National Corn
Growers Association, Pioneer Hi-Bred Sign Letter of Intent
To Provide Ethanol Rapid Assay to Industry (6-7-04)
In a move toward providing the ethanol industry with a standard
platform for measuring the fermentation characteristics of corn,
the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and Pioneer Hi-Bred
International, Inc., today signed a letter of intent for Pioneer
to donate a tool designed to quickly quantify the ethanol yield
potential of corn grain in the dry-grind process.
The technology will allow corn growers to provide grain that could
improve the efficiency of ethanol plants and also will allow the
seed industry access to a single standardized calibration with
which to measure corn hybrid ethanol potential.
“With so many new ethanol plants coming online, the ethanol
industry is moving to a whole new level,” said NCGA Corn
Board member Bill Horan. “At the same time, however, there
is the potential for multiple measuring systems. One standardized
platform would be a key step toward optimizing the efficiency of
those plants.”
NCGA intends to enter a licensing agreement with Pioneer, in which
the seed company would provide its High Total Fermentable (HTF)
Rapid Assay technology for use by the corn industry. The whole-grain
near infrared (NIR) rapid assay from Pioneer is the first analytical
tool developed that enables the seed and ethanol industries to
predict the potential value of corn for ethanol production. Additionally,
growers will benefit by having a tool that helps them manage corn
sales in a new way.
Pioneer would
provide NCGA a royalty-free license to the company’s
HTF calibration and related data. This license would include rights
to sublicense and use the data in future calibrations. NCGA would
coordinate all activities related to establishing a single grain
assay standard that is accurate and fair for corn growers and the
ethanol industry.
“Our intent is to improve the profitability of corn growers
and the seed and ethanol industries by accelerating the acceptance
of a standard that is accurate and fair,” said Horan. “This
is good news for U.S. corn growers and the growing ethanol industry.”
“The dry-grind ethanol industry is rapidly expanding and
providing a growing marketplace for U.S. corn growers and their
products,” said Diane Bridgewater, vice president, business
director, Pioneer. “Pioneer is very excited about working
with NCGA to provide this technology. We feel accurate grain quality
standards will benefit both growers and the ethanol industry.”
Dry grind ethanol plants would be able to license from NCGA an
industry standard calibration for measurement of grain with HTF.
This measurement would allow ethanol plants to source grain with
a higher potential ethanol yield, improving the efficiency and
profitability of these plants. Grain elevators would also be able
to license the calibration from NCGA, allowing the elevator to
source grain that has potential to provide improved ethanol yield
to the ethanol plants those elevators serve.
According to the letter of intent, NCGA would coordinate activities
with other seed company providers, relevant trade and industry
associations, ethanol producers, grain purchasers and equipment
vendors and appropriate government agencies. In addition, NCGA
would set and collect royalty payments from third parties for licensed
access to the calibration.
NCGA also would oversee relationships with research and testing
laboratories and establish a technical oversight committee to review
all calibration upgrades. On an ongoing basis, hybrids will be
collected and reviewed, and necessary modifications will be made
to the calibration in order to maintain accuracy in this standard
platform.
NCGA and Pioneer hope to announce the formal agreement in mid-summer.
Further program activities will be announced as they develop.