ETHANOL PRODUCTION DOES NOT IMPACT INCREASING NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS RUNOFF

Corn needs nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil to produce quality grain. For years, farmers have added these nutrients to the soil through manure applications and, more recently, directly injecting them into the soil.

However, the actual use of nitrogen and phosphorus per bushel has decreased in recent years. Corn yields are going up and nutrient applications are decreasing, allowing farmers to use 36 percent less fertilizer for their crops than they did only three decades ago.  In addition, new tillage practices are reducing soil erosion which, in turn, decreases nutrient run off. If you look at their numbers, there is less phosphorus and nitrogen per bushel of corn now than ever before.

Currently there are two projects starting in Illinois that are addressing the movement of nitrogen and phosphorus by studying tillage, application dates and amounts. These studies will be a collaborative effort between the Environmental Defense Fund, American Farmland Trust, and University of Illinois researchers.

Increased ethanol production has had no impact on phosphorus and nitrogen run off.
Recent information is now looking at “legacy phosphorus and nitrogen” – a term coined by the EPA to indicate nutrients that were washed into the streams and rivers and deposited 50 years ago and are now being moved downstream by the heavy rainfall events of the last few years. It is estimated that it may take 30-50 years before this huge reservoir of sediment and nutrients will be washed out of the River system. Thus the significant reduction in applied nutrients/bushel currently is actually keeping the levels of nutrients in our water systems from being as high as they could be.

Mike Plumer
Ex Officio Director, ICGA & U of I Extension Specialist

HFCS ACQUITTED!

Do you know your sugars? Which ones are good and which ones are bad for you? Take this quiz and see how you do.

Some people mistakenly think that some sweeteners are healthier than others. When in reality, the facts just don’t add up. Whether it’s sugar from cane, beets or corn, all sweet treats have the same number of calories.  To learn more about how these are all made click here.  Don't let yourself be scammed!

Becky Finfrock
ICGA/ICMB Communications Assistant

WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITHOUT PORK BURRITOS AND STEAK FAJITAS?

Our office took a stand Friday. We are boycotting Chipotle. But first, let me give you some background so you can understand why you should DEFINITELY boycott Chipotle too.

I have no idea if you’ve been following the animal welfare issues going on in Ohio, so let me start this post out with a summary.

Ohio was chugging along, producing quality grain, meats, and produce for the citizens of our world, when the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) came along and decided to wreak havoc. As they have done in other states, HSUS decided to pursue a ballot initiative that would make certain farming practices illegal. Here’s hoping that any of you reading this already know that HSUS isn’t as concerned for animal welfare as they are for ending animal agriculture and meat production in our country, but if you don’t, read this before you go any further.

Ohio agriculture raised a lot of money and started to fight back. They set up an agency within their state that would oversee animal welfare issues and enforce animal care standards, thus eliminating the need for the HSUS to come in and demand the end of the various farming practices.

But now the HSUS has decided that they will continue to fight. They are currently behind a new ballot initiative that will “require the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board to adopt certain minimum standards to prevent animal cruelty, improve health and food safety, support family farms, and safeguard the environment throughout the state of Ohio.” These are their words.

The point to my post, however, is the fact that Chipotle is a corporate sponsor for their effort. They are allowing ballots to be placed in their stores throughout Ohio to make it easier for unsuspecting patrons to vote in their favor, bringing us one step closer to ending animal agriculture in the United States.

Yes, the same Chipotle that serves the pork burritos that my co-worker Becky loves, is trying to end pork production in the U.S. And they know it.

They have statements about their purchasing choices and support of humane animal care all over the store. They were also the first restaurant to remove rBGH from their milk products, buy from family farms and make a real, financial commitment to sustainable meat. (source here)

(Whether or not they actually understand that this production system isn’t sustainable remains to be seen. I guess there could be different definitions of sustainability.)

Obviously, with this background, they are well-educated on the goals of the HSUS and want to support ending animal agriculture. Don’t be surprised if you head into Chipotle next year and the entire menu is vegetarian.

Because of all this, our office decided to make a statement yesterday. Becky, Mark and I had the wonderful pork at Moe’s Southwestern Grill instead.

We couldn’t find anything on Moe’s website indicating that they support activist groups and we wanted to reward them for it. Not to mention that their food is better and their chips are free!

Then we met some more folks from the office and expressed our displeasure for Chipotle.

Why don’t you go ahead and do the same?
 
Lindsay Mitchell
Project Coordinator, ICGA/ICMB

FINDING A GOOD BALANCE IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE DISCUSSION

About halfway through my term as President of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, I can look back and realize that a good portion of our time has been spent on climate change and the idea that corn is somehow responsible for warming our planet. At the same time, I now have to wonder if the second half will be spent discussing whether or not corn is cooling the planet.

Check this out.

All at once, I am consoled that now I am no longer warming the planet and contributing to an apocalypse, but fueling a “cool hole” in the middle of the country.

To summarize, David Changnon, a climate scientist at Northern Illinois University, has used decades of research to prove that more densely planted corn and soybean fields scattered across the Midwest are changing the regional climate – raising the dew point and reducing the extremely hot summer days.

Is it just me, or do all the other Illinois farmers out there want the public, the researchers, and the government to make up their minds about how we affect the climate? It surely isn’t only me that wishes we were seen as a solution to the problem instead of the problem.

This article indicates that there’s hope.

"It's a different type of human-induced climate change that has certainly played a role in the changes to Illinois' weather," said Jim Angel, a climatologist at the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign. "It's kind of an interesting way to look at all this."

Interesting, but also crucially important, Changnon said, as climate scientists ponder two intriguing questions related to this research: Have Midwest farmers accidentally created a barrier to soften the most severe effects of global warming? And if so, can it be repeated elsewhere?

Finally.

Half a year spent discussing warming and hopefully half a year discussing cooling. Maybe I will exit my term as President with the needle still fully in the middle.

And I will consider it a victory.

Tim Lenz
President, ICGA

CHINA’S PURCHASE READS LIKE A SUSPENSE NOVEL

It’s sad but true. I enjoy my job enough that I sit on the edge of my seat waiting for answers to the question of the day. Today, that question happens to be Will the Chinese government allow US corn to be unloaded in China?

I know it’s isn’t a question that would keep most of you up at night, but for me, it’s almost like a suspense novel.

Yesterday, China (actually COFCO, the largest oils and food importer and exporter in China) bought six cargos of U.S. corn from Bunge. The shipments are to be delivered between June and September 2010.

This is great news because the U.S. has been waiting to gain entry into the Chinese market for years. We have worked long and hard to ensure that when China needed more corn, they would buy it from us. In 2001, we heard the great news that they had purchased three cargos of corn, but we were all disappointed later when they cancelled them.

Now can you imagine that when I heard the news about China buying six cargos of corn yesterday I was jumping out of my chair? Ok, maybe I wasn’t that enthusiastic, but I was cautiously optimistic that this market was finally open to Illinois corn farmers.

Illinois corn farmers have a lot to gain from new exports to China. We have three river systems … the Illinois, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. We have a comparative advantage when it comes to exporting corn because it’s cheapest for us to get it to a river and load it on a barge. Cargos of corn going to China is great news for the overabundance of corn Illinois farmers are predicted to produce in 2010.

This announcement came just in time.

Except a second announcement came right on its heels - the Chinese inspection papers, or whatever they call the government document that allows US corn to be unloaded in China, haven’t been issued yet. To me, that means another cancellation could be in our future.

I’m on the edge of my seat. I’m waiting to see what happens. I can’t wait to flip to that final page of the story and find out the answer.

What can I say? I love a good story. Instead of a book worm, I’m a corn wor … no wait.

Phil Thornton
ICGA/ICMB Value Enhanced Project Director

What qualifies as gluttonous profits? How about 8,000%!

If you’re looking for a good read, I think you might have just stumbled across one.

Take a look at this article by Marc J. Rauch, Executive Vice President of The Auto Channel which claims to be the “largest independent automotive information resource.” I don’t know about that, but I do know that Mr. Rauch is in favor of calling a spade, a spade.

The article quickly chronicles the arrival of a news tip in his inbox entitled Automakers Concerns with E15, and his thoughts on the folks that wrote the article, their lack of facts, and their unbiased support of the oil industry.

He offers some great quotes. For one, “The story’s byline claims that its author is with the ‘Ethanol Transparency Project,’ a sponsored program of “The Agribusiness Council.” After perusing information about The Agribusiness Council I would say that its name is as ill-conceived in describing its real purpose as “National Socialism” was to describe Hitler’s Nazi Party."

And he summarizes the article by saying, “Except for those people who make gluttonous profits from the petroleum oil, it is in everyone’s best interests to destroy OPEC and the ruling hierarchy of the gasoline companies. Energy independence from foreign dictators and terrorism supporters can be had, and there are economically viable alternatives to gasoline that are available right now. Alcohol (ethanol) is one, and it may be as close to a viable single source solution to oil as is possible.”

I won’t ruin it for you. Come check it out here.

By: Lindsay Mitchell
ICGA/ICMB Project Coordinator

Confronting the Ag Tech Myth

The other day, I was being interviewed for a special feature on my school's website. I go to a small fine arts school in the Chicago suburbs, which is situated in a fairly wealthy area. Here, agriculture doesn't get thought about much. When I saw the initial story written, I was more than a little shocked by one sentence.

"Kelly Rivard, sophomore, is bringing new technology to an old-tech industry."

What!? This story about my activity in social media and agriculture was written by an educated lady who was a wonderful writer. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, though. She was born and raised in the suburbs. It wasn't an intentional attack against ag; it was a misinformed but well-meaning profile of me.

I knocked on her office door and she seemed happy to see me. She was willing to talk about the article, so we sat down and made some changes. First off, I didn't want undue credit. Agriculturalists were using social media long before I was on the scene. Secondly, I strongly advocate urban and suburban education in terms of agriculture. The people who see this website should know that farmers are educating themselves in some pretty sophisticated technology!

While I can't restate it word-for-word, the revision went something similar to this:

"Kelly Rivard, sophomore, has immersed herself in new technology to help promote a very old industry."

After all, agriculture was the first industry. As the oldest type of trade, it has a long history of tradition. Part of that tradition is the on-going innovation that takes place every single day. Research is always going on, and it has to continue. With populations rising at alarming rates and farmland disappearing quickly, we need cutting-edge technology to make the best products in large quantities. Farmers are doing more with less these days.

Maybe I encounter this more because of my school. Maybe I'm just especially alert to the fact that suburban and urban folks make well-meaning mistakes and misconceptions in regards to farming. Either way, it's important to teach those who don't know. It is encounters like this that keep me reaching out. If the ag community doesn't teach the public, who will?

BIO:
Kelly Rivard is a sophomore at North Central College, where she studies Interactive Media Studies and English. She plans to use her experience in Internet Communications to pursue a career in Agriculture Communications after college.