|
NCGA
Tracks New Opportunities for Check-off Funded Business Development (10-25-01)
Think of prospecting
and you'll probably imagine a gray-bearded prospector leading a mule
overloaded with picks and shovels through the desert or mountains.
That may have been
true for gold prospectors in the Old West. Today, however, if you're
prospecting for opportunities to develop new markets for corn, you can
prospect in the relative comfort of a convention. That's what Bob Sedlacek,
the Business Development Director for the National Corn Growers Association
(NCGA) did recently when he attended the American Chemical Society Midwest
Regional Meeting in Lincoln, Neb. The two-day event featured seminars
and discussions for recent developments in chemistry.
"This was an
opportunity to keep abreast of research topics in the Midwest,"
said Sedlacek, who doesn't have any gray hair, let alone a gray beard,
and who isn't followed by the overloaded mule. "We also look at
this as an exploratory activity to identify potential research project
partners and institutions."
"The NCGA research
program delivers for corn growers effectively," he said. "NCGA
is focused on two key areas, technology for new uses and business opportunity
development. The NCGA uses corn grower check-off dollars to develop
technology for new uses to increase the use of corn and open new markets
for corn.
"NCGA delivers
on this promise in two ways," he added. "We maintain and expand
existing markets through projects such as our livestock association
relations program, research to increase ethanol production efficiency
such as fiber fermentation projects and increasing the value of co-products
through DDGS research. We also develop new markets by creating processes
to make new products such as 1,3-propanediol, a chemical used to make
a new type of plastic.
"NCGA will
ensure that research results in increased use of corn and benefits corn
growers by commercializing the technology and providing opportunities
for corn growers whenever possible," he noted.
Particular sessions
on functional foods included presentations on food related allergens,
E. coli, its genome and implications on food safety, nutraceutical components
of cereal and coarse grains. There were also a variety of sessions where
the sample matrix was of interest due to agricultural residues or ethanol
and MTBE.
"Events such
as this are vital in protecting the markets we currently have for corn
growers, as well as opening new ones," Sedlacek said.
Sedlacek said many
of the institutions presenting at the conference were land rant universities.
Some of the projects (any examples) presented were supported by the
checkoff dollars of the nation's 20 grower checkoff states. "These
are some of the ways that farmers are investing in their own research
and development projects to increase their profit opportunities."
For more information
on checkoff-related research, visit the NCGA website.
Last
reviewed October 25, 2001
|