Corn Commentary

Farmer Best at Telling Their Own Story

 Building off a successful campaign conducted across Nebraska a year ago, Nebraska Corn Farmers have created a new series of messages that feature several Nebraska farm families sharing facts about how today’s corn farmers are more sustainable than ever.

The Sustaining Innovation campaign echoes a promotional campaign conducted in Washington, D.C. by the Corn Farmers Coalition which is comprised of more than a dozen state corn organizations including Nebraska and the National Corn Growers Association.

 “We feel it is important to share positive messages about corn farming today to better help people understand just how far farmers have come in caring for the environment while producing a growing abundance of corn,” Curt Friesen, a farmer from Henderson who chairs the Nebraska Corn Board’s market development committee, said in a news release.

Some of the positive messages include the fact that American farmers have reduced the energy used to produce a bushel of corn by 37 percent over the past three decades and that farmers are producing more corn per ounce of fertilizer than just 35 years ago.

 Importantly, the messages also highlight the fact that 95 percent of all corn farms in the nation are family owned.

“We’re excited to be part of this campaign because we believe family corn farmers have made significant advancements to grow more corn per acre while requiring fewer inputs per bushel to do so,” said Chris Flaming, who is featured in one of the ads with his wife, Korene, and children. The Flamings farm near Elsie, Nebraska.

“People need to understand that it’s real families making their livelihood raising corn and that we’re doing the right things because we want our children to have an opportunity to farm, too,” Chris Flaming said

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