Kansas Corn Commission
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The Kansas Corn Commission is a grower-funded, grower-governed advocacy organization working to secure the future of Kansas corn. The state corn checkoff invests a half-cent per bushel in the areas of research, market development, promotion and education.
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5-7-12--Planting Progress: 75% of Kansas Corn Crop in the Ground
Kansas farmers are well ahead of schedule with 75% of the crop planted as of May 5. In the past two weeks, Kansas farmers planted over 2 million acres of corn, 43 percent of the projected 4.7 million acres of corn. Kansas Agriculture Statistics Service released the weekly Crop Progress report this afternoon. The hot weather last week helped much of the corn that was planted to sprout. 42 percent of the Kansas crop is emerged, compared to a five-year average of 18 percent. MORE

5-2-12--National Corn Yield Contest Registration Open
As Kansas growers are planting their corn crop, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) invites them to register for NCGA’s National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC). Until June 15, growers can take advantage of a special early entry discount. With fees reduced to $80 until that time, NCGA reminds growers that a small time investment now saves money later this summer. MORE

4-10-12--KCC Present at Great Bend Farm & Ranch Expo
The Kansas Corn Commission will have a booth at the 2012 Great Bend Farm & Ranch Expo held Wednesday through Friday, April 11, 12 &13, 2012 in Great Bend, Kansas. The KCC staff will be on hand to answer questions in booth #231. MORE

CLICK HERE FOR
2012 Crop Insurance ReRating Maps Showing Kansas County Level Data

4-2-12--EPA Approves E15 as Registered Fuel, Kansas Could Be Among First States to Implement New Fuel
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved E15 (gasoline with 15 percent ethanol) as a registered fuel. This is one step closer to seeing low-cost, renewable E15 sold into the American fuels marketplace. Kansas, Illinois and Iowa will likely be the first states to implement the new E15 fuel for vehicles 2001 and newer. The biggest difference motorists will see with E15 is a lower price per gallon, according to the Kansas Corn Commission. MORE

3-30-12--Kansas Farmers Invest in Planting 4.7 Million Acres of Corn
Kansas corn farmers are expected to plant 4.7 million acres of corn this year, the third largest planted corn acreage since 1936, according to the USDA Prospective Planting report released today. The report estimates that planted acreage for Kansas corn, at 4.7 million acres, down four percent from the 2011 acreage. Nationally, farmers are expected to plant 95.9 million acres, up four percent from 2011.

Kansas farmers continue to invest in planting crops to meet the needs of their customers. Most Kansas corn is fed to livestock, or used as a feedstock for ethanol production, where a third of the grain used returns as distillers grains, a high nutrient livestock feed.

“One thing people don’t think about is the investment farmers make to put their crop in the ground and get it off to a good start. Even with the most conservative figures, Kansas corn farmers are spending well over a billion dollars just for seed, fertilizer and crop protection and that’s just part of the picture,” Kansas Corn Growers Association Communications Director Sue Schulte said.

Kansas is a diverse state for agriculture, and an irrigated producer in southwest Kansas will have higher planting costs than a dryland producer in northeast Kansas. MORE

3-12-12-- Baalman and Rome Elected to Kansas Corn Commission
The Kansas Department of Agriculture announced the names of corn producers from the western third of the state who were elected to the Kansas Corn Commission.

The Kansas Corn Commission is a grower-funded, grower-governed advocacy organization working to secure the future of Kansas corn. The state corn checkoff invests a half-cent per bushel in the areas of research, market development, promotion and education.
Ballots were cast between January 15 and March 1 and were counted at the offices of the Kansas Department of Agriculture. The newly elected commissioners take office April 1 and will serve a three-year term.

District One includes Cheyenne, Decatur, Graham, Norton, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman and Thomas counties. District Two includes Gove, Greeley, Lane, Logan, Ness, Scott, Trego, Wallace and Wichita counties. District Three includes Clark, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Meade, Morton, Seward, Stanton and Stevens counties.

Brian Baalman of Sheridan County was elected in District 1. He is the past president of the Kansas Corn Growers Association and current Kansas Corn Commissioner. He also serves on the U.S. Meat Federation.

No candidates ran for District 2 Commissioner. The Kansas Corn Commission will appoint this position.

Steve Rome of Stevens County was elected in District 3. He has served on the Kansas Corn Growers Association and the Kansas State University Agronomy Advisory Board. Rome earned a bachelor’s degree from Fort Hays State University. MORE

	White Returns from China, Record Corn Harvest Predicted
Jere White, Executive Director of the Kansas Corn Commission, returned from the U.S. Grains Council's China Corn Harvest Tour. China is the world’s second leading corn producer, after the United States, but it emerged as a net corn importer in 2010 and 2011 as surging domestic demand outstripped domestic production. Despite this year’s record production, the Council anticipates that rising demand will continue to create export opportunities for U.S. producers in 2011/2012 and beyond. The U.S. Grains Council today released an estimate of China’s 2011 corn production of 167 million metric tons (6.6 billion bushels), up 5.6 percent from last year.  MORE

11-10-11--Top Grain Buyers from Israel Visit Kansas Corn, Sorghum Office  A group of grain traders from Israel visited the Kansas Corn Commission and association, and the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association this week. The Trade Mission was arranged by the US Grains Council to introduce the Israeli traders to the US grain industry. The group included Danny Olshaker, CEO of Shovre-bar, the largest course grain importer in Israel. He was accompanied by the principles of the four largest feed milling operations in Israel, and the CEO of another feed import company. MORE Greg Harris, Chapman FFA, was the the 2011 National FFA Diversified Crop Production Entrepreneurship Proficiency award winner. Greg is pictured here receiving his award at the National FFA Convention. The award is sponsored by the Kansas Corn Commission on the state level. (picture from Kansas FFA--visit the KS FFA Facebook page) 10-24-2011--Greg Harris and Other Kansas FFA Members Are National Winners Greg Harris, Chapman FFA Chapter, is the 2011 National FFA Diversified Crop Production Entrepreneurship Proficiency award winner. National Winners in the National Agricultural Proficiency Awards were announced on Friday, Oct. 21, at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN. The Kansas Corn Commission is a state level sponsor of the award. “I had the opportunity to meet Greg and present him with his proficiency award at the Kansas FFA Convention in June. It is a big accomplishment for an FFA member to win the proficiency award on the state level, so we are extremely proud that Greg was named the national winner,” according to Sue Schulte, KCC Director of Communications. “Greg put a lot of time into qualifying for the proficiency award. In visiting with Greg, I was impressed with his hands-on knowledge of farming. With young farmers like Greg, the future of Kansas agriculture is bright.” MORE 10-13-11--Kansas Corn Growers Say Trade Agreements will Boost Kansas Economy Passage of the Free Trade Agreements with Korea, Columbia and Panama will benefit Kansas corn farmers, according to the Kansas Corn Growers Association. The Kansas Congressional delegation was unanimous in its support of the votes on the three free trade agreements, which passed the House and Senate last night. MORE 8-31-11—Kansas Corn and Pro-Ethanol Supporters Partner with K-State for Sweepstakes The Kansas Corn Commission (KCC) has partnered with Kansas State Athletics this fall to bring fans the “Live Wildcat Purple, Drive Ethanol Green” sweepstakes. Throughout the football season, fans can text ETHANOL to 66856 to register to win a 2-year lease on a 2012 flex-fuel GMC Sierra pickup. From the text entries, six finalists will be selected and announced at halftime of each of K-State’s first six home football games this fall. All six finalists will then return for the season finale against Iowa State University on December 3 to determine the winner of the grand prize. MORE 8-12-11--Despite Challenging Growing Conditions, Kansas Growers Predicted to Harvest Fourth Largest Corn Crop Ugly. That word describes the August crop production report released this week by the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service. Kansas corn producers planted the largest corn acreage in modern times this year, but hot and dry conditions will cause the 2011 harvest to be 15 percent smaller than last year production. Kansas growers are expected to produce 495 million bushels of corn, with an average statewide yield of 110 bushels per acre. MORE   7-26-11--Heat, Drought Challenge Many Kansas Corn Farmers Hot, dry weather continued to plague Kansas corn producers, lowering crop conditions, according to the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service. This week's Crop Progress and Condition report pegged the corn crop at 16 percent very poor, 18 percent poor, 32 percent fair, and 34 percent good to excellent. "About a third of our crop is rated poor to very poor, a third is rated fair and a third is rated good to excellent. We won't know the full statewide outcome until the combines are in the fields this fall," according to Kansas Corn Growers Association Communications Director Sue Schulte. "Years like this are the reason we must maintain a strong crop insurance system." MORE   6-9-11—Kansas Corn Takes Firsthand Look at China Spring Crop Progress After years as a significant export competitor in Asian markets, China has recently emerged as a net corn importer, and most analysts expect Chinese imports to rise in the near term. The speed and scale of this shift – and the potential of Chinese efforts to ramp up production – are major uncertainties for corn producers and traders around the world. MORE What are you looking for? KCC News FY 2011 KCC Budget Corn Checkoff Refund Vouchers and Refund Information Meeting Notices List of Kansas Corn Commissioners Contact Information for KCC Kansas Ethanol Information

Kansas Farm Family Featured in Corn Farmers Coalition Educational Effort Thousands of people in Washington, DC are looking at the McCauley farm family from White Cloud, Kansas this summer. The McCauley family is one of several American farm families featured in the Corn Farmers Coalition campaign that aims to educate Washington DC decision makers about agriculture. The McCauleys and other farm families are also featured in the Corn Fact Book published by the coalition. The  Corn Fact Book is available at cornfarmerscoalition.com. The Corn Farmers Coalition secured all the advertising space in two key Washington DC metro rail stations. In June, CFC ads were featured in Union Station and this month they appear in the Capitol South station.  MORE 6-6-11--Farmers, Ethanol Supporters Cheer American Ethanol and Clint Bowyer at STP 400 Sprint Cup Race at Kansas Speedway USDA REAP Program to Help Fuel Retailers Add Blender Pumps--Corn Commission Blender Pump Program adds more incentives April 21, 2011--USDA recently announced Blender Pump Grants through the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).  But hurry, the application deadline for the REAP program is June 15, 2011. Follow this link for information on the REAP Blender Pump Program:  REAP Blender Pump Grants   Fuel retailers can combine the REAP program with the Kansas Corn Commission's Ethanol Blender Pump Program, which offers up to $6,000 to offset infrastructure and marketing costs. Click on this link for a description of the Corn Commission Blender Pump Program here: KCC Blender Pump Program These programs, combined with federal and state tax credits provide a great incentive for fuel retailers to add ethanol blender pumps! Follow this link to view a BYO Ethanol Webinar on Blender Pumps with information on the REAP Program.

Scenes from Agriland at the Kansas State Fair-- From left to right: 1. A little guy learns how big a dairy cow can be. 2. Sisters are smiling sunflowers in Agriland. 3. A grandma and her grandson saddle up to learn about livestock. 4. KCGA Board Member Tom Tibbits and wife Sandy (left) help as children line up to be weighed on a livestock scale. MORE

The agreement to launch a classic U.S. beef burger in Hilton Hotel restaurants across Europe is signed by (from left) Steven Henderson, senior director of international field operations for Hilton Supply Management; Mikel Pouw, CEO of Amsterdam-based importer Nice to Meat; Kansas Corn Commission Executive Director Jere White; and John Brook, USMEF regional director for Europe, Russia and the Middle East

March 17, 2010
Kansas Corn Commission, USMEF Ink Agreement with Hilton Restaurants for Classic U.S. Beef Burger in Europe
Representatives of the Kansas Corn Commission, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and Amsterdam-based importer Nice to Meat finalized an agreement Tuesday with Hilton Hotels for the launching of a premium U.S. beef burger. The U.S. burger will be featured at more than 120 Hilton Hotel restaurants across Europe, thanks in part to promotional support from Kansas corn producers.

This project will be the most visible promotion for U.S. beef in Europe since the hormone ban. “It’s an entryway back into the Hilton Restaurants high end beef market and we’re excited to be a part of it,” White said. MORE

Learn how to be an advocate for agriculture!

The Kansas Corn Commission is partnering with several corn states, National Corn Growers Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) to install 5,000 blender pumps across the nation over the next three years. Consumers can enjoy more choices at the pump, gas station owners can experience product flexibility, and the nation can achieve its renewable fuels targets – all thanks to the blender pump and the wider distribution of E85 and mid-range ethanol blends. The program was announced at the 22nd Annual Ethanol Conference & Trade Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 11.

“This spring, corn grower groups from across the country asked the ethanol associations to work together to give us a proposal for a comprehensive effort to increase the market for ethanol by adding blender pumps to key areas across the nation,“ KCC Chairman Mike Brzon of Courtland said. “This effort goes well beyond just giving retailers money to add an ethanol pump. We will benefit from the expertise of ACE and RFA working together to provide technical and marketing assistance to fuel retailers to help them see the benefit to offering ethanol blends to their customers. They will also help them take advantage of existing state and federal incentives.”   MORE
 

For more information on BYOEthanol, visit www.byoethanol.org

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External Links
National Corn Growers Association  ¨   US Meat Export Federation  ¨   US Grains Council

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