Wordless Wednesday | Pink corn

"Pink" treated seed corn

Thanks to the Howells-Clarkson FFA Chapter for this Crop Progress photo. You can see all of the Crop Progress photos from FFA chapters around the state at our online Flickr photo album.

Nebraska corn 57% planted, 4% emerged

Nebraska corn farmers had 57 percent of the corn crop planted as of yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop progress report this afternoon. That's a big jump from only 15 percent planted last week – and continued good weather will allow farmers rapidly advance that figure this week. Some farmers, in fact, have already moved on to soybeans (15 percent of the state's soy crop is planted, 1 point ahead of the five-year average).

If you follow USDA's estimate that Nebraska farmers will plant 9.5 million acres of corn this year, then Nebraska farmers planted about 4 million acres of corn in the last seven days.

A year ago Nebraska farmers had 74 percent of their corn planted, but last spring's weather was nearly ideal. The five-year average is 62 percent planted by this date.

USDA also noted that about 4 percent of Nebraska's corn crop is emerged. That figure will jump this week, too, with warmer weather spurring things on.

Nationally, USDA said 40 percent of the corn crop is planted, a good jump from last week's 13 percent but still behind the five-year average of 59 percent planted. A year ago 80 percent of the crop was planted. Iowa saw the biggest jump in planting this past week – moving from 8 percent planted a week ago to 69 percent this week, matching its five-year average. (FYI - That means Iowa farmers planted about 8.5 million acres in seven days – more than 1 million acres a day!)

Some states are still lagging, but it is only May 9 and there is plenty of time to get corn in the ground.

USDA said 7 percent of the nation's corn crop had emerged, off from 36 percent last year and 21 percent for the five-year average.

This week's photo comes from the Imperial FFA Chapter and shows corn plants just emerging from the soil. It's part of the Nebraska Corn Board's 2011 crop progress photo set on Flickr. Be sure to check out more photos and details of the crop year at the Board's Crop Progress Update page.

Podcast: Nebraska farmers making $2.6 billion investment this spring

In this podcast, Don Hutchens, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board, notes that Nebraska corn farmers will be making a $2.6 billion investment this spring just to get the corn planted and off to a good start.

"It’s an investment that has a significant economic impact on dozens of businesses in rural communities and, in fact, the entire state," Hutchens said. "It’s also an investment that is subject to Mother Nature and the whims of outside markets."

It's an investment in seed, fertilizer, fuel and all the other inputs it takes to get the crop in the ground and growing. Those have to come from somewhere, and local seed dealers, cooperatives and dozens of others benefit.

It all adds up pretty quickly, to more than $270 on average per acre based on estimates calculated by the University of Nebraska Extension (multiply that by 9.5 million acres USDA said Nebraska farmers will plant this year to reach the $2.6 billion). But that doesn’t tell the whole story, Hutchens said. Those dollars get circulated through communities and the entire state. With a multiplier of 2.5, planting corn this year will actually provide a $6.5 billion economic impact across the state as a whole, he said.

Those estimates don’t include labor or land costs, or the cost of irrigating for those farmers who carefully utilize that resource. It also doesn’t include the expense of harvesting, hauling and storing the final crop. All those costs come later and provide their own economic impact.

And along the way, it provides tremendous job opportunities in many different facets of the agribusiness sector.

For more on this subject, click here.

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

Nebraska Corn Salutes May for Beef Month

May is Beef Month!

We produced a video to show our support of the beef industry and to brag a little bit about how great our Nebraska corn-fed beef tastes!

Beef is obviously important in Nebraska, ranking number one in commercial red meat production. And the farmers and ranchers who raise cattle are experts at converting Nebraska corn and ethanol co-products like distillers grains into nutritious, value-added beef.

Because of this, the Nebraska Corn Board invests checkoff dollars supporting our state’s beef industry, research for cattle production and nutrition, and global market development programs that feature Nebraska beef.

Take a couple of minutes to watch this video, and enjoy beef this May – it’s what’s for dinner!

Wordless Wednesday | Planting finally rolling

Thanks to the Imperial FFA Chapter for their Crop Progress photos. To see more photos, check out our online album here.

Podcast: Keep safety in mind this spring

In this podcast, Steve Ebke, a farmer from Daykin and member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, encourages farmers across the state to keep safety in mind while they are busy planting USDA's estimated 9.5 million acres of corn this spring.

He encourages farmers to take a break from time to time and avoid rushing just to get a few more acres in ahead of an oncoming rain.

He also has a message for farmers, people in town and visitors. "We all appreciate those peaceful country roads," he said, "but please be aware of farm equipment traveling from field to field and farm to farm. It’s large and moving pretty slow, meaning only a second or two is needed to close that distance for a car traveling at highway speeds. So drive safe and keep an eye out for all the farmers out there."

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

NASCAR partnership means deals for corn farmers

When the National Corn Growers Association and NASCAR formed a partnership – with NCGA becoming an Official Partner of NASCAR – all the perks and benefits of that partnership were extended to every corn grower who is a member of their state corn grower organization, which is, in turn, is a member of NCGA. We're talking discounts on race tickets, NASCAR gear, business services and more!

A key component of the partnership, of course, is American Ethanol, which will be on display at every race – on the fuel ports of every car, on the green flag, in at-track hospitality programs, via the American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award and in TV and radio commercials that showcase America’s corn farmers.

In Nebraska, the Nebraska Corn Board, which administers check-off funds, supports the partnership and promotion of ethanol via NASCAR by contributing funding through the NCGA.

The benefits of NCGA's position as an Official Sponsor, though, extend to all members of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, which is the state's corn grower membership organization.

This is an exciting partnership that showcases the high performance benefits of domestic, American Ethanol – more than 75 million fans will hear this positive message thanks to the support of corn farmers! 

To help members gain access to all the partner benefits, NCGA launched an online portal to all things NASCAR. It's an online connection customized for NCGA by NASCAR.

In the “Deals” section of the website, members have access to exclusive offers on the latest gear and unadvertised offers from Official NASCAR Partners and Licensees such as:

• Bank of America,
• DirectTV,
• Office Depot,
• Hotels like the Gaylord Texan and Hard Rock Las Vegas,
• Sprint Wireless,
• U Coat It floor coatings, and
• UPS.

Plus, a whole host of great benefits for NASCAR fans!

Want to see the action in person? The “Race Tickets” section will hook you up with best deals on the circuit for select races. NASCAR RacePoints is the official rewards program of NASCAR, where you can enroll and earn points when purchasing NASCAR apparel, merchandise, collectibles and experiences.

On the “Fan Center” page, you can view weekly race videos, become part of NASCAR’s social network and find the NASCAR Fan Guide, wallpaper and screen saver downloads. Even test your NASCAR knowledge every week for a chance to win cool prizes in the “Play to Win” section.

To register and take advantage of all these offers, click here – just note that you need to be a member of NeCGA/NCGA to qualify.

Wordless Wednesday | Planting off to a slow start

Thanks to the Imperial FFA Chapter for their Crop Progress photos. To see more photos, check out our online album here.

Nebraska corn farmers making $2.6 billion investment

From Nebraska Corn Board's Crop Progress update
for April 25.

It takes a lot more than hard work to get the corn crop planted. It also takes money – for everything from seed to fertilizer to all the other inputs it takes to get the crop in the ground and off to a good start. Those purchases come from local seed dealers, cooperatives and dozens of other businesses that benefit from the investment farmers make each spring planting corn.

In Nebraska, that investment comes to some $2.6 billion, which has a significant economic impact on rural communities and the entire state.

“This multi-billion dollar investment, perhaps better known as planting, occurs in just a few weeks every spring,” Don Hutchens, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board, said in a news release. “It’s a tremendous investment, but one that also is subject to Mother Nature and the whims of outside markets.”

To put the $2.6 billion investment into perspective, Hutchens compared it to the combined construction investments in Lincoln and Omaha. “Over a two-year period, that comes to about $900 million and includes the construction costs of an arena, baseball stadium and a dozen other projects, all very valuable growth investments, but about one-third the investment corn farmers make each and every spring,” Hutchens said.

On average, farmers spend more than $270 per acre to get the crop in the ground and off to a good start, based on estimates calculated by the University of Nebraska Extension. Multiplied by the 9.5 million acres the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Nebraska farmers will plant this year, provides the $2.6 billion investment by Nebraska corn farmers.

That investment doesn’t include the whole story, though. “Those dollars get circulated through communities and the entire state,” Hutchens said. With a multiplier of 2.5, planting corn this year will actually provide a $6.5 billion economic impact across the state.

Those estimates don’t include labor or land costs, or the cost of irrigating for those farmers who carefully utilize that resource. It also doesn’t include the expense of harvesting, hauling and storing the final crop. All those costs come later and provide their own economic impact.

“While the dollars invested in getting the crop off to a good start are impressive, it also doesn’t include the value of that corn crop once it is harvested,” Hutchens said. “From feed to fuel to fiber, that crop is worth a whole lot more than just bushels of grain sold into the market.”

Corn harvested this fall will be used as feed for livestock and poultry, which results in high-value protein products that Nebraskans and people all over the world enjoy. Ethanol is another important market. That process involves taking corn and creating two products – fuel that helps keep gas prices lower than they otherwise would be and millions of tons of distillers grains, another feed product for livestock and poultry.

Bio-renewable materials like PLA are also made from corn. They are used in everything from plastics to fabrics and replace their petroleum-based counterparts in the process.

Lincoln Earth Day to celebrate ethanol in Nebraska

By Kim Clark, Nebraska Corn Board Ag Program Manager

This Friday, April 22, marks the day Earth Day has been celebrated for the past 40 years. Many people pledge to help on Earth Day to secure a healthy environment for the future. This can be is done through environmental education, planting trees, water conservation, promoting a green environment, and more.

America’s corn farmers also help the environment every year. They have reduced greenhouse gas emissions, reduced nitrogen utilization, and grow more on less acres. The corn our farmers grow is used for food, feed, fuel, and fiber – all that from just one crop!

The starch portion of the corn kernel is used to make ethanol fuel, and the protein portion, a byproduct of the ethanol fuel, of the corn kernel is used to feed livestock -- beef, dairy, poultry, and pork. Ethanol, produced by America’s corn farmers, reduces our dependency on foreign oil, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, creates jobs in America, and promotes American agriculture. There are just some of the many ways America’s corn farmers are helping the Earth – which is an everyday habit for them.

In Nebraska, the Lincoln Earth Day event will be celebrated on Saturday, April 23 in Antelope Park at the Auld Recreation Center. The Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Ethanol Board are partnering together to promote ethanol. On display will be a flexible fuel vehicle (FFV) truck and blender pump. Blender pumps mix ethanol fuel together for use in FFVs. The fuel blends in blender pumps can be E10, 10% ethanol and 90% regular gasoline to E85, 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

Stop by our booth between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm to learn more about ethanol fuel and FFVs and to show your support for America’s corn farmers!