Corn Grower Ethanol Committee Explores Future
The Ethanol Committee of the National Corn Growers Association met in Kansas City this past week week to consider the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
“The market for ethanol has grown exponentially over the past decade, thus utilizing an abundance of corn to meet the already-present need for a renewable, domestic biofuel,” said Chad Willis, a Minnesota corn grower who serves as chairman of the committee. “Now, we face a myriad of challenges and opportunities as those in the industry continue to innovate while some outside of it continue attempts to deny ethanol’s incredible value to our nation.”
Participants got a first-hand look at the LifeLine Foods business model in St. Joseph, Mo., exploring the possibilities for creating even more food and fuel from every kernel of corn. The company, which produces products for both domestic and international markets, is unique in creating both ethanol and corn-based food products by using the separate components of corn to their fullest capacity.
“After years of hearing rehashed iterations of the food-and-fuel debate, we found the tour of LifeLIne to be both interesting and inspiring,” Willis said. “Companies such as this demonstrate that, through a mixture of creative thought and hard work, we can find new ways to use corn even more productively and solve an array of societal needs.”
The committee of farmer leaders from around the Corn Belt also had the opportunity to meet the NCGA’s new Director of Biofuel Programs and Business Development Pam Keck, who is a scientist and educator with more than 20 years of experience in the agricultural and biofuels industry, academia and not-for-profit research.
Keck most recently contracted with Monsanto, coordinating an outreach program that brought together schools and scientists. She has previously taught chemistry at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville and at Lewis and Clark Community College. She has also served as assistant director of workforce development and scientific projects at the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center.



Reaction to President Obama’s
The new look for the iconic car was unveiled this past weekend during the NASCAR Preview 2012 event in Charlotte, North Carolina, 


Kenny Wallace, a driver who has been 
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The letter from the organizations noted that “preventing the EPA from implementing the use of E15 for cars, pickups and SUVs made in model year 2001 and newer, further contributes to our nation’s reliance on foreign oil. Extensive testing has been done on E15 and it has been found to be a safe and effective fuel for use in the vehicles approved in the waiver. There has been no evidence to the contrary that would indicate problems in any vehicle regardless of vintage.”
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Back in August, the Green Scissors Project identified ways the federal government could shave $380 billion from the federal budget over five years. But their $380 billion in proposed cuts included a major error that accounts for more that 10 percent of their suggested cuts – $38.8 billion that they argued the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit would otherwise cost between 2012 and 2016. They conveniently ignored the important fact that there will be no VEETC between those years. VEETC expires about a month from now, and corn growers and the ethanol industry have long agreed to let it expire and have since stopped fighting for its renewal.
The No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet race car will feature a special-edition American Ethanol paint scheme at the race and will be driven by American Ethanol spokesman and 
The organizations were reacting to a bill introduced by Representatives Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) that would reduce or eliminate the volumes of renewable fuel use required by the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) based upon corn stocks-to-use ratios.
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