|
|  |
March 23, 2001 * Volume 8 * Number 7
Corn Checkoff Fashions New Markets through PLA
Corn checkoff investments are once again bringing great returns to corn
growers. Cargill Dow's PLA plant at Blair, Neb., won't start producing
the corn-based polymer until next year. However, international textile
manufacturing companies recognize the benefits of replacing petroleum-based
polyester with fabric made from corn and are lining up to place their
orders. Annually, the plant is expected to turn 14 million bushels of
corn into 300 million pounds of PLA. Textile manufacturer Kanebo Gohsen
Ltd. of Japan is a major customer of Cargill Dow's PLA. Representatives
of these two companies as well as Japanese trading company Itochu International
and U.S. Grains Council recently visited NCGA to explain the potential
for PLA's use in fabrics and to display samples of the products that
are being tested in select markets in Japan. This is a totally new product,
similar to other synthetic fabrics common in most clothing today. PLA
will replace petroleum-based polyester fibers that aren't easily recyclable.
The variety of uses makes PLA a very exciting opportunity. PLA clothing
is not a novelty item. PLA, either as a blend or as 100 percent, improves
performance in a variety of clothing and other items, such as polo shirts,
active and athletic wear, sweaters, ties, denim, T-shirts, undershirts
and socks. The pioneering work that NCGA supported has contributed to
very near, very real commercialization. Originally NCGA funded application
research projects to improve PLA. This is an example of the commercialization
of that research.
NCGA's Corn Board Tells Policymakers to Bolster the Future Viability
of Ethanol
The NCGA Corn Board effectively conveyed the farm group's message on
ethanol to top policymakers this week in Washington: Just say no to
the California ethanol waiver and incorporate a renewable fuel standard
in any national energy policy. Corn Board members met with USDA Secretary
Ann Veneman, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and Kyle McSlarrow,
chief of staff to Energy Secretary Abraham, and senior officials of
the National Economic Council at the White House. NCGA's grower leaders
also met with key Hill leaders. At each meeting, the corn industry unwaveringly
reiterated the farmers' support for ethanol. NCGA believes that ethanol
must remain a viable value-added product for corn farmers, and to that
end the State of California's request for a waiver from the oxygenate
standard must be denied. Currently, more than 100 ethanol plants nationwide
are in the planning stages; unfortunately, many of these plans are on
hold, due to uncertainty on the part of grower-investors of the direction
of federal policy. NCGA also asserts that any federal energy strategy
must include renewable energy sources such as ethanol. Corn growers
point out that corn-derived ethanol uses a domestically produced, renewable
energy source that is immune to manipulation by foreign governments
or cartels. And the industry can supply the volume of ethanol required
by even the largest consumer states such as California, which needs
an estimated 600 million gallons annually.
Corn Board Delivers a Blunt Message on Biotech to the White House
The NCGA Corn Board-in Washington this week for quarterly meeting-secured
a meeting with a top White House official to express their dismay over
the European Union's failure to approve corn hybrids. "The EU's
regulatory moratorium has cost U.S. corn growers $200 million each year
since 1998," explained Fred Yoder, chairman of NCGA's Biotechnology
Working Group. "And, the EU is drafting new rules that threaten
to disrupt more trade." Yoder and the Corn Board presented their
assessments in the White House to Gary Edsen, assistant to the president
for international economic affairs. Edsen is also a member of the National
Security Council and the National Economic Council. Describing the EU's
regulatory process as creating a logjam, Yoder said the regulatory body
has squandered more than four years to review biotech corn hybrids.
Even so, product approvals are still pending. "The EU system is
just not functioning. Since August 1998 the EU has failed to complete
the procedures to market a single crop product created through biotechnology.
The EU officials have played politics and ignored the EU's own regulations
as well as the World Trade Organization obligations," Yoder concluded.
NCGA Urges Higher Funding for Plant Genome Research
Vic Miller, chairman of NCGA's Customer and Business Development Team
and an Oelwein, Iowa, farmer, told the House Appropriations Committee
this week to increase funding for plant genome research by $25 million.
With this budget boost, the National Science Foundation (NSF) research
program can provide sequences and draft sequences of gene-rich regions
of plants that are economically significant to the United States. Miller's
testimony reiterated that increased funding for plant genomics has been
NCGA's number one appropriations priority for the past five years. "We
remain convinced that the future of the corn industry is written in
corn's genetic code and that plant genomics will give us the fundamental
information necessary to revolutionize American agriculture," he
said. "Plant genomic research offers us the greatest potential
to increase the value and demand for U.S. crops, thereby increasing
grower income and reducing grower reliance on federal farm programs."
He added that the $25 million appropriations increase for plant genome
research will help to ensure that public and private scientists and
plant breeders have access to draft sequences of economically significant
plants such as corn, and other basic knowledge.
USDA Announces Start of Crop Disaster Payments
More than $1.1 billion in crop disaster payments are beginning this
week, according to USDA Secretary Ann Veneman. These payments represent
compensation for 2000 crop year weather-related losses. NCGA lobbied
aggressively to secure this funding, which is part of the FY 2001 Agriculture
Appropriations Act. Growers should contact their local USDA Service
Center or Farm Service Agency to file an application. Eligibility guidelines
dictate that a grower must have experienced at least a 35 percent loss
to one or more of their year 2000 crops due to natural disasters. When
an application receives approval, the payment to the grower is usually
prompt.
U.S. Trade Rep Seeks Deal on HFCS with Mexico
U.S.Trade Representative Robert Zoellick told the Mexican trade minister
that processors of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) must have better
access to the Mexican market in exchange for resolving a dispute over
Mexican access to the U.S. sugar market. Last year, trade officials
from both countries attempted to hammer out a deal involving HFCS and
sugar, the United States rejected Mexico's proposal regarding the importation
of U.S. HFCS, deeming it insufficient. American officials are in Mexico
this week attempting to resolve various trade-related issues.
Cargill Dow PLA Wins Prestigious DOE Award
Cargill Dow LLC's breakthrough technology, NatureWorks(tm) PLA, has
made a key addition to its list of industry honors with the presentation
of the Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT)
Technology-of-the-Year award. This honor is awarded annually to a technology
that demonstrates the potential for improved energy efficiency along
with economic and environmental benefits. Developed by Cargill Dow,
NatureWorks PLA or polylactic acid is a natural-based polymer that can
be used for common consumer items such as clothing, cups, food containers,
candy wrappers, as well as home and office furnishings. NatureWorks
uses annually renewable resources like corn rather than petroleum for
its feedstock. By substituting corn for petroleum, NatureWorks uses
20 - 50 percent less fossil resources than conventional plastics. In
addition, since the production of PLA recycles the earth's carbon, the
PLA system emits less CO2 compared to other petroleum based thermoplastics.
FDA to Begin Testing for Biotech Corn Allergy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will soon begin blood-testing
people who say they may have been sickened by eating food products that
contained StarLink corn. The test, which the agency recently developed,
is designed to indicate whether someone is allergic to the Cry9C protein.
The government has been investigating about a dozen complaints of people
who said they became ill last fall after eating the corn products.
Japan to Allow Foods to Contain Up to 5 Percent Biotech Corn
As part of new safety guidelines to take effect April 1, the Japanese
government will allow food products to contain genetically modified
corn in levels up to 5 percent, according to reports released this week.
The Japanese government decided to set a threshold for high-tech corn
after new technology made it possible to detect it in processed foods.
The Ministry of Agriculture's policy on corn was expected to draw criticism
from consumer groups across the country, as many Japanese are opposed
to the presence of any biotech products in food. Japan has closely regulated
biotech corn , whose genes are altered so that it produces its own pesticide
citing concern over possible health risks from eating products made
from it.
|