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12-8-09--Kansas Corn Commissioner Participates in Corn Mission to
Morocco, Egypt and Jordan
GARNETT, Kansas (December 7, 2009)- Kansas Corn Commissioner, Bob
Timmons, of Fredonia, KS is one of six corn growers traveling Morocco, Egypt
and Jordan for the U.S. Grains Council 2009 Corn Mission. The group has
already toured a cattle feedlot, poultry operation and shipping port, and
has also met with government and agricultural representatives.
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission allows for growers and grain buyers to
have face-to-face open discussions about U.S. corn.
When Timmons was asked about the expectations he had for the corn mission,
he responded by saying, “I am pretty excited about this mission. We support
the Grains Council through the Kansas Corn Commission and it is interesting
to see how the Council is building markets for our corn.”
The group is now in Egypt, where the US Grains Council has been active in
promoting the use of corn and the ethanol coproduct distillers grains not
only in beef, but also the growing water buffalo industry. The Council has
worked closely with Egyptian water buffalo producers for several years to
help develop this rapidly growing industry and encouraging the use of U.S.
corn as well as distillers grains (DDGS), a coproduct of ethanol production.
Chuck Zimmerman of ZimmComm New Media is also on the trade mission and was
impressed with a visit to the water buffalo feedlot and dairy operated by
Dr. Saad Alhayani, chairman of the Egyptian Buffalo Producers Association.
“He’s raising thousands of buffalo and feeding them corn and DDGS as well as
other ingredients,” Zimmerman said. “We saw lots of bags of DDGS at his
feedlot. That looked very positive for American corn growers!”
The group visited with government officials, poultry farms and port
facilities in Morocco. When leaving Morocco, Joe Zenz, a Wisconsin corn
grower said he sees great potential in the Morocco market, but he thinks
producers still have a lot to learn about production and the USGC is playing
a key role in providing educational resources.
Zimmerman is blogging about the U.S. Grains Council 2009 Corn Mission. You
can read more about this corn mission at www.thegrainboard.com and the
ZimmComm blog at www.agwired.com.
12-1-09--Kansas Growers Must Wait for EPA’s
Science-Based Decision on Ethanol Waiver
The Environmental Protection Agency announced today a delay in its
decision on the ethanol industry’s request for higher ethanol blends. A
December 1 deadline had been set for EPA to announce its decision on the
use of fuel blends up to 15 percent ethanol. The agency said it needed
more time to complete scientific evaluation of the request and said a
decision should be made by next spring.
In its response to the waiver request, EPA Assistant Administrator Gina
McCarthy wrote that EPA recognizes higher ethanol blends are necessary
to meet renewable fuel requirements and noted that EPA is beginning work
to develop labeling for higher blends. She indicated that the ongoing
studies have been positive.
“Although all of the studies have not been completed, our engineering
assessment to date indicates that the robust fuel, engine and emissions
control systems on newer vehicles (likely 2001 and newer model years)
will likely be able to accommodate higher ethanol blends, such as E15,”
McCarthy said.
Kansas Corn Growers Executive Director Jere White said the association
supports EPA’s efforts to make a decision based on sound science.
“When the ethanol industry asked EPA for the waiver, we said we had
faith in EPA’s ability to conduct a science-based review of higher
ethanol blends,” White said. “Today, the agency was honest in saying it
needed more time to complete its research. The best outcome would be an
interim
decision to allow higher blends of ethanol that can be used in all
vehicles, including those manufactured before 2001.”
The arbitrary 10 percent blend wall is a barrier not only to the growth
of the grain based ethanol industry, but also inhibits the development
of cellulosic ethanol.
“Without a robust grain ethanol industry, we won’t be able to develop
cellulosic ethanol that holds so much promise. When you add cellulosic
ethanol to the mix, we have the opportunity to take a major step
dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” White said.
Growers are more than able to provide enough feedstock for both grain
and cellulosic ethanol.
“Our growers have proven time and time again that they can provide
enough grain to satisfy the needs of all our customers,” White said.
“This year U.S. growers are harvesting a near record crop and Kansas
will produce over 560 million bushels, shattering the previous record of
507 million bushels set in 2007. With improvements in production
practices and crop genetics, our corn farmers will continue to produce
an ample supply of corn for feed, fuel and food.”
The Kansas Corn Growers Association represents corn growers in
legislative and regulatory issues. More information can be found at
www.ksgrains.com
11-6-09--Kansas Corn, Sorghum Groups Boost Outreach Efforts with New
Staff Member
GARNETT, Kansas (Nov. 6, 2009)- DeEtta Bohling from Greenfield, Iowa
recently joined the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Grain
Sorghum Producers Association as Communications and Marketing Associate.
The associations represent Kansas sorghum and corn producers in
legislative and regulatory issues.
“Our goal was to find a
person who could help us beef up our communications efforts while
boosting our association’s internet presence, especially in social
media,” according to KCGA/KGSPA Director of Communications Sue Schulte.
“DeEtta is a great fit and brings a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge in
these areas.”
Bohling is a 2009
graduate from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Here she received her
Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts with an emphasis in Public
Relations. She received a minor in Business Administration and a
Leadership Education Program certificate.
Bohling has been an
active member of 4-H, FFA, Adair County Youth Action Committee, Friends
of the Library, Wartburg College Student Senate, Entertainment ToKnight,
the Volunteer Action Center, Tower Agency Public Relations, Wartburg
Television, and served as an ambassador for Wartburg College.
In 2003, Bohling
received the Iowa Governor’s Youth Leadership Award. In 2004 she was
inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame and in 2007 she was
awarded with a Wartburg College Nobility Award for her service and
leadership.
Before joining the Kansas corn and sorghum associations, Bohling was the
Marketing and Social Networking intern for the Iowa 4-H Foundation in
Ames, Iowa.
Comments on FIFRA SAP on Atrazine Review
Docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0759-0001
November 3, 2009
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my name is Jere White. I am the
executive director of the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas
Grain Sorghum Producers Association and also serve as chairman of the
Triazine Network. My expenses to be here are covered by Kansas farmers.
The Triazine Network was formed in 1995 as a response by growers of over
30 commodities and from over forty states, to provide input to the US
EPA special review of the triazine herbicides. Our objective is to
ensure that EPA has and utilizes the best science. That's why we are
here today. We have participated in every SAP concerning atrazine since
the beginning of the Special Review in 1994. We believe the scientific
weight of evidence shows atrazine to be both safe and effective and that
is the best kind of tool that farmers can have.
Last month EPA announced their decision to pursue a very intensive and
urgent reevaluation (actually a re-reevaluation) of atrazine, in
disregard to it’s recently completed reregistration which provided for
its continued safe use. It clearly appears the normal process which
included internal review (i.e. data evaluation records) of new studies
by EPA, and when deemed appropriate, a further review by its SAP, has
been cast away. It seems now that the an NRDC seeded story in the New
York Times is all the peer review needed in order to tee up a minimum of
five SAPs in just over a year (four indicated in the FR Notice and a
minimum of one additional in FY-2011 indicated in the Agency's
stakeholder conference call).
The Agency describes this as a "kickoff" meeting which was certainly new
terminology in my fifteen years of participation. This seems highly
unusual. Perhaps even festive and goal oriented.
Some countries abandon science in their process and subscribe to a
precautionary principal that puts at risk their own people. The benefits
of atrazine to agriculture are well documented and part of existing EPA
record. Recent efforts to downplay the benefits in the media are simply
the wishes of activists who suggest they have better insight on
producing abundant food, fuel and fiber from their comfortable desk than
the farmer who has been doing it all his life. It should be noted that
farmers have been some of the best early adopters.
The Triazine Network is disappointed that there appears to be a major
departure in process at EPA in regards to the recently announced SAPs
re-reassessing atrazine. However, we commit to engage all processes and
all options in order to see a science based outcome continue during all
Administrations and keep all those we represent and all that represent
us informed of the progress.
10-23-09--Kansas Grower Groups Respond to CSI: Miami's Error Laden
Anti-Agriculture Episode
In a letter to the
General Manager of WIBW TV, a CBS affiliate, Kansas corn and grain
sorghum groups expressed concern over the "Bad Seed" episode of CSI:
Miami, which aired on October 19. The show attacked almost all segments
of agriculture and was filled with misinformation and fear tactics.
Jim Ogle
General Manager
WIBW TV
Topeka, KS
Dear Jim,
On Monday, CBS aired a CSI Miami episode title "Bad Seed". It would have
been more aptly titled "Bad Writing"!
I have been a huge fan of all CSI shows since day one. The usual combination
of a plausible storyline with reasonable science is a mix I find
entertaining and at times educational. This week's episode was neither. In
fact it was a slap in the face to your rural constituents.
A key element of the storyline dealing with genetic modification of crops
was completely off base. While a single gene is inserted into a seed, an
entire organism is not. Every day, millions of people in the United States
and around the world consume GM food. It's no less healthy or nutritious
than non-GM food. We know this from years of experience as well as extensive
scientific and regulatory testing.
Virtually every other scenario in the episode is exaggerated and improbable
to the point of being ridiculous because of modern farm management and the
checks and balances within our food production system. Our regulatory
agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection
Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have rigid standards regarding
food production and safety which are the model for the world.
Seed companies spend millions of dollars and years of study developing,
screening, testing and clearing regulatory hurdles for a single gene
technology to assure its safety. And when they are successful in bringing a
beneficial trait to the market, local TV Stations like WIBW take in
thousands of dollars advertising it to farmers. At one point the show talked
about "seed drift". There is no such thing.
Livestock producers are strictly regulated regarding the management of water
and potential runoff from cattle feedlots, yet in one scene effluent from a
feed yard was freely running out a large pipe and into a groundwater source.
Of course, if you looked at the cattle, they were not even feeder cattle,
but were cows and calves that would never be fattened in a feed lot. I doubt
if there are many feedlots in Dade County, FL.
And yes, you can throw in the racial overtones of undocumented Hispanic farm
workers and a poor African American farmer being victimized by the large
corporate farmer, who of course was affluent and white.
Nearly all the corn farms (95%) in this country are family farming
operations that bring generations of expertise to their farms which they
intend to pass on to the next generation. Showing them in such an
irresponsible manner is unfair and damaging to consumer confidence.
Suggesting that "Big Farming" or food companies are amoral and willing to
risk people's lives to advance their profits or even feed the masses is
unthinkable and damaging to the hard earned trust farmers have earned from
the consumer public.
This is truly an issue where stations like WIBW can and should weigh in to
CBS. This episode was a disgrace and should not be aired again. And while
the general public may tolerate inept storylines because of low
expectations, we will not.
We have had a longstanding good relationship with WIBW. I look forward to
your response.
Jere White, Executive Director
Kansas Corn Commission
Kansas Corn Growers Association
Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association
PO Box 446
Garnett, KS 66032
Oct. 1, 2009--Grower Leaders Voice Atrazine Support
Growers from Kansas and four other states left their combines this week
to talk to leadership from Syngenta Crop Protection about the importance
of atrazine to their farming operations. A roundtable meeting was held
at the National Corn Growers Association office in Chesterfield, MO,
followed by an informal meeting at the Keith Witt farm in Warrenton, MO.
While atrazine was successfully re-registered by EPA in 2006, recent
attacks by environmental activists including the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) have brought the issue to the forefront. Trial
attorneys also continue their efforts for legal action against the
makers of atrazine.
Growers represented at the meeting included four past NCGA Presidents:
Ron Litterer, Iowa; Ken McCauley, Kansas; Dee Vaughan, Texas and Fred
Yoder, Ohio. Three past presidents of the National Sorghum Producers
were present: Greg Shelor, Kansas; James Vorderstrasse, Nebraska, and
Bill Kubecka, Texas.
Atrazine is used to help farmers grow crops in a way that protects the
environment, especially with no-till practices, McCauley said.
“Environmental activists would like you to believe that farmers don’t
need atrazine, so we might as well get rid of it. Nothing could be
further from the truth. Not only is it important to our growers’ bottom
lines, it is vital to the practices we use to protect the environment,”
McCauley said. “The NRDC says we can use another chemical, but ask NRDC
what chemicals they do approve of.”
Southwest Kansas sorghum producer Greg Shelor told the group that his
no-till practices would not be possible without atrazine. “I can’t
no-till without atrazine,” he said. “With no-till there is not near the
runoff and without no-till I will have 50 or 60 bushel sorghum instead
of the 100 to 120 bushels I have now.”
Iowa grower Ron Litterer said many people don’t understand atrazine’s
role in reducing rates of herbicides. “For me atrazine is an enhancer
for weed control. Years ago, my dad used it as his sole product. Now we
use much lower rates and have better weed control. As an enhancer,
atrazine has allowed us to reduce the rates of other chemicals and has
made them more effective.”
Atrazine allows Nebraska sorghum farmer James Vorderstrasse to use
moisture conserving no-till practices on his farm. “There is no
alternative to atrazine,” he said. “Every time you till the soil you
lose an inch of moisture. Without atrazine, you’d have to till two or
three times pre-plant plus cultivate a couple of times and that amounts
to a loss of 5 inches of moisture.”
Ohio Grower Fred Yoder said atrazine has been important to his family
farm for years. “I’m trying to remember if we have ever grown corn
without atrazine. It’s been around such a long time. But does that mean
we need to look at something else? I don’t think so,” he said.
Syngenta CEO Mike Mack and President of Crop Protection Valdemar Fischer
participated in the roundtable discussion by phone. Travis Dickinson,
Vice President of Marketing; Tim Pastoor, Principal Scientist; Steven
Goldsmith Senior Communications Manager and Todd Barlow, State
Government Relations Manager participated in a meeting with growers at
the National Corn Growers Association offices in Chesterfield, MO. The
Syngenta executives reaffirmed their commitment to defending the use of
atrazine.
9-11-09--Kansas Growers Continue to Meet
Customers Needs with Record 2009 Crop
Kansas corn producers are expected to harvest a record 518 million bushel
corn crop this year as part of the nation’s 13 billion harvest. The
projected US harvest will just about tie the record 2007 harvest of 13.1
billion bushels. Farmers continue to prove they can meet the needs of their
customers, according to Kansas Corn Growers Association Executive Director
Jere White.
“What is interesting is that in 2008, the year of the so-called corn
shortage, we produced 12.1 billion bushels which at the time was the second
largest crop in history,” White said said. “So in the last three years, we
are seeing the three largest corn crops in history in the United States.”
The 2009 U.S. corn crop is expected to have an average yield of 162 bushels
per acre, a record yield. Kansas Corn Commission Chairman Mike Brzon of
Courtland pointed out that farmers are using improved technology and growing
practices to produce more corn per acre.
“I wish people would look at the great advances we have made in agriculture
that allow us to grow more corn on fewer acres and at the same time
substantially reduce our use of fertilizers and pesticides, and we’ve
reduced erosion as well,” Brzon said. “We don’t seem to get credit for any
of that.”
In 2008, many predicted a corn shortage, and some groups called for a stop
in the use of corn for ethanol to prevent the shortage. Corn based ethanol
was blamed for sharp spikes in consumer food prices. Markets joined the
clamor, with speculators raising the price of corn near $8 per bushel for a
short time in the summer of 2008. That fall, corn producers harvested the
second largest crop in history, and ended the year with a significant corn
carryover of 1.7 billion bushels.
“Many special interest groups have found that fear is the best weapon,”
White said. “Last year, anti-ethanol groups used fear to attack corn
producers and the ethanol industry blaming ethanol for a fictitious corn
shortage. In the end, it was corn’s customers as well as consumers who were
hurt by speculators who bought into the fear and elevated crop prices to
record levels.”
Higher prices across the board were blamed on corn and ethanol last year.
The AMC movie theater chain blamed an increase in ticket prices on higher
popcorn costs.
“You can imagine the markup on popcorn at a movie theater when you pay more
than $5 for a bag of popcorn. That was simply a bogus excuse,” White said.
“But what concerns me is that while commodity prices dropped dramatically,
consumer food prices have not dropped that much. Last year food prices
increased 5.1 percent and food companies blamed corn and ethanol, while they
pocketed record profits. They were in a hurry to raise the prices, but seem
a little slower to lower them even at a time when consumers are suffering
through a recession.”
The Kansas Corn Commission was one of several corn grower groups that
created the Corn Farmers Coalition, a national effort to provide accurate
information about corn farming. The Corn Farmers Coalition used information
from credible sources like the US Department of Agriculture to make sure
decision-makers in Washington, DC and others were well informed about
today’s corn production.
“I don’t think people understand how much farming has changed especially in
the last 10 years. Just like any business technology has made us so much
more efficient,” Brzon said. “Last year we had floods in some isolated areas
and people thought the corn crop was doomed. This year, we had late planting
and a cool growing season in many areas. By overcoming these adversities
with near record results, we are proving that our growers can provide a
reliable supply of corn for all of our customers year after year.”
The Kansas Corn Commission is a nine member grower board that invests the
half-cent per bushel corn checkoff in the areas of research, market
development, education and promotion. For more information, visit
www.ksgrains.com.
8-28-09--Even
Without Clunker Program, Car Buyers Can Save with Flex Fuel Tax Credit
While the
“Cash for Clunkers” program has ended, Kansas motorists can take advantage
of a $750 tax credit when they buy a flexible fuel vehicle and use E85
ethanol fuel, Kansas Corn Commission Communications Director Sue Schulte
said. The FFV option is available on many models of cars, SUVs and pickups.
These vehicles are able to operate on any combination of gasoline and
ethanol up to 85 percent ethanol (E85).
“Flex fuel
vehicles are just that—flexible,” she said. “You can use pure gasoline, or
up to 85 percent ethanol whenever you want. It simply gives you more choices
at the pump.”
The state’s
E85 tax credit makes buying an FFV an even more attractive option.
“Even
without the Cash for Clunkers program, there are a lot of great incentives
for new vehicles with low interest rates and good trade-in values.
It’s easy to see why so many people are looking at buying a new vehicle. The
state’s E85 tax credit has been around for quite a while and it’s important
to remind consumers of this excellent incentive as well,” Schulte said. “A
lot of new vehicles have a flex fuel option at no extra cost that allows you
to use higher ethanol blends”
Under the
state’s FFV tax credit program, the owner of a new FFV has two years in
which to use 500 gallons of E85 to qualify for the $750 tax credit.
“With the
$750 tax credit and the availability of E85 fuel in cities across the state,
why wouldn’t you look into it? There is no downside to choosing a vehicle
with the flex fuel option—it gives you more control over your fuel choices,”
Schulte said. “Increasing the number of flex fuel vehicles in Kansas fits
well with our goal of adding more blender pumps in Kansas and throughout the
nation that can offer higher ethanol blends.”
The Kansas
Corn Commission has joined several other corn producing states, the
Renewable Fuels Association and the American Coalition for Ethanol to add
ethanol blender pumps in key locations across the nation. Blender pumps
offer E85 fuel as well as other mid-grade ethanol blends such as E20 and
E40. Eleven plants currently produce 450 million gallons of fuel ethanol in
Kansas providing jobs and economic stability to communities and providing a
market for Kansas farmers.
“In a time
when people are trying to buy local, why not buy local fuel? Ethanol is
produced right here in Kansas with products from Kansas farms,” Schulte
said. “With the E85 tax incentive and no added cost for the flex option,
buying an FFV looks better than ever.”
Over 45 fuel
retailers who sell higher blends of ethanol including E85 are located in
cities across Kansas. F
Where to find E85 Fuel in
Kansas
Information on the Kansas E85 Tax Credit
Kansas Growers
Say Activist Groups Twist EPA Atrazine Data to Alarm Consumers
8-25-09--Three media events on August
23-24 highlighted activists’ efforts to raise public concern about the
herbicide atrazine. The New York Times, Huffington Post and National
Resources Defense Council all release reports about atrazine on Sunday
and Monday. The stories were based on data from a monitoring program
that Syngenta, the maker of atrazine, entered into with EPA in 2003. The
Atrazine Monitoring Program (AMP) is an intensive monitoring program
currently focusing on about 100 community water systems located
primarily in the Midwest.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant level (MCL)
for atrazine at 3 parts per billion (ppb) based on an annual average in
public drinking water. Atrazine is among a list of 87 drinking water
contaminants routinely monitored by the EPA. Jere White, executive
director of the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Grain Sorghum
Producers Association said results of the two testing programs should
not be used to confuse consumers.
“The focus of the AMP program is different than the normal water
sampling that is done to determine the annual MCL for drinking water
systems,” White said. “This study is focused on areas with higher
atrazine usage—basically a closer look. The EPA set a guideline under
this program of 37.5 ppb atrazine plus three metabolites (breakdown
products) over a 90-day period as a benchmark for a level of concern.”
The activist groups used two sets of data to cause concern among
consumers, White said.
“You can do anything with numbers. There are spikes, but those spikes
were taken into consideration by EPA when the 3 parts per billion annual
drinking water level for atrazine was set. That’s why it is an annual
average and not a daily or weekly number. But to then take data from an
entirely different program, and suggest that the levels were above the
EPA’s MCL for atrazine is simply misleading.”
In its July 2009 update, EPA stated, “Through its review of this data,
the Agency has confirmed that none of the systems have exceeded OPP's
level of concern, a 90-day average of 37.5 parts per billion (ppb) of
atrazine and its degradates. Concentrations below this 90-day average
are considered to be safe.”
“If you look at the data, you see that atrazine levels in raw
(untreated) water have decreased. Farmers are using practices that
reduce the amount of runoff from fields, and that keeps chemicals out of
surface water,” White said. “This is actually very good news, which has
gone unreported.”
Atrazine is crucial to the success of no-till farming operations that
have a wide range of environmental benefits. No-till is a practice that
leaves crop residue, like corn stalks, in the field to cut down on soil
erosion and runoff of fertilizers and farm chemicals.
“When you talk about soil conservation and reducing runoff, you have to
talk about no-till farming practices,” White said. “This practice is
making a real difference when it comes to conservation. But many growers
say without residual weed control that atrazine offers, they would not
be able to continue their no-till practices. Farmers have a good story
to tell, producing more with less. For example, look at what corn
producers have done in the last 10 years. For the same bushel of corn
produced in 1987, today our land use is down 37 percent, soil loss is
down 69 percent.”
For more information and background on this
issue, visit this
Atrazine Blog
8-12-09--Kansas Corn
Commission Partners in Effort to Expand Ethanol Fueling Infrastructure
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.”
The “Blend Your Own Ethanol” campaign, BYOethanol, will offer a single
source of ethanol information and technical expertise for petroleum
marketers looking to upgrade equipment or begin offering more choices to
their customers. By serving as a central clearinghouse for renewable fuels
infrastructure incentives, the “BYOethanol” campaign will bring blender
pumps to key areas of the country, and from there they will spread as
neighboring gas stations see the benefit and want to remain competitive.
Blender pumps are not new to the fuel industry, but are now finding new use
with ethanol and E85. A blender pump features two underground tanks,
typically one with unleaded and one with E85, and the dispenser blends the
appropriate percentages of the two fuels to create any blend of ethanol from
zero to 85 percent. Gas station owners benefit from product flexibility and
by being ready for future renewable fuel blend levels, and consumers benefit
by having new choices at the pump like E20 or E30 for their flexible fuel
vehicles.
“This campaign will be successful because it works directly with petroleum
marketers, not paying them to put in a blender pump, but explaining to them
why it’s a good business decision, how it will benefit the station, and
helping them access the state and federal incentives that exist,” said Ron
Lamberty, Vice President / Market Development of the American Coalition for
Ethanol. “If we present petroleum marketers with the facts about why this is
a good business decision – and it is a good business decision – they will
consider adding blender pumps to their stations. Now our job is to get this
information out to as many of them as possible, and we’ve already begun
doing that.”
Along with the National Corn Growers Association, several leading
corn-producing states are participating in this program. At press time,
states participating are the Kansas Corn Commission, the Kentucky Corn
Promotion Council, the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, the Nebraska
Corn Board, and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council, with several
other states on the verge of joining this effort.
“Blender pumps are the best way to expand the reach of renewable fuels, and
it’s time for a national campaign to get this infrastructure in the ground
and get consumers the choices they deserve,” said Robert White, Director of
Market Development for the Renewable Fuels Association. “No matter where
their station is located, retailers will have a wide variety of options to
increase their profit margin while lowering the cost for consumers. We are
grateful to be working with the corn grower organizations and the American
Coalition for Ethanol.”
The “BYOethanol” campaign will function as an expanded market development
program of the two ethanol groups and will serve as the only one-stop source
for all the technical, regulatory, safety, and environmental information
petroleum marketers need about retailing ethanol blends. The program will
feature extensive work at petroleum marketer events and a Web presence
designed specifically for station owners to easily get the information they
want.
The nearly 200 blender pump locations in the U.S. today can be seen on this
map:
www.tinyurl.com/ACEblenderpumpmap.
The Kansas Corn Commission is a nine-member grower board that determines how
the half-cent per bushel corn checkoff is invested in the areas of market
development, research, promotion and education. The commissioners are
elected by growers in each of the state’s nine crop reporting districts. For
more information, visit www.ksgrains.com or call 800-489-2676.
7-24-09--Kansas Grower
Elected Vice Chairman of US Grains Council
Kansas corn producer Terry Vinduska of Marion, Kansas was elected vice
chairman of the US Grains Council this week. Vinduska represents the Kansas
Corn Commission on the Council. Vinduska served as US Grains Council
treasurer during the 2008/2009 term. He has been on the USGC board of
directors for six years.
Vinduska has been a strong proponent of the council’s efforts and continues
to encourage work to build exports of corn.
“Informa Economics has determined that the return on investment for the
Grains Council is $50 per every dollar that the corn commission invests,”
Vinduska said. “So for every dollar our Kansas Corn Commission puts into the
Grains Council, we get $50 worth of corn exports through the Council’s work.
I think that is a phenomenal return on investment for our growers.” MORE
The 2009/2010 USGC officers are: Chairman Rick Fruth, Ohio Corn Marketing
Program; Vice Chairman Terry Vinduska, Kansas Corn Commission; Treasurer
Wendell Shauman, Illinois Corn Marketing Board; Secretary Don Fast, Montana
Wheat and Barley Committee; and Past Chairman Jim Broten, North Dakota
Barley Council. The U.S. Grains Council develops export markets for U.S.
barley, corn, grain sorghum and related products. Founded in 1960, the
Council is a private, non-profit corporation with nine international offices
and programs in more than 50 countries.
The Kansas Corn Commission is a nine member grower board that invests the
half-cent per bushel corn checkoff in the areas of research, market
development, education and promotion. For more information, visit
www.ksgrains.com.
3-25-09--Kansas
Corn Commissioners Get Firsthand Look at Importance of Strong Asian Markets
for US Beef
Assessing efforts to regain market share for
U.S. beef in Japan and Korea was the focus of three Kansas corn
commissioners in a recent trip with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
Members of the Kansas Corn Commission have returned from Japan and South
Korea where they observed the work of USMEF and the retail and foodservice
performance of U.S. beef and pork products. These two countries are major
importers of U.S. red meat.
Corn Commissioners Brian Baalman of Menlo, Ken McCauley of White Cloud, Bob
Timmons of Fredonia, and KCC Executive Director Jere White were joined on
the trip by USMEF Vice Chairman Keith Miller of Great Bend, and farm
broadcaster Greg Akagi of the Kansas Agriculture Network. White said the
Kansas Corn Commission is marking its 30th year of work with the US Meat
Export Federation, and over that time, has invested over one million dollars
in building red meat export markets through USMEF.
“A few years ago we surpassed one million dollars in funding to the USMEF
which is a significant amount of dollars from a checkoff program that is
relatively small in comparison to other corn states,” KCC Executive Director
Jere White said. “We’ve made a commitment, and we wanted to highlight that
relationship back to our friends in the livestock industry, and also to help
educate ourselves. We were there with three commissioners that are making
the funding decisions to give them an actual hands-on look at how their
decisions are actually making a difference. We certainly saw that in our
visits.”
In addition to meeting with key importers and
distributors, team members visited the largest cold storage facility in
Japan and were impressed to see the amount of U.S. beef currently entering
the country. They were able to see chilled products arriving from several
Kansas plants as well as many other plants across the United States.
McCauley, who represents northeast Kansas on the corn commission, said the
success of Kansas corn farmers is directly tied to strong markets for Kansas
and U.S. beef and pork.
“Japan is our biggest export customer. We need to keep in close contact and
make sure our customers are happy,” McCauley said. “That’s what we’re here
to do--not only to talk about the beef market but actually help them
increase the pounds coming over here and that translates back home to more
corn demand.”
USMEF has played a key role reopening beef export markets to Asian markets
after a single case of BSE was found in the U.S. late 2003. Baalman, who
represents northwest Kansas on the commission, said work needs to continue
to rebuild those export markets for beef.
“It really affects the U.S. cattleman here today. The lost value is probably
in the range of 100 to 150 a head of lost value in the Japanese market that
could be re-attained if we can just get some cooperation between our two
governments and I think we are just on the cusp of getting that to open up,”
Baalman said. “To me it’s like turning the switch on—the value comes back to
us as corn producers because livestock has always been our number one
customer.”
McCauley said the stop in South Korea after visiting Japan illustrated how
important it is for U.S. beef to regain a foothold in the Korean market.
“When you get into the grocery stores in Korea, it’s a very good selection,
much more selection on products,” McCauley said. “It looked a lot like the
U.S. stores but different products. We got the opportunity to see a lot of
U.S. beef in the stores as well as a lot of Australian corn fed beef, which
surprised me. I think our U.S. beef producers have some real bona fide
competition from Austrailia.”
The Australian beef industry is also working to strengthen Korean markets
for its product. Currently nearly Australian beef has a 65 percent market
share, compared to 15 percent for U.S. beef in Korea. However, a majority of
Korean consumers prefer U.S. beef.
It is important to for corn producers to understand the challenges and
opportunities U.S. beef has in Japan and Korea, according to Timmons, who
represents southeast Kansas on the commission
“We need to be able to understand the problems the beef industry has in
getting their products sold. And Japan is a good example of a place that
really wants our beef but there are the restrictions that have caused a lot
of problems. For the corn commission, it has been important for us to fund
the USMEF, and we’ve seen while we’ve been here they are doing a really good
job. They have a good staff that’s promoting U.S. meat in Japan and Korea.
The work they’re doing with the importers is a good thing for the beef
industry as well as the corn industry.”
The Kansas Corn Commission is grower board that invests the half-cent per
bushel corn checkoff in the areas of market development, research, promotion
and education to increase the profitability of corn.
March 18,
2009--Kansas Corn Commission Leadership Reports in from Asia (USMEF Report)
Leaders of the Kansas Corn Commission (KCC) have arrived in Japan for an
opportunity to observe the retail and foodservice performance of U.S. beef
and pork products in this critical export market. Commissioners Brian
Baalman of Menlo, Ken McCauley of White Cloud and Bob Timmons of Fredonia
are joined on the trip by KCC Executive Director Jere White, USMEF Vice
Chairman Keith Miller of Great Bend, and farm broadcaster Greg Akagi of the
Kansas Agriculture Network. They are making a similar visit to South Korea
later in the week.
In a telephone interview from Tokyo, Miller says the group is very pleased
with the promotional activity and sales results they have had the
opportunity to view so far.
“Our first day here we visited two national supermarket chains, and USMEF
was doing beef promotions in both chains at the time,” Miller said. “People
were standing in line waiting for samples to be cooked, and many of them
also purchased our product. It was extremely successful.”
Leaders of the Kansas Corn Commission observe a U.S. beef promotion at a
Daiei supermarket in Tokyo. Pictured left to right: USMEF Japan Director
Greg Hanes, Daiei Chief Merchandiser Akira Kuroda, Commissioner Brian
Baalman, Daiei store manager Takayuki Aida, USMEF Vice Chairman Keith
Miller, Commissioner Ken McCauley, Commissioner Bob Timmons, Executive
Director Jere White and farm broadcaster Greg Akagi, Kansas Agriculture
Network
While the U.S. exported nearly $400 million of beef to Japan last year and
exports are expected to continue to expand this year, Miller noted that the
biggest concern Japan’s store managers have expressed regarding U.S. beef is
their ability to acquire and maintain a sufficient year-round supply. U.S.
beef exports to Japan are currently limited to beef from cattle less than 21
months of age.
“The managers were telling us about the difficulty they have getting the
product. They can’t get near as much as they want,” he said. “As long as we
have that age restriction in place, there’s just not enough supply to meet
consumer demand in Japan.”
In addition to meeting with key importers and distributors, team members
visited the largest cold storage facility in Japan and were impressed to see
the amount of U.S. beef currently entering the country. They were able to
see chilled products, including outside skirt which commands a price of more
than $6.00 per pound in Japan, arriving from several Kansas plants as well
as many other plants across the United States.
Japan is currently the top destination for U.S. pork, and Miller said there
is strong evidence of that status in the retail establishments visited by
the Kansas group.
“It’s really reassuring to see the amount of pork we are moving,” he said.
“A large percentage of the pork products in the meat case are U.S. pork, and
it’s amazing to see how many consumers here in Japan are buying and enjoying
our pork.”
Seeing these results up close is important to the leadership of the KCC, and
provides them with excellent information to share with their fellow farmers
and ranchers back home.
“The Kansas Corn Commission is a longtime member of USMEF and has been a
very strong supporter of our organization,” Miller said. “They want
livestock producers across the United States to understand that the KCC is a
strong partner with them in producing a quality product to be shipped
overseas.”
Miller also noted the two-way benefit of U.S. farmers visiting the Asian
markets. Not only do they have the opportunity to observe the overseas
performance of U.S. meat exports, but it also allows Asian consumers to see
the personal nature of U.S. agriculture.
“In the foreign markets, the farmer is considered to be a person consumers
can trust, and one of the reasons we are over here is to help further build
that trust,” he said.
3-5-2009--Kansas
Corn Commission Supports Corn Farmers Coalition Effort to Tell Growers Story
Grown on family farms throughout Kansas and the
rest of the nation, corn is one of the most versatile crops around. But in
the past year, the crop has been blamed for increasing food prices, using up
valuable land and even raising ticket prices at movie theaters. The Kansas
Corn Commission is one of several state grower organizations that is
educating decision makers on the role of corn farmers through a new effort
called the Corn Farmers Coalition. On Monday, the coalition rolled out a new
website at cornfarmerscoalition.org.
“The Kansas Corn Commission joined with several
other states and the National Corn Growers Association to form this
coalition with one goal—to make sure that the corn grower’s story is told
accurately,” according to KCC Chairman Mike Brzon of Courtland. “Corn
farmers have a great story to tell. We are using less fertilizer, less
chemicals, less water and less tillage and at the same time we are producing
record amounts of corn to supply all our customers.”
The focus of the coalition is educational and
aims to make sure decision makers in Washington and elsewhere have correct
information about corn farming. The coalition launched a web site this week
at cornfarmerscoalition.com as well as an advertising campaign and a
statistical abstract on America’s biggest crop.
“Throughout 2008, we were attacked again and
again from special interest groups who insisted we could not produce enough
corn for our customers,” Brzon said. “We harvested the second largest crop
in history, and we had more corn leftover from 2008 than we did from 2007,
which is the biggest crop ever.”
The coalition will meet with reporters, think
tanks and members of Congress to talk about what’s ahead: how U.S. farmers,
using the latest technologies, will continue to grow enough corn in an
environmentally friendly way to meet all our needs; the prospects for making
the farm bill more responsive to the market; and the future of renewable
fuels, a vital issue for our economy and national security and a key issue
for the new administration. The coalition’s web site has valuable
information that is useful to anyone interested in agriculture.
“This website is also a great resource for
those involved in agriculture. It has a comprehensive fact book with
excellent information,” Brzon said. “For example, farmers grow five times as
much corn as they did in the 1930s — on 20 percent less land. And we produce
70 percent more corn per pound of fertilizer than we did in the 1970s. This
is the type of valuable information that is offered on the
cornfarmerscoalition.org web site.”
The Kansas Corn Commission is a grower board
that invests the half-cent per bushel corn checkoff in the areas of market
development, research, promotion and education to increase the profitability
of Kansas corn.
3-3-09--KSU
Students Get Free Ethanol Fuel and Talk About Renewables
A two hour fuel promotion at the Manhattan Coop drew more than 200
carloads of K-State students looking for free fuel, free lunch and a chance
to talk about renewable fuels. The event was spearheaded by the Renewable
Fuels Association and sponsored by the Kansas Corn Commission to kick off a
national campaign to engage college students in a conversation about
renewable fuels.
For two hours on March 2, representatives of the Kansas Corn Commission and
the Renewable Fuels Association gave free ethanol-blended fuel fill-ups to
KSU students. The Manhattan Coop has both E10 for all gas-powered vehicles
and E85 fuel for flexible fuel vehicles that can operate on fuel up to 85
percent ethanol. Students also got a free lunch and were offered t-shirts or
fuel cards for recording video clips about renewable resources.
The Coop, located just east of Manhattan off of Highway 24, was a good
location for the large turnout, according to Kansas Corn Commission Chairman
Mike Brzon of Courtland.
“We had a steady line of traffic that was up to a half mile long at times,”
Brzon said. “This gave us the opportunity to talk to hundreds of college
students and get them get them to think about renewable fuels like ethanol.
I believe we accomplished a lot at this event, and it is just the beginning
of a much larger effort.”
The event’s organizers used on campus advertising as well as internet sites
to spread the word. Organizers talked to students on campus, advertised in
the student newspaper and used Facebook and the e85challenge.com website to
let students know about the event.
“That’s what this Flex Fuel Challenge is all about,” according to Robert
White of RFA. “It’s about utilizing viral marketing, going through websites
like Facebook. We actually created e85challenge.com to mirror those so you
can add friends, you can have discussions and post pictures and do videos so
that others can work within that medium to promote renewable energy.”
About 40 video clips were shot at the event as students took turns answering
the question “What Does Renewable Mean to You?” The videos will be posted on
the e85challenge.com website. The Manhattan event kicked off a larger
on-line effort to spread the word about renewables and to encourage others
to submit videos on renewables. The Flex Fuel Challenge is looking for
creative ideas on renewables and encourages participants to spread the word
to get votes for their video submission. The entry with the most votes will
win a MacBook Air laptop computer.
In addition to the Kansas Corn Commission, sponsors of the Flex Fuel
Challenge include the United Sorghum Checkoff Program and the Kentucky Corn
Growers Association. For more information, visit the e85challenge.com
website or the Kansas Corn Commission website at www.ksgrains.com.
The Kansas Corn Commission is a grower board that invests the half-cent per
bushel corn checkoff in the areas of market development, research, promotion
and education to increase the profitability of Kansas corn.
1-30-09--Ethanol
Blender Pump Locations Grow In Kansas
An ethanol blender pump opening in Topeka this week showcased efforts to
expand the availability of mid-grade ethanol fuels to Kansas drivers.
The grand opening of the new ethanol blender pumps at the Conoco at 1531
SW Wanamaker Rd., Topeka was held on Jan. 28. The Topeka station is the
eighth Kansas station to offer mid-grade ethanol fuel blends. The Kansas
Corn Commission is leading an effort to add 100 ethanol blender pumps in
the state. The corn commission is working with Growth Energy to offer
technical and promotional support and financial incentives to help
stations offset the costs of adding ethanol blender pumps.
“Kansas is one of the first states to allow blender pumps, giving
motorists more choices for renewable fuels. Forward-thinking action by
the Kansas Department of Agriculture established guidelines to allow the
use of blender pumps in our state,” according to Jere White, Kansas Corn
Commission executive director. “Corn producers see the value in
expanding markets for ethanol within our state.”
Kansas now has eight fuel stations that offer mid-grade ethanol fuels at
blender pumps located in Topeka, Coffeyville, Hutchinson, Garden City,
Lawrence, Ottawa, Dodge City and Colwich.
Blender pumps can offer several blends of ethanol. The most common
blends are E20, E30, E40 and E85. The “E” in the designation indicates
that the fuel contains ethanol—and the number associated with it is the
percentage of ethanol in that blend. For example, E20 is 20% ethanol,
80% gasoline. Any gas-powered engine can use E10, a 10 percent ethanol
fuel blend. In the past year, a large percentage of gasoline sold in
Kansas contained 10 percent ethanol. Fuels with more than 10 percent
ethanol should be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). State
guidelines require blender pumps to be clearly labeled to make sure the
buyer understands that ethanol blends above 10 percent ethanol are
intended only for use in flexible fuel vehicles.
Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky participated in the
Topeka blender pump event and announced that his department had
finalized the state’s blender pump guidelines after a year-long pilot
project. "Information we collected during the pilot project confirms
that blending pumps can consistently and accurately dispense a range of
ethanol blends from a single pump," Polansky said. "This is a real boon
for owners of flexible fuel vehicles who want more choice."
The Topeka grand opening event also celebrated the creation of a new
joint venture between fuel distributor Crescent Oil Company, ethanol
plant design and builder ICM, Inc. and ethanol company Poet to provide a
delivery system for mid-grade ethanol fuels. Crescent Oil, which is
involved in the Topeka and Coffeyville stations, plans to add ethanol
blender pumps at several more locations in Kansas and throughout the
Midwest.
Ethanol blender pumps are located at the following Kansas locations:
Topeka: Conoco, 1531 SW Wanamaker
Coffeyville: Jump Start, 512 NW St.
Hutchinson: Hutchinson Coop Cenex, 1200 W. 4th Ave.
Garden City: U Pump It, 156 N. Campus Dr.
Lawrence: Zarco 66, 9th & Iowa St.
Ottawa: Zarco 66, 2518 East Logan St. (I-35 and Hwy 68)
Dodge City: Dodge City Coop, 800 W. Trail St.
Colwich: TJ’s Convenience Store, 104 W. Chicago Ave.
For more information on Kansas ethanol and a complete list of fuel
stations that offer blender pumps as well as stations that have E85
pumps, visit the ethanol page at www.ksgrains.com.
--back to top--
12-30-08--Kansas Corn
Producers Post High Marks in Yield Contest
While Kansas growers did not receive national honors in the National
Corn Yield Contest sponsored by the National Corn Growers Association,
the state winners posted high yields in all categories.
The combined average yield of the Kansas winners was 261 bushels per
acre, compared to the estimated state average yield of 137 bushels per
acre. The highest irrigated yield from Kansas belonged to Faye Cyr of
Clyde who had a yield of 296.7 bushels per acre in the Ridge Till
Irrigated division. The highest non-irrigated yield was from Richard
Sudbeck of Seneca who had a yield of 285.8 bushels per acre in the
non-irrigated division.
The national and state contest winners will be honored at the 2009
Commodity Classic to be held at Grapevine, Texas February 26-28. The
Kansas winners of the National Corn Yield Contest are listed below.
Non-Irrigated
1. Richard Sudbeck of Seneca planted DEKALB DKC63-42 for a yield of
285.8 bushels per acre.
2. Carl Reiff of Netawaka planted DEKALB DKC63-42 for a yield of 241.6
bushels per acre.
3. Art & Todd Meier of Topeka planted Pioneer 33T57 for a yield of 239.3
bushels per acre.
No Till/Strip Till Non-Irrigated
1. Douglas P. Johnson of Bendena planted Garst 82H80GT/CB/LL for 258.1
bushels per acre.
2. Don Garlow of Concordia planted Pioneer 34R67 for a yield of 251.3
bushels per acre.
3. Devon Benfer Concordia planted Pioneer 31N30 for a yield of 247.5
bushels per acre.
No Till/Strip Till Irrigated
1. Todd Cyr of Clyde planted Pioneer 32B29 for a yield of 293.4 bushels
per acre.
2. Shawn Taddiken of Clifton planted Pioneer 32B29 for a yield of 262.6
bushels per acre.
3. Cedric Hands of Garden City planted Pioneer 33Y74 for a yield of
259.7 bushels per acre.
Ridge Till Non-Irrigated
1. Jimmy Elder of Linwood planted Pioneer 33K44 for a yield of 206.6
bushels per acre.
2. LeRoy Elder of Linwood planted Pioneer 33D47 for a yield of 194.9
bushels per acre.
Ridge Till Irrigated
1. Faye Cyr of Clyde planted Pioneer 32B29 for a yield of 296.7 bushels
per acre.
2. Harold Lambert of Clyde planted Golden Harvest H-9190HX/LL for a
yield of 274.6 bushels per acre.
3. Ron Jacobson of Concordia planted Pioneer 32B29 for a yield of 271.6
bushels per acre.
Irrigated
1. Gail Cyr of Clyde planted Pioneer 32B29 for a yield of 291.6 bushels
per acre.
2. Merl Rexford of Meade planted Pioneer 33D47 for a yield of 280.2
bushels per acre.
3. Richard Unruh of Copeland planted Pioneer 33Y76 for a yield of 273.5
bushels per acre.
--back to top--
12-10-08--Kansas
Corn Producers Are Meeting Needs of Customers
Corn producers are meeting the needs of their customers and doing it in
a more sustainable manner, according to Kansas Corn Commissioner Ken
McCauley of White Cloud. McCauley, who is past president of National
Corn Growers Association, spoke at the Kansas Corn Producers Dinner held
in conjunction with the Kansas Commodity Classic in early December.
McCauley’s presentation focused not only on the growing demand for corn
spurred by the biofuels industry, but also the ability of growers to
meet the demand on existing acres.
“Today, we are using all available technology to significantly increase
corn production, and there is more technology in the pipeline that will
boost yields even more,” McCauley said. “We can find new markets for
corn and still meet all traditional needs and at the same time, we can
be responsible stewards of our natural resources.”
McCauley said the notion that using corn to make ethanol is the main
reason for rising food prices had been disproved by several credible
sources. He pointed to studies from USDA, Texas A&M, and the Federal
Reserve Bank of Kansas City. A copy of McCauley’s presentation is
available on the Kansas Corn Growers Association website at
www.ksgrains.com.
--back to top--
12-10-08--Kansas Corn
Growers Association Holds Annual Meeting
The Kansas Corn Growers Association held its annual meeting on December
8. Association members heard association reports, reviewed the association’s
resolutions and elected board members. Harvey Heier of Grainfield was
elected to represent the west central district; Armin Nelson of McPherson
was elected to represent the central district, and Roger Pine of Lawrence
was elected to represent the east central district.
The KCGA board held its officer elections after
the annual meeting. Brian Baalman of Menlo was reelected president; Armin
Nelson was elected vice president; Bob Timmons, Fredonia was reelected
secretary, and Charles Foltz, Garnett was reelected treasurer.
--back to top--
11-20-08--Kansas
Commodity Classic Is Tuesday, December 9 at Salina!
As Kansas farmers look ahead to 2009, a
number of key questions are looming: can commodity prices rebound to
near-historic highs of 2008? Will input prices stabilize?
Answers to these questions may be found at the annual Kansas Commodity
Classic, slated for Dec. 9 at the Holiday Inn, Salina. The Commodity
Classic is an annual joint convention of the Kansas Association of Wheat
Growers, Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Grain Sorghum
Producers Association.
The day’s educational sessions begin at 9 a.m., when Kansas Secretary of
Agriculture Adrian Polansky leads off with a recap of 2008 and 2009
outlook. The general session continues with a keynote presentation
focusing on the “Strength of the Agricultural Economy,” followed by an
Ag Production Issues panel discussion on the relationship between
agricultural credit, grain marketing and crop inputs. The morning
session concludes with a post-election update on federal government
issues.
Following a complimentary luncheon, a series of breakout sessions will
allow farmers to gain valuable insight into the 2009 crop year. Sessions
include:
--Fertilizer Supply, Demand and Costs;
--Alternative Land Lease Agreements
--End of Year Tax Planning for Farmers
--Rural Development Opportunities
--Marketing Strategies
An ice cream break featuring Call Hall Ice Cream from Kansas State
University - a Kansas Commodity Classic tradition – separates the first
and second breakout sessions. The Commodity Classic is free to farmers,
but pre-registration is encouraged, by calling the Kansas Wheat office
at 866-759-4328
Follow this
link for an agenda of Classic events
.
ANNUAL CORN
PRODUCERS DINNER
6 p.m. Monday, December 8
Salina Holiday Inn
Sponsored by the Kansas Corn Commission
All corn producers are invited
Please RSVP at 800-489-2676
KCGA Annual Meeting will follow at 8 p.m.
--back to top--
8-20-08Former Kansas
Corn Commissioner Carolyn Dunn Will Speak at Republican National
Convention
Carolyn Dunn of St. John will give a three minute speech on rural
development and agriculture at the Republican National Convention. Dunn,
who completed her term earlier this year as Kansas Corn Commissioner
representing the southcentral Kansas district, will speak on Tuesday,
September 2 in the 7 p.m. hour, according to media reports.
Follow the link below to read a Hutchinson
News article about Carolyn's convention appearance.
St.
John woman is preparing ag speech for GOP convention
--back to top--
8-18-08--Kansas
Corn Commission, EPIC Announce Ethanol Blender Pump Program
Offers funding to help offset infrastructure costs for fuel retailers
Colwich, Kan. (Aug. 18, 2008) - Today Kansas will become the second
state to lead the nation in raising public awareness for higher blends
of ethanol as the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC),
Kansas Corn Commission and ICM, Inc. collaborate to launch a blender
pump incentive program across the state of Kansas.
“Consumers are looking for relief at the pump, and blender pumps will
allow gas stations to sell more blends of ethanol-enriched fuel to
consumers driving flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs),” said EPIC Deputy Director,
Robert White. “This program will provide support and incentives to fuel
station retailers who want the opportunity to offer blender pumps, and
raise awareness among consumers.”
This major initiative will help fuel station retailers obtain funding
and the equipment needed to sell higher blends of ethanol, which range
from E20 (20 percent ethanol and 80 percent unleaded gasoline) to E50
(50 percent ethanol and 50 percent unleaded gasoline) and can only be
used in FFVs. One of the main goals is to increase the state’s blender
pump infrastructure by installing a minimum of 100 blender pumps over
the next year. Currently, four blender pumps are open in the state
thanks to a pilot program adopted by the Kansas Department of
Agriculture that made Kansas one of the first states in the nation to
allow ethanol blender pumps.
“This blender pump program will help expand higher blends of ethanol
through blender pumps while also giving consumers a break at the pump
and allowing them to use a product produced right here in Kansas,” said
Kansas Corn Commission Chairman, Bob Timmons. “Our program will help
strengthen our economy by encouraging blender pump infrastructure
development, and take us one step closer to lessening our dependence on
foreign oil.”
A pump promotion was held before the announcement was made to give FFV
drivers an opportunity to fill up with the mid-level blends of ethanol
at a new station in Colwich Kan. ICM, Inc. was instrumental in adding
blender pumps to this station. Many officials, including U.S. Sen. Sam
Brownback and representatives from the Kansas Department of Agriculture
were on hand to celebrate a monumental day for Kansas and renewable
fuels.
--back to top--
Ethanol Blender Pump
Promotions in Garden City Aug. 14 and Colwich Aug. 18
Garden City Event Details:
WHEN: Friday, August 15, 2008 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
WHAT: Consumers attending the promotion can fill their flex-fuel
vehicles (FFVs) with E10, E20, E40, E50 and E85 for a reduced price. FFV
owners will have a 40 cents discount on E20, 80 cents discount on E40,
$1 discount on E50 and E85 will be offered for just $1.85/gallon. All
drivers can save 20 cents per gallon on E10 fuel, approved for use in
any gas powered vehicle or engine.
WHERE: U Pump It Country Corner
156 N. Campus Drive (Fulton and Campus Drive)
Garden City, KS 67846
Colwich Event Details:
WHEN: Monday, August 18, 2008
Pump promotion: 6:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Press Conference: 8:30 a.m.
WHAT: Consumers attending the promotion can fill their flex-fuel
vehicles (FFVs) with E10, E20, E30 and E85 for a reduced price. FFV
owners will have a 40 cents discount on E20, 60 cents discount on E30
and E85 will be offered for just $1.85/gallon. All drivers can save 20
cents per gallon on E10 fuel, approved for use in any gas powered
vehicle or engine.
WHERE: TJ’s Convenience Store
Located at the corner of 53rd Street North and 167th Street West
Colwich, KS 67030
Immediately following the promotion, a joint press conference will be
held to announce a major initiative between the Ethanol Promotion and
Information Council (EPIC) and the Kansas Corn Commission. Reporters
will get a detailed look at the new initiative which will encourage
infrastructure development, raise public awareness for higher blends of
ethanol, and increase consumption of ethanol-blended fuel. Speakers will
include Robert White, deputy director of EPIC; Senator Sam Brownback;
Adrian Polansky, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture; Dave Vander Griend,
president and CEO of ICM, Inc.; and Bob Timmons, chairman of the Kansas
Corn Commission.
--back to top--
July 1,
2008--Kansas Growers Plant Largest Corn Crop in Modern History
Kansas farmers planted 4.1 million acres of corn this year,
according to the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service. The 2008
acreage estimate represents a five percent increase over 2007 and is the
highest corn acreage in Kansas since 1936. The increased acreage shows a
strong grower commitment to provide a plentiful supply of corn for the
livestock and ethanol industries, according to the Kansas Corn Growers
Association and Kansas Corn Commission.
Kansas growers planted 90 percent of their corn acres with varieties
enhanced with biotechnology. 25 percent was planted with Bt corn, 30
percent with herbicide resistant corn, and 35 percent with stacked gene
varieties with both insect and herbicide resistance.
“Our growers are doing what it takes to meet the demand. In Kansas we
are increasing acres and using better corn varieties to supply our
state’s livestock feeders and ethanol plants with the grain they need,”
according to Ken McCauley, White Cloud. McCauley is chairman of National
Corn Growers Association and serves on the Kansas Corn Commission.
In 1936, farmers planted 5.1 million acres of corn in Kansas. Of that,
only 497,000 acres were harvested with a yield of 6 bushels per acre.
Total production was just 2.96 million bushels.
Grain sorghum and corn plantings are also up. Growers planted 2.85
million acres of grain sorghum, up 2 percent from 2007. Growers planted
a record 3.2 million acres of soybeans, up 23 percent from 2007.
Combined feedgrain acres in Kansas (corn and sorghum) total 6.95 million
acres, up 3.7 percent from 2007. Corn and grain sorghum are both valued
in Kansas for livestock and ethanol production.
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5-16-08--Rumors of Ethanol
Disinformation Campaign Prove to Be True
In early May, the Kansas Corn Growers Association put out a news release
pointing to rumors of a multi-million dollar public relations campaign
against ethanol funded by the food manufacturering industry. This week,
Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, outed the Grocery Manufacturers
Association’s smear campaign. On Thursday, Iowa Senator Charles Grassley
went a step further, making a statement about the campaign on the Senate
floor. The Senator also posted the GMA request for proposal as well as
the public relations campaign proposal from Washington, DC firm Glover
Park which was one of the P.R. firms hired for the job.
The Kansas Corn Growers Association along with the National Corn Growers
Association thanked Senator Grassley and Roll Call for reporting on the
disinformation campaign. Corn growers will continue to combat these
well-funded public relations campaigns with facts.
“Commodity prices account for less than 20 percent of the cost you pay
for food at the checkout. Even today’s higher commodity prices have very
little effect on the price of food. The other 80 percent of the grocery
costs which include transportation, packaging and processing are greatly
affected by rising energy costs,” according to KCGA Executive Director
Jere White. “We’re not saying it doesn’t cost more to produce groceries
today, but main culprit is not the farmer, not higher grain prices and
not ethanol.”
The public relations proposal prepared for GMA suggested several
tactics.
“First, we must obliterate whatever intellectual justification might
still exist for corn-based ethanol among policy elites. ... Second, we
must demonstrate to policy makers at the state and federal level that
there is a political price to allowing ethanol policy to drive up the
cost of food,” the Glover Park firm’s proposal stated.
Senator Grassley read a statement on the Senate floor Thursday
chastising GMA for its tactics.
“They’ve outlined their strategy of using environmental, hunger and food
aid groups to demonstrate their contrived “crisis,” Grassley said. “I
think it’s important for policy-makers and the American people to know
who’s behind this effort.”
The GMA has already been successful in getting this misinformation into
stories by the national and regional news media outlets
“We are asking the public and our policy makers to look past the
rhetoric and misinformation being manufactured by high powered
Washington DC public relations firms, and simply use some common sense
and look at the facts,” White said. “Look at your own budget—the main
driver in increased spending in your house is higher fuel and energy
costs. The same holds true for grocery manufacturers and for farmers
alike. It doesn’t make sense to go after the ethanol industry, which is
adding 7 billion gallons of refined fuel to our nation’s energy supply.
Without ethanol, our energy costs would be even higher.”
NCGA President Ron Litterer said corn growers were disappointed the food
manufacturers took this action.
“It is simply unfathomable that food companies through the Grocery
Manufacturers Association chose to smear their farmer-suppliers rather
than cooperate with us to meet the growing challenge for America’s fuel
needs,” Litterer said. “Unfortunately, from what we’ve heard this is not
the only campaign in the works to place the blame on agriculture.”
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5-5-08-Consumers to Pay
for Several Months of Corn, Ethanol Bashing
Despite several research studies showing that ethanol production and
higher corn prices have only a small effect on consumer prices,
anti-ethanol forces have teamed up to sway public opinion against
farmers and the fuel they produce. The Kansas Corn Growers Association
believes facts, not well-funded public relations campaigns, should
prevail.
“We are hearing that the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has
embarked on a multi-million campaign through a Washington, DC public
relations firm to turn public opinion against corn-based ethanol,”
according to Kansas Corn Growers Association Executive Director Jere
White. “Several credible studies released this year show high fuel
prices have a much greater impact on food prices than higher corn
prices.”
White said consumers are wondering why there has been little connection
made between fuel prices and grocery prices.
“That’s where the story gets interesting. In addition to GMA, we are
told the oil industry has chipped in millions to the campaign as well,”
White said. “Consumers are paying higher prices at the pump and at the
checkout. Then the oil companies and food companies are using that money
to blame ethanol for higher food and fuel prices.”
While corn and ethanol producers have the facts on their side, it will
be difficult to beat a multi-million campaign aimed at rolling back the
advances made by the ethanol industry, much of which is owned by
growers. Corn growers have been working to make sure the public is
receiving both sides of the story.
“Corn and ethanol producers simply don’t have millions of dollars to
spend on glossy PR campaigns,” White said. “What we do have are facts:
several studies showing that ethanol production and higher corn prices
account for just a fraction of the increase consumers are paying at the
grocery store. Commodity prices account for less than 20 percent of the
cost of groceries, the rest is transportation, packaging, marketing and
other factors. Plus, ethanol actually reduces the cost of gas for
consumers at the pump”
While food prices are higher, White points out prices for non-food items
are also higher, including things farmers purchase to grow their crops
like fuel and fertilizer.
“It doesn’t take much common sense to understand that the big driver in
increased grocery prices is fuel prices,” White said. “Sure you’re
paying more for food, but you’re also paying more for laundry soap and
toilet paper. Production and transportation costs are up primarily
because of increased fuel prices—especially diesel prices. The real
story is $120 crude oil and the foreign regimes it supports. It is time
we say enough and support America first.”
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3-21-08--Kansas
Grain Commodity Growers Elect Commissioners
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Agriculture today announced the
names of producers from the central third of the state who were elected
to the state’s five grain commodity commissions – corn, grain sorghum,
soybeans, sunflowers and wheat.
This was the third election cycle for districts four, five and six under
the new law that privatized the commissions in July 2000. District Four
commissioners represent north-central Kansas; District Five
commissioners represent central Kansas, and District Six commissioners
represent south-central Kanas.
Ballots were cast between January 15 and March 1 and were counted at the
Kansas
Department of Agriculture on March 7. The newly elected commissioners
will take office April 1 and will serve three-year terms.
Commissioners-Elect for the Kansas Corn Commission
District four – Mike Brzon, who grows corn, soybeans, sorghum and wheat
in Republic County. He currently serves on the Kansas Corn Commission
and is a director on the U.S. Grains Council and Farmway Cooperative
Inc. Brzon also is active in water issues in the Republican River basin
in Kansas and Nebraska.
District five – Terry Vinduska, who grows corn, grain sorghum, soybeans,
wheat and alfalfa on a family farm in Marion County. He currently serves
on the Kansas Corn Commission and is a member of the U.S. Grains
Council, Kansas Farmers Union and Kansas Farm Bureau. Vinduska has a
bachelor’s degree in agricultural technology from Kansas State
University.
District six – Kent Moore, who grows corn, wheat and soybeans in Pratt
County. He is a member of the Kansas Corn Growers Association and the
Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, and he is on the board of directors
for the Pratt County 4-H Foundation. Moore has a bachelor’s degree in
agricultural economics from Kansas State University.
Commissioners-Elect for the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission
District four – William Greving, who grows corn, sorghum, wheat and hay
in Phillips County. He currently is secretary-treasurer of the Kansas
Grain Sorghum Commission, serves on the board of the National Sorghum
Producers and is a member of the Kansas Livestock Association, the
Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Corn Growers
Association. Greving has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Fort
Hays State University.
District five – Clayton Short, who grows corn, sorghum, wheat and
soybeans in Saline County. He currently serves on the Kansas Grain
Sorghum Commission and is a member of the Kansas Grain Sorghum
Association and Kansas Association of Wheat Growers. Short has a
bachelors degree in agriculture from Kansas State University.
District six – Dennis Siefkes, who grows corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
and wheat in Stafford County. He is a member of the Kansas Grain Sorghum
Producers Association, the Stafford County Farm Bureau and the Great
Bend Cooperative Association, and a past member of the Kansas Corn
Commission. Siefkes has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture mechanization
from Kansas State University.
Commissioners-Elect for the Kansas Soybean Commission
District four – Steve Clanton, who grows corn, grain sorghum, soybeans,
sunflowers and wheat in Ottawa County. He currently serves on the Kansas
Soybean Commission. He has been involved in many organizations,
including the local extension and soil conservation board and the Kansas
Soybean Association. He is a past president of the Kansas Association of
Wheat Growers. Clanton has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from
Kansas State University.
District five – Harold Kraus, who grows corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
and wheat in Ellis County. He has served on the Kansas Soybean
Commission since 1999, is a member of Kansas Farm Bureau and is a voting
member of the National Biodiesel Board. Kraus has a bachelor’s degree in
business from the University of Kansas.
District six – Jerry Wyse, who grows wheat, corn, grain sorghum and
soybeans in Reno County. He currently serves on the Kansas Soybean
Commission and is past president and CEO of Kauffman Seeds Inc. Wyse has
an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Hesston College.
Commissioners-Elect for the Kansas Wheat Commission
District four – Steve Clanton, who also was elected to the Kansas
Soybean Commission.
He grows corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat in Ottawa
County. He currently serves on the Kansas Soybean Commission. He has
been involved in many organizations, including the local extension and
soil conservation board and the Kansas Soybean Association. He is a past
president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers. Clanton has a
bachelor’s degree in engineering from Kansas State University.
District five – Dean Stoskopf, who grows wheat, grain sorghum and
alfalfa, and has a cow-calf herd in Barton County. He currently is
finishing his second term on the Kansas Wheat Commission, he is a past
president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and is a current
member of Kansas Farm Bureau. Stoskopf has a degree in agriculture from
Kansas State University.
Distinct six – Scott Van Allen, who grows sorghum and wheat in Sumner
County. He is a past president and current member of the Sumner County
Farm Bureau. Van Allen has also been on Kansas Farm Bureau’s wheat
advisory board for the past two years. Van Allen is a graduate of
Clearwater High School.
Commissioner-Elect for the Kansas Sunflower Commission
There were no candidates for commissioner in districts four, five and
six. Commissioners will be appointed by the Kansas Sunflower Commission.
2009 Election Will Cover Western Third of State
Corn, grain sorghum, soybean, sunflower and wheat growers in the western
third of the state can expect to receive information by mail this fall
outlining the 2009 election procedure.
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.
Grain growers who plan to campaign for a seat on one of the commissions
must collect on an official petition form 20 signatures from eligible
voters to be included on the 2009 ballot. Official petition forms will
be available through the Kansas Department of Agriculture or one of the
grain commodity commissions.
No more than five signatures from any one county will be used to qualify
a candidate. Eligible voters are Kansas residents who will reach age 18
before the election and have been growing corn, grain sorghum, soybeans,
sunflowers or wheat during the last three years. The filing deadline for
candidates is November 30, 2008.
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2-25-08--Lawrence Station
Offers Four Ethanol Blends
A new biofuels station in Lawrence is the first to participate in
the state’s ethanol blender pump pilot program by offering four blends
of ethanol fuels. Motorists can purchase E10, E20, E30 and E85 fuel at
the Zarco66 biofuels station at 9th & Iowa in Lawrence.
The station is the first of its kind in Kansas, selling only ethanol
blended fuels as well as several biodiesel blends as well.
Kansas is one of a handful of states that allow ethanol to be blended at
different levels with a blender pump. The pumps are labeled to make sure
the buyer understands that ethanol blends above 10 percent ethanol are
intended only for use in flexible fuel vehicles.
Interest in mid-range ethanol blends is increasing. Earlier this year,
the American Coalition for Ethanol and the US Department of Energy
released results of a study that showed mid-range ethanol blends, fuel
mixtures with more ethanol than E10 but less than E85, can in some cases
provide better fuel economy than regular unleaded gasoline, even in
standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles.
Previous assumptions held that ethanol's lower energy content directly
correlates with lower fuel economy for drivers. Those assumptions were
found to be incorrect in the study. Instead, the new research strongly
suggests that there is an "optimal blend level" of ethanol and gasoline
- most likely E20 or E30 - at which flexible fuel vehicles will get
better mileage than predicted based strictly on the fuel's per-gallon
Btu content. The study, cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and
the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), also found that mid-range
ethanol blends reduce harmful tailpipe emissions.
In addition to the favorable fuel economy findings, the research
provides strong evidence that standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles can
operate on ethanol blends beyond 10 percent. Additional research is
being done on the use of higher blends of ethanol in non-flexible fuel
vehicles. New standards for ethanol use in non-flexible fuel vehicles
have not been set, and motorists are reminded that ethanol blends above
10 percent are for flexible fuel vehicles which can operate on any
combination of gas and ethanol up to 85 percent ethanol.
A May grand opening event is being planned for the Zarco66 biofuels
station. Details on the grand opening event will be released when
available.
For more information on Kansas corn, grain sorghum and ethanol, visit
www.ksgrains.com.
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1-4-08--Three New
Plants Double Kansas Ethanol Production
Kansas ethanol production ended 2007 on a high note with the startup of
the 110 million gallon Arkalon Energy ethanol plant near Liberal. The 55
million gallon Gateway Ethanol plant at Pratt and the 55 million gallon
Bonanza Bioenergy plant in Garden City, both began production in the
fall of 2007. The addition of these three plants more than doubled the
ethanol production capacity for Kansas, according to the Kansas Corn
Growers Association and Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association.
“We began 2007 eight plants producing 215 million gallons of fuel
ethanol. Today, we have eleven plants producing 439 million gallons of
ethanol, providing a market for 156 million bushels of corn and grain
sorghum,” according to Jere White, KCGA and KGSPA executive director. “A
third of that grain, about 52 million bushels, returns as distillers
grains, a nutrient-dense livestock feed.”
Kansas corn and sorghum growers harvested over 730 million bushels of
feedgrains in 2007. Combined, the crops saw a 49 percent increase in
production over 2006.
“We had good growing conditions in most parts of the state in 2007, but
you also have to recognize that we are seeing some of those increases
because of advances in hybrids and improved farming practices,” White
said.
While grain demand from the ethanol sector has increase, Kansas
producers continue to be able to supply the livestock industry with the
grain it needs. The U.S. is coming off a record year. 2007 corn
production numbers show record production and a large carryout, or
unused corn, set at 1.9 billion bushels. This is the third largest
carryout in the past ten years.
“Our number 1 customer continues to be the livestock industry, and our
growers are showing that we can supply grain to both the livestock and
ethanol industries. In turn, the ethanol industry supplies high nutrient
distillers grains to the livestock industry, offsetting at least a third
of the grain that goes to ethanol production.”
Livestock also remains a priority for the Kansas Corn Commission, which
administers the state’s half-cent per bushel corn checkoff, White said.
More than half of the corn commission research funding is related to
livestock.
While ethanol production is increasing in Kansas, so is the availability
of ethanol blended fuels. E85, 85 percent ethanol fuel for flexible fuel
vehicles is available at 28 stations across the state.
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12-26-07--Array of
ethanol blends possible under pilot project
TOPEKA -- Flexible fuel vehicle owners could get more choices at the
pump under a pilot project launched by the Kansas Department of
Agriculture.
“Fueling stations currently sell gasoline blended with either 10 percent
or 85 percent ethanol,” said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian
Polansky. “This pilot project will allow them to install pumps that
dispense ethanol fuel blends not currently offered, like 20 or 30
percent ethanol, to allow consumers to decide for themselves which blend
is best for them based on price and performance.”
All vehicles on the road today can use gasoline blended with 10 percent
ethanol, or E10. Flexible fuel vehicles, however, can use higher blends
with up to 85 percent ethanol. The blender pumps authorized under the
pilot project will allow flexible fuel vehicle owners to purchase such
blends as E20, E30, E50 or E85.
“The U.S. Department of Transportation is now testing how regular fuel
vehicles perform on higher ethanol blends. Initial research shows that
E15 and E20 blends deliver the same environmental benefits without any
adverse effect on vehicle engines,” Polansky said. “It’s very possible
the Department of Transportation may one day endorse using these higher
ethanol blends in non-flexible fuel vehicles.”
In the meantime, to ensure unwitting consumers don’t accidentally pump a
higher ethanol blend into their vehicle than it can manage, the pumps
will feature a bright orange label with the message “For use in flexible
fuel vehicles only.”
The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s weights and measures program
regulates gas pumps for accuracy and verifies the fuel’s
characteristics, including octane rating and whether the fuel contains
impurities. Program staff will ensure that equipment used to dispense
the ethanol blended fuel is suitable and properly installed, and that
fuel quantity and quality standards are met.
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