As over 200 corn growers were meeting in the nation’s capitol this week, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) blasted corn ethanol in an attempt to kill legislation that would allow 15% ethanol blends to be sold year round, instead of being restricted in some areas during the summer months. Inhofe began his speech by complaining that “the fossil fuel industry has …
Corn and Soybean Condition Down Slightly
Most of the corn and soybeans around the country remain in good to excellent condition but dry weather is taking a toll in some areas. According to the latest USDA-NASS report, corn condition as of Sunday was rated 64 percent good to excellent and only 11 percent poor to very poor, but South Dakota’s corn is ranked as 38% poor …
Syngenta Receives China Approval for Agrisure Duracade®
Syngenta has received notification of import approval from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture for its Agrisure Duracade® trait, which covers corn grain and processing co-products, including dried distillers grains (DDGs), for food and feed use. “Obtaining this regulatory approval opens up new opportunities within our portfolio,” said David Hollinrake, president of Syngenta Seeds, LLC. “Moving forward, growers can expect expanded …
Helio Celebrates Win at Iowa Corn 300
The IndyCar spotlight was on Helio Castraneves Sunday as he cruised to his first win in three years at the Iowa Corn 300 and celebrated with his trademark Spider-Man climb up the track fence – giving the #IowaCorn300 hashtag lots of Twitter traction, since it was coincidentally the opening weekend for the new Spider-Man: Homecoming movie. The race showcases Iowa’s …
ZimmCast with NCGA Communications
In this week’s episode of the ZimmCast I talk with Mary Hagan, Vice President of Communications, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Although Mary didn’t imagine a career working in agricultural communications she has become a farm lover after the opportunity to work for NCGA came about. Mary’s background has suited her well to work on some of the challenges facing …
Industry Reacts to Proposed Biofuels Levels
The ethanol industry and corn farmers are pleased, but biodiesel producers and soybean growers are not so much with new proposed levels for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) released by the Environmental Protection Agency. The 2018 RFS level for conventional biofuels, including corn ethanol, was maintained at 15 billion gallons, the maximum under current law, which Renewable Fuels …
NCGA Dedicated to Driving Ethanol Demand
State and National Corn Grower Association (NCGA) staff recently met to conduct an in-depth, state of the ethanol industry analysis in Bloomington, Illinois at the offices of Illinois Corn. The goal was to discuss and review the ethanol plan constructed by the group last November. The corn team reviewed ethanol production, demand and volume obligation scenarios under the Renewable Fuels …
USDA Reports Record High Soybean Acreage, Corn Acres Down
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is estimating a record high 89.5 million acres of soybeans planted in the U.S. for 2017. That’s up seven percent from last year. Corn acres are looking to be down about three percent. All cotton acreage for 2017 is estimated at 12.1 million acres, 20 percent above last year, while all wheat planted …
The Growing Enogen Footprint
Enogen hosted about 1,200 farmer-customers at the American Ethanol E15 250 Presented by Enogen. As Enogen continues to grow, the NASCAR race held at Iowa Speedway was the perfect place to spotlight the farmers who supply the Enogen corn which will produce about 2 billion gallons of ethanol this year. “We see this race as a great opportunity to support …
Ag Groups Provide NAFTA Input
A number of agricultural organizations provided their input to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) this week regarding the upcoming negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “NAFTA has been overwhelmingly beneficial for the vast majority of farmers and ranchers across the U.S. for decades,” said Colorado Farm Bureau President Don Shawcroft in comments on …