure a couple of years ago that highlights all of these and the many other uses of corn. To have a look, click here to download the .pdf file. Or click here to read about more PLA uses in Nebraska.

This holiday season check your labels and purchase products containing corn. This is the environmentally friendly choice, as well as helping out the Nebraska economy.

Have a very, Merry Christmas from the Nebraska Corn Board and staff!

Video, slides from opportunities for retaining ownership webinar now online

A full video and presentation slides of the Retained Ownership Decisions: Advantages of Feeding in Nebraska webinar are now available online, the Nebraska Corn Board said today.

The webinar will be available online through January 31, 2010.

The webinar, conducted last week, featured Dr. Darrell Mark, an extension livestock marketing specialist with the University of Nebraska, and Dr. Galen Erickson, a feedlot specialist with the University of Nebraska.

During the webinar, Erickson and Mark provided a wide range of information for cow-calf operators on what to consider when evaluating economic decisions, including selling, backgrounding and feeding out. They also covered options involving commercial feedyards -- and important items to consider when selecting a feedyard, including financing to cost of gain to market accessibility.

“Drs. Mark and Erickson provided great details on cost breakdowns for different options of finishing cattle, including where opportunities exist today and the costs involved and partnering opportunities with commercial feedyards,” said Kelsey Pope, ag program coordinator for the Nebraska Corn Board. “The researchers also covered feed costs and marketing opportunities in Nebraska.”

The Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Department of Agriculture sponsored the webinar.

Pope also noted that the Nebraska Department of Agriculture has a listing of more than 185 feedlots representing more than 1.5 million cattle on feed on its website – www.agr.ne.gov – in the Ag Promotion Division Section.

“The webinar and feedlot directory are great places to begin investigating opportunities to finish cattle in Nebraska,” Pope said. “Market conditions indicate that retaining ownership may make sense for cow-calf producers, and it may be beneficial to feed those cattle in Nebraska due to several advantages the state has, from quality feedlots to market access to a lower cost of gain.”

Podcast: Why social media is important for farmers

This week's podcast features Michele Payn-Knoper, founder of Cause Matters Corp., who spoke at the recent Nebraska Ag Classic. She explains why social media is important for farmers and those in agriculture.

You can find Payn-Knoper on Twitter and Facebook.

While in Nebraska, she asked Brandon Hunnicutt, a farmer from Giltner and president of NeCGA (@cornfedfarmer), and Cheryl Stubendieck of the Nebraska Farm Bureau (@NEFarmBureau) about social media. And she videoed them! You can check out the video of Hunnicutt here and Stubendieck here.

Payn-Knoper is introduced by the Nebraska Corn Growers Association's Mat Habrock.


Nebraska Corn Kernel podcasts are also available iTunes! Click here to subscribe.

Nebraska Corn Board honors Wehrbein, Bosselman, Andersen

At the Nebraska Ag Classic, the Nebraska Corn Board presented its Ag Achievement Award to former Senator Roger Wehrbein and its Ethanol Appreciation Award to Fred Bosselman Jr. The board also recently recognized Robert Andersen, president of the Nebraska Cooperative Council, with its Elevator Industry Appreciation Award.

For the past 18 years, the Nebraska Corn Board has recognized a Nebraska agricultural leader who demonstrates vision, commitment and a deep understanding of the value of agriculture and the corn checkoff to the state with its Ag Achievement Award.

Wehrbein, this year's Ag Achievement Award recipient, operates a diversified grain and livestock operation in the Plattsmouth area and was first elected to the Unicameral in 1986, serving the second district for 20 years.

“Senator Wehrbein served on numerous committees during his tenure in the Unicameral and is involved in many associations and organizations. His efforts on behalf of farmers and leadership in agriculture is why the Nebraska Corn Board recognized him with its Ag Achievement Award,” said Alan Tiemann, a farmer from Seward and chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board.

For the past four years, the Nebraska Corn Board has recognized an individual who has shown vision and support for the ethanol industry while being a partner with the corn industry with its Ethanol Appreciation Award. This year’s recipient is Fred Bosselman Jr., president of Grand Island-based Bosselman Energy Inc.

Tiemann said for many years Bosselman has supported corn ethanol and farmers across Nebraska, marketing e10 for decades and recently establishing Nebraska’s first ethanol blender pump.

“In the Nebraska Corn Board’s Powering Nebraska’s Economy With Corn campaign, Bosselman noted that, ‘Yes I am an oil guy, but I am also an ethanol guy.’,” Tiemann said. “He recognizes that ethanol and renewable energy are important to Nebraska and the energy business.”

At the Nebraska Cooperative Council annual meeting, the Nebraska Corn Board recognized Robert Andersen with its Elevator Industry Appreciation Award. This award is presented annually to an individual in the grain elevator industry who is supportive of the mission of the Nebraska corn checkoff.

Anderson, of Lincoln, has been president of the Nebraska Cooperative Council since 1974. He is a member of the board of directors for several agricultural organizations across the state, including the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council and the Nebraska 4-H Foundation Board. He also serves on the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, which is based in Washington, D.C.

”We have always appreciated the support and relationship that we have had with Robert Andersen and the Nebraska Cooperative Council,” said the Nebraska Corn Board’s Kelly Brunkhorst. “It was especially appreciated over the last year with support for the Nebraska corn checkoff program during the regular legislative session and the special session.”

NeCGA honors Johanns, elects officers

The Nebraska Corn Growers Association (NeCGA) awarded Senator Mike Johanns the 2009 Golden Ear Award during the Nebraska Ag Classic. The Golden Ear Award is presented annually to recognize and thank individuals for their contribution to agriculture, the corn industry and the NeCGA.

Senator Johanns, who grew up on a farm, has been involved in public service for 25 years, beginning at the local level and rising to mayor, governor, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and now representing Nebraskans in the U.S. Senate.

The NeCGA board of directors also re-elected its officers for 2010 during its annual meeting held ahead of the conference:

• Brandon Hunnicutt of Giltner was re-elected president. He represents the Hamilton County Corn Growers Association.
• Carl Sousek of Prague was re-elected vice president. He represents the Saunders County Corn Growers Association.
• Joel Grams of Minden was re-elected secretary. He represents the Kearney-Franklin Corn Growers Association.
• Elgin Bergt of Schuyler was re-elected treasurer. He represents the Colfax-Dodge Corn Growers Association.

Curtis Rohrich of Wood River and Dennis Scamehorn of York were also elected at-large directors at the meeting.

Social media & agriculture...are you wired?

At the Nebraska Ag Classic in Lincoln, we had the privilege of listening to Michele Payn-Knoper of Cause Matters Corp., with her presentation, “Farming Your Online Community: Social Networks and Beyond.”

Michele (or for you Tweeps, @mpaynknoper, as I always remember her) is a professional speaker and advocate for agriculture, as well as a social media guru, which you probably read about in a previous post about Ag Classic.

As she said in her presentation, 15 years ago everyone thought the Internet was just a fad. According to the Internet World Statistics web site, there are currently 6,767,805,208 Internet users worldwide. This is a number that has grown 380.3 percent since 2000. I'd say they were wrong about the Internet being a fad, and I don’t see social media being just a fad either with more than 350 million people just using Facebook.

So back to Michele: First, she setup a special hashtag for Ag Classic #NEAC09, and Twitter users all over the place were tweeting information shared from the conference using this to "tag" information.

In her presentation, she shared some great points about social media (SM) in agriculture.

1. SM = Influence; Leadership = Influence; Leadership + SM = Mass Influence 
2. 4 out of 5 Americans are active on social media. Have any of you watched a YouTube video? Have you read a news article online. Have you marketed grain online? This is all a part of social media… See, you all are doing it, now just take one step more and be on Twitter and Facebook! 
3. Opinions are formed daily in communities; ~99 percent of those without any connections to agriculture. It’s our chance as agriculturists to be proactive!
4. ~1/2 of large acreage farmers spend 5+ hours per week online; 23 percent spend 10+ hours online.

Some of you still skeptical about social media? Think of it as an investment in agriculture. Millions of consumers of your products are on Twitter and it is the perfect venue to share what you do as a producer of our nation's food product!

Take Ray Prock of California’s Ray-Lin Dairy (@RayLinDairy) for example.

When the dairy crisis in the U.S. began impacting his farm, it was only natural for Prock to share his experiences with the public via Twitter. In June 2009, Prock was one of three farmers who led a campaign on Twitter using the hashtag “#moo” to gain public awareness for American dairy farm families suffering through low milk prices. Over the course of eight hours, “#moo” became the fourth-most-popular term in the system, with 3,000 different people saying “#moo” more than 6,000 times! They were successful in reaching about 10,000 people. (Hubbart)

There is a lot of value in using social media to reach the public. Prock simply wants to "get the message of agriculture out there." This is the challenge for all farmers and ranchers nationwide: to get the story and truth of agriculture into the ears of consumers. HSUS, PETA, environmentalists, food critics, etc., are all trying to destroy our industry. Let's be on the offense instead of the defense, and use social media as a new, and effective avenue in today's communication world.

Michele's message drove home the same concept: "Humanize your story."

Consumers need to see a face of the farm from which their food comes from. When farmers can put their stories out for consumers, more knowledge, facts and information can be gained, and we can hope to reach a goal of no more misinformation and myths in agriculture.

If you want to “check out” Twitter without actually setting up a profile, go to: http://www.search.twitter.com/ and see what people are saying about food and agriculture

For those SM'ers online, be sure to check us out on Twitter at @NECornBoard and Facebook!