Facing tough decisions with a shrinking state budget, Gov. Jay Nixon reaffirmed his strong support for agriculture and Missouri’s farmer-owned ethanol cooperatives during his State of the State address this week. A testament of his commitment to rural farm families, the newly elected governor called for full funding of the Missouri Qualified Fuel Ethanol Producer Incentive Fund.
“We know that within Missouri’s own agricultural capacity lies a possible solution to our nation’s energy crisis,” said Governor Nixon. “Missouri must remain on the leading edge of efforts to develop the renewable energy sources of our future. That’s why my budget provides full funding for ethanol and bio-fuels.”
Missouri’s corn growers applauded the governor’s recommendation which will now be sent on to the state legislature. Missouri Corn Growers Association president Mike Geske said, “We anticipate strong support from the General Assembly and look forward to working with them as they move through this process. Now is not the time to cut a program that generates additional state revenue, creates jobs and stimulates the state’s economy.”
Based on the amount of capital invested and employment estimates for Missouri’s six established ethanol facilities, the University of Missouri’s Economic and Policy Analysis Research Center estimates “the cumulative, present value impact” of Missouri’s ethanol industry to be $2.057 billion over 25 years.
Corn growers took a lot of flack from the poultry industry last year over the increase in ethanol production but at least poultry producers still recognize the important relationship they have with those who grow their feed.
I am at the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta this week and I spoke with Tom Hensley, president of Fieldale Farms in Baldwin, Georgia who presented “The Industry Outlook: An Executive Management Perspective” at the expo. While he believes that increased ethanol production has hurt the poultry industry, he says “We love our corn growers, without them we don’t exist - chickens can’t eat anything but corn.”
He does believe that corn prices will go down this year and that eventually there will be some equilibrium between the use of corn for ethanol and feed.
While much of the mainstream media and blog coverage surrounding shoddy research on the connection between high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and mercury focuses on the sensational, the authoritative Web site WedMD.com offers a more balanced perspective.
Interestingly, even the lead source at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), the organization behind this latest attack, seems to back-pedal a little.
(Dr. David) Wallinga and colleagues caution that their list was “just a snapshot in time; we only tested one sample of each product. That clearly is not sufficient grounds to give definitive advice to consumers.”
and
Wallinga points out that the lab only tested for total mercury levels, not methylmercury or other types of mercury. He also notes that the EPA has a “reference dose,” or upper limit, for methylmercury intake but not for other forms of mercury.
Further, the WebMD report quotes another expert:
“I would imagine that a good majority of the mercury that is detected would have been in the form of elemental mercury,” not methylmercury, toxicologist Carl Winter, PhD, tells WebMD. Winter, who directs the FoodSafe Program at the University of California, Davis, says that methylmercury is “by far the most toxic form of mercury” because methylmercury is better absorbed by the body than other forms of mercury.
“We have a principle in toxicology, which is the dose makes the poison,” says Winter. “It’s the amount of a chemical, not its presence or absence, that determines the potential for harm, and frankly, I don’t see based on their findings that they’ve made much of a case that this is something that consumers need to worry about.”
Our new U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, just completed his inaugural teleconference with the media. With opening and closing statements and Q&A, it’s about 50 minutes long. I’m betting we’ll hear a lot about it over the next couple days.
Of course there is a lot in it for corn growers and anyone involved in agriculture to be interested in. You can listen to and even download the full call-in on AgWired at this link.
One piece I pulled out that you might find interesting is on the Secretary’s answer to a question about increasing the blend cap for ethanol. A reporter asked if sound science and data supports an expansion of the ethanol blending cap. He didn’t really directly answer that but said that USDA would support accelerating research on ethanol production and promoting second and third generation feedstocks.
You can listen to the Secretary’s answer to that question here:
A new report shows that current corn-ethanol systems are much more energy efficient and have a much greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than previously published studies.
Compared to the earlier studies, UNL’s research team utilized more recent data that better represent how the corn ethanol industry is currently performing. In particular, updated values were used for: (1) yields and inputs required for corn production, (2) energy requirements in the ethanol plant, and (3) a more accurate representation of how co-products are used in livestock diets.
As a result, the report concluded that “Direct effect GHG emissions were estimated to be equivalent to a 48% to 59% reduction compared to gasoline, a twofold to threefold greater reduction than reported in previous studies.” The report also found that the eight corn-ethanol scenarios had net energy ratio (NER) values from 1.29 to 2.23, meaning ethanol returned 29 to 123 percent more energy than was required for its production.
Corn could be the reason that that U.S. Airways flight landed in the Hudson River last week, according to Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute. Seriously?
Time Magazine this week blames global warming for more geese around airports leading to more airplane bird strikes, but Avery says, “Time reached the wrong conclusion. Research indicates we should blame the prosaic corn harvester-and perhaps our attempt to expand corn production for biofuels.”
He says that there has been a five-fold increase in the number of Canadian geese since 1970 because of the type of harvesting equipment used by corn farmers and because of the increase in corn acreage in the Northeast.
Meanwhile, farmers have been planting still more corn, on every possible corner of the eastern seaboard, to get their share of those ethanol subsidies. Corn planting expanded about 50 percent in the mid-Atlantic States from 2002-2006, according to Virginia Tech, with comparable increases in New York and Pennsylvania.
Avery’s solution to the problem of geese getting sucked into airplane engines is better bird-strike prevention and “more real goose research.”
Over 125 cattlemen and livestock producers gathered on a the farm of a Missouri state senator last weekend to learn more about accessing, utilizing and storing the ethanol co-product distillers grains.
Many producers traveled from surrounding counties to attend the event at the south-central Missouri farm of Senator Frank Barnitz (D-Lake Spring). “We had a really big crowd with a lot of interest in corn co-products,” Sen. Barnitz said. “I think the economics from the cost of the feed and the quality that we’ve seen with cows on grass, distillers grains are a big benefit. When you buy a commercial product that costs 10 or 12 or 14 dollars a hundred weight versus something that costs about half that, the economics are certainly there to try to feed something of less cost yet equal quality.”
The field day was sponsored by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, University of Missouri Extension and South Ozarks Premier Beef Marketers, LLC. “This field day provided an excellent opportunity for livestock producers to see corn co-products utilized effectively in a beef backgrounding operation,” said Gary Wheeler, Missouri Corn director of business development. “We hope through field days like this one, we can help cattle producers add to their bottom line by incorporating the latest feeding and storage techniques for this high-quality feedstuff.”
The field day featured a tour of storage facilities, feeding equipment and a feedlot where ethanol co-products are currently being used and evaluated.
A group of Midwest corn growers (from Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska) is on a two week “study tour” in Brazil and Argentina. Among the things learned:
With its climate, Brazil can actually grow two crops a year—which typically are soybeans (soja) and corn (milho). However, they are working to develop a triple-cropping system in which they plant grass with the corn. Once the corn is harvested, cattle are turned out on the grass as pasture. Naturally, those of us who fight grasses and weeds in cornfields wondered about the effect of the grasses on corn yields, but the value of the grass in terms of cattle production apparently overcomes the yield drag on the corn.
The trip ends Jan. 25, and you can enjoy the obeservations on their blog, here.
The St. Louis Agribusiness Club has honored Illinois farmer Greg Guenther with the 2008 Agribusiness Leader of the Year Award.
Greg has been a long-time leader in the corn growing world, having served eight years on the Illinois Corn Grower (ICGA) board and three years on the National Corn Growers board. He was recently honored by the ICGA with their World of Corn Award, which goes to individuals, organizations or businesses for making significant contributions to the corn industry. Greg is also head of GLB Consulting LLC, a company that provides seminars in bioenergy investing.
Chuck Zimmerman interviewed Greg last week when he received the award at the agribusiness club luncheon. They discussed a number of topics, including the new administration and what the future may hold for the ethanol industry. Greg expresssed concern about the trend toward “next generation” biofuels and what that will mean for farmers who have invested in increasing yield and production of corn to make ethanol.
US House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota has announced the members of the committee for the 111th Congress.
The House Democratic Steering Committee has nominated 28 Democrats, including 11 freshmen Members and 17 returning Members, to serve on the House Agriculture Committee. The House Republican Conference has named 17 Republicans to serve on the Committee and has left one seat vacant.
Facing tough decisions with a shrinking state budget, Gov. Jay Nixon reaffirmed his strong support for agriculture and Missouri’s farmer-owned ethanol cooperatives during his State of the State address this week. A testament of his commitment to rural farm families, the newly elected governor called for full funding of the Missouri Qualified Fuel Ethanol Producer Incentive Fund. 
Corn growers took a lot of flack from the poultry industry last year over the increase in ethanol production but at least poultry producers still recognize the important relationship they have with those who grow their feed.
Our new U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, just completed his inaugural teleconference with the media. With opening and closing statements and Q&A, it’s about 50 minutes long. I’m betting we’ll hear a lot about it over the next couple days.
The report, 
Time Magazine this week blames global warming for more geese around airports leading to more airplane bird strikes, but Avery says, “Time reached the wrong conclusion. Research indicates we should blame the prosaic corn harvester-and perhaps our attempt to expand corn production for biofuels.”
Over 125 cattlemen and livestock producers gathered on a the farm of a Missouri state senator last weekend to learn more about accessing, utilizing and storing the ethanol co-product distillers grains.
The field day was sponsored by the 
The 
US House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota has announced the members of the committee for the 111th Congress. 