Coming soon to a parade near you

By Regina Janousek, Nebraska Corn Board intern

Did you know that 95% of America’s corn farms are family owned? Or that farmers have increased water use efficiency by 28% over 10 years? Corn farmers today use 36% less fertilizer than 30 years ago. And today’s family farmers grow five times more corn than they did in the 1930s and do so on 20% less land!  That’s producing more corn with less. That’s sustaining innovation!

The Nebraska Corn Board and the Nebraska Corn Growers Association are pleased to unveil their new Sustaining Innovation trailer that will be traveling to parades and events across the state of Nebraska.

The trailer will include banners showcasing positive messages from Nebraska’s family corn farmers, as well as promoting uses of corn as a livestock feed and as a fuel source.

The trailer will make its debut this Sunday at the Seward 4th of July Celebration. If you’re in the area come check out the parade around 4:00 p.m.!

The trailer will then make its way to St. Paul for the annual Grover Cleveland Alexander Days on July 10th; then off to Albion on July 11th for the Boone County Fair!

The trailer will be traveling to many other parades through the summer and fall.

Along with spreading messages about corn farmers sustaining innovation, Nebraska Corn Board members and members of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association will be handing out packages of candy corn with Sustaining Innovation messages throughout the parade.

Video: Ethanol Campaign in Washington

This week, the National Corn Growers Association rolled out a weeklong television campaign in Washington. The 30-second TV spot posted here is designed to capture the attention of Washington policymakers as they prepare to debate comprehensive energy legislation, as well as telling the story of ethanol at a crucial time for American consumers.

It is expected to reach nearly three out of five Washington adults between Monday and Friday, running 157 times on early-morning and late-night news programs in Washington and on major cable channels such as Fox, CNN and MSNBC.

“With all the policy and regulation debate and things happening in Washington, D.C., it just makes sense to run the ads there.” NCGA President Darrin Ihnen told a reporter for Brownfield on Monday. “NCGA wants to make sure that we’re in the room and part of the discussion to show the benefits of ethanol—and to show the benefits of agriculture when it comes to energy needs.”



Click here to read or listen to Darrin Ihnen’s interview with Brownfield.

Turning corn into cups, bags

The headline for this post comes from an article by Ross Boettcher that appeared in the Sunday Omaha World Herald that featured a profile of the NatureWorks plant in Blair – the plant where they turn corn into small, plastic-like beads that are used in everything from chip bags to cups to clothing.

The plant recently added a second manufacturing line so it has the capacity to produce 300 million pounds a year. One bushel of corn produces 22 pounds of the beads, which means the plant can use up to 13.6 million bushels of corn per year.

Here's the intro from the OWH article (read the full article here):

Next time you pick up a bag of Frito-Lay's Sun Chips, you'll notice — or hear — something different about the product's packaging.

Instead of the muffled ruffle of typical chip bags, Frito-Lay's recently deployed package sounds more like hundreds of aluminum cans being squashed under a boot.

There's a reason, and a reward, for the noisy bag. It's fully compostable, thanks to a renewable, plant-based plastic manufactured in Blair, Neb., by NatureWorks, a Cargill subsidiary.

NatureWorks doesn't actually make the Sun Chips bags, which were announced on Earth Day in 2009 and introduced on Earth Day this year.

Instead, the Blair company makes tiny, plasticlike beads from the starch in corn, and then sells them to packaging firms or companies such as Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Target and Toyota. Those companies turn the beads, whose trade name is Ingeo, into products like chip bags, plastic drink cups, food containers, floor mats for vehicles and other products normally made with petroleum-based plastics.

For previous posts we've done on these kinds of products made from corn, click on one of the headlines below:

Corn-based PLA turning up in more places

Sun Chips: There's a bit of Nebraska in that compostable bag

You can’t have Christmas without corn!

Your corn is calling

Building 600,000 bushels of corn storage in 2 minutes

I don't know about you, but I love these kinds of videos. In this case they feature concrete grain storage silos being constructed right here in Nebraska -- one set of silos in Sedan and another just west of Aurora (at Aurora West). Both are being built by Aurora Cooperative (read about the company's grain terminal expansion project here).

This first video was built from snapshots taken every 90 seconds for 122 hours -- the length of the pour. The cooperative said the silos will hold 600,00 bushels of grain and have a total height of 140 feet. Every three minutes the slip, which holds the concrete, moves up 1 inch (it takes 12 yards of concrete per 1 foot of height).

Once you start pouring you can't stop until you're done. That meant a lot of work for the two crews working 12-hour shifts.

For a 3-minute video of construction at Aurora West, click here. It features trains coming and going -- and a lightening strike. Great stuff.

USDA: Roadmap reaffirms commitment to energy independence

The U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday released a report that outlines both the current state of renewable transportation fuels efforts in America and a plan to develop regional strategies to increase the production, marketing and distribution of biofuels.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted that the current ethanol industry "provides a solid foundation to build upon and reach the 36 billion gallon goal. As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, we must reaffirm our commitment to bring our country closer to complete energy independence and this report provides a roadmap to achieve that goal."

The current ethanol industry Vilsack is referring to is the corn ethanol sector, which will produce some 12 billion gallons of ethanol this year -- even though the capacity is 13.5 billion gallons and another 1.2 billion gallons of capacity are under construction. That should put corn ethanol right on target to produce 15 billion gallons of ethanol by by 2015 as noted in the Renewable Fuels Standard.

The 36 billion gallon goal Vilsack refers to is the entire biofuels that are to be produced by 2022 as part of the RFS (which, by the way, was included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 - get that? Energy Independence.).

Vilsack noted that continuing to advance biofuels will "create jobs, combat global warming, reduce fossil fuel dependence and lay a strong foundation for a strong 21st Century rural economy, and I am confident that we can meet the threshold of producing 36 billion gallons of biofuel annually by 2022."

The report identifies different biomass feedstocks to be utilized in developing biofuels and calls for the funding of further investments in research and development of:

• Feedstock;
• Sustainable production and management systems;
• Efficient conversion technologies and high-value bioproducts, and
• Decision support and policy analysis tools.

For more, click here for USDA's announcement or click here (.pdf) for the full report. It contains some good nuggets.

Podcast: Ethanol producers, like farmers, are getting more efficient

In this podcast, Brian Nedrow, a member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association and a farmer from Geneva, discusses a recent study shows that ethanol plants have reduced their energy inputs while at the same time producing more ethanol per bushel of corn.

He notes that, compared to 2001, ethanol plants in 2008 used 28 percent less thermal energy like natural gas per gallon of ethanol produced. They also used 32 percent less electricity to produce a gallon of ethanol.

At the same time, ethanol plants in 2008 produced 2.78 gallons of ethanol per bushel of corn. That’s an increase of 5.3 percent.

Nedrow said the findings may prove useful to state and federal energy policy makers who study the pros and cons of fuels based on their full life-cycle, or the total energy needed to create a fuel compared to its energy output and related greenhouse gases emissions.

The study’s author noted that biofuel refineries are in a rapid innovation phase. Certainly that is true, and it underscores the importance of using current data when talking about a life cycle analysis.

Ethanol production, like corn production, simply gets better over time. Looking backward with outdated data just doesn’t make sense.

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

Nebraska farmers not only work dirt, they work agvocacy!

Last Friday transpired a “first” for several Nebraska farmers – they engaged in social media! Farmers and individuals involved in agriculture met up from across the state in Beatrice, Nebraska to participate in the Social Media Training Workshop, conducted by Michele Payn-Knoper, founder of Cause Matters, Corp. and AgChat Foundation. This workshop was coordinated by the Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Corn Growers Association and was sponsored by the National Corn Growers Association’s Image and Activism Campaign Project.

Michele is one of the foremost experts on using social media tools to get positive messages out about agriculture. She started out the session explaining the importance of farmers using social media to agvocate and the power that conversations within social media hold.

“Are you concerned about how the media is portraying agriculture, and how consumers view where their food comes from?” Payn-Knoper asked. “Because the conversation is happening, whether you are there or not.”

Real headlines in today’s online communications and news articles read, “Dirty Corn Ethanol”; “The Vulgar Truth about U.S. Meats”; “Is the Ethanol Industry Failing or Flourishing?”; “Corn industry brazenly turns Gulf disaster into marketing opportunity”; “Why High Fructose Corn Syrup is Bad For You”. These journalists are reaching people with their messages, and consumers believe them! This is why it is so important to get the real voice of agriculture heard.

Michele shared some important facts with the participants about social media and networking. According to Jupiter Research, social networking users are three times more likely to trust the opinions of peers over advertisements when making decisions. This leads to the fact that what farmers do is novel to most consumers and that farmers are a trusted source of information about where their food comes from. The average American consumer spends 2.7 hours per day on the mobile web, which allows for a great audience for farmers to put out positive messages about agriculture!

Michele also set some ground rules for agriculturalists using social media:
1. Be 100% authentic and transparent.
2. Build a community around your purpose for engaging in a social network.
3. Understand that your updates are a novelty to 98.5% of U.S. population.
4. Expand beyond agriculture; test messages and ideas in new circles of connections (i.e. If you like running, connect with other runners in social media which gives you a broader audience to share your positive agriculture messages.)
5. Engage in conversation with your community. (i.e. Don’t just be a listener to read what others are saying about agriculture – contribute your ideas!)
6. Put a face on the plate, helps consumers relate. (i.e. Choose a picture of yourself instead of your farm equipment or field.)

In the morning portion of the workshop, participants were introduced to the essentials about facebook and those who didn’t already have an account got hands-on help signing up. In the afternoon, participants learned all about twitter and everyone who didn’t have twitter signed up and started “tweeting” on the spot! Tweeps at the workshop who started twitter before included: @mpaynknoper, @rrjanousek, @NECornBoard, @Ag4Front, @NeCGA, @Cornfrmr, @NESoybeanBoard, @megamaru, @nebrnancy, and @cornfedfarmer. New tweeps after the end of the day included: @NE_AFAN, @kyleregelean, @bzanga, @farmproud, @kaggdaddy, @farmdrg, @weselyfarms, and @kathyu13.

Michele gave Nebraska a compliment that we had some of the most tech-savvy farmers in all the workshops so far she’s seen. But that just allowed her to challenge the group to continue using social media for a bigger and broader voice for agriculture!

To read more about Nebraska Corn’s efforts in social media, visit these websites:
www.nebraskacorn.org/
http://www.necga.org/
http://www.nebraskacorn.blogspot.com/
www.twitter.com/NECornBoard
www.twitter.com/NeCGA
www.facebook.com/NebraskaCornBoard
www.facebook.com/NeCGA
www.flickr.com/photos/NECornBoard
www.YouTube.com/TheCobSquad
Nebraska Corn Board on LinkedIn

USDA: Corn ethanol a 'substantial net energy gain'

The net energy balance for corn ethanol increased from 1.76 to 2.3 BTUs of required energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture noted in a recent news release. That means that for every 1 BTU of energy put into corn ethanol (from growing the corn through making ethanol), you get 2.3 BTUs of energy in return.

In fact, USDA said, corn ethanol production has transitioned from "a moderate net energy gain in the 1990s, to a substantial net energy gain in the present. And there are still prospects for improvement."

It said ethanol yields have increased by about 10 percent in the last 20 years, so proportionately less corn is required. In addition to refinements in ethanol technology, corn yields have increased by 39 percent over the last 20 years, requiring less land to produce ethanol.

The report measured all conventional fossil fuel energy used in the production of 1 gallon of corn ethanol. USDA noted that the ratio is somewhat higher for companies that are partially substituting biomass energy in processing energy.

The report is based on a USDA survey of corn growers for the year 2005 and ethanol plants in 2008, which indicates the net energy gain from converting corn to ethanol is improving in efficiency. The survey asked ethanol producers to respond to questions about ethanol yield (undenatured) per bushel of corn and energy used in the plants. The 2008 updates presented in the report recorded the effects of current practices used by corn producers and ethanol processors.

Click here for the full study (.pdf).

This study comes after a recent University of Illinois report that showed ethanol plant energy use declined significantly from 2001 to 2008. During that time, thermal energy use (natural gas) declined 28 percent and electrical use declined 32 percent per gallon of ethanol produced. Ethanol per bushel of corn, meanwhile, increased 5.3 percent to 2.78 gallons per bushel. For more, click here.

Crop update: 78% of Nebraksa corn in good to excellent condition

It's safe to say that much of the corn crop in Nebraska has received plenty of water from Mother Nature over the last week. Localized flooding occurred in many locations and one farmer noted today that certainly a few acres will be drowned out. Hail and wind damage are other issues but seemed to be not as widespread or damaging as the heavy rain.

Heat and sunshine will do wonders for the crop.

When I asked on Twitter over the weekend how tall the corn was getting, I got a few reports back from Nebraska growers. @MarkJagles said his was 3-4 ft. tall, while @cornfedfarmer said "chest high" - and that the crop doubles in size each week time of year. @agchick over in Illinois said 15 inches to 6 feet, noting that some acres were planted later than others -- to which @cornfedfarmer agreed, as some Nebraska acres aren't a foot tall yet.

Anyway, the USDA noted today that 78 percent of Nebraska's crop was in good to excellent condition. This is off from 85 percent last week but is to be expected with all the rain. That leaves 18 percent of the crop in fair condition and 4 percent as poor to very poor.

Nationally, USDA said 75 percent of the crop is in good to excellent condition, down from 79 percent last week but still ahead of 70 percent from last year. That leaves 18 percent of the crop in fair condition and 7 percent in poor to very poor.

For more details on Nebraska's crop, be sure to check out the Nebraska Corn Board's Crop Progress Update.

This week's photos, from the Nebraska Corn Board's 2010 Crop Progress collection, include one showing water standing in a corn field from the Imperial FFA chapter and another from the Sumner-Eddyville-Miller FFA Chapter showing some good looking corn that needs its weeds treated. My guess is that will happen as soon as it dries out a bit. (Ignore the date on that second photo...the camera got reset.) Click on a photo for a larger image.

Nebraska’s dairy industry grows

The Nebraska dairy industry produced more than 1.2 billion pounds of milk last year, an increase over the previous year, the Nebraska Corn Board noted in reviewing annual statistics from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

“The number of dairy cows in Nebraska totaled some 61,000 head, which is an increase over the prior year. Growth in the dairy industry is something few states can show, as the dairy markets struggled nationally and many states saw their cow herd numbers decline,” Kelsey Pope, ag promotion coordinator with the Nebraska Corn Board, said in a news release. “We’re fortunate to have gained cows, as dairy farms provide a number of good jobs and gives a boost to the local economy. With June being Dairy Month, this is something to celebrate – perhaps with a tall glass of milk.”

Dennis Gengenbach, a farmer from Smithfield and member of the Nebraska Corn Board, noted that there is a tremendous synergy between the dairy industry and corn and related co-products.

“Dairy cattle consume a lot of feed, and corn and distillers grains are part of their ration, along with many other locally-produced feedstuffs, including a great number of forages,” Gengenbach said. “Distillers grains, particularly, are a good ingredient for dairy cattle, and we can thank the ethanol industry for that, as distillers grains are produced by corn ethanol plants.”

He explained that ethanol plants only use the starch portion of the kernel, returning the other components to the livestock industries as a high protein feed ingredient.

“The state’s dairy receipts totaled about $172 million last year, but the sector’s total impact is considerably higher because so many dollars circulate several times through the local economy,” Pope said. “Everything from a strong tax base, to feed, veterinary care, equipment, trucking, milk processing and more, a strong dairy sector is good for the state.”