NCGA’s Ihnen Addresses the Sustainability of Biofuels (4-18-08)

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Corn Board member Darrin Ihnen participated in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Biomass 2008: Fueling Our Future conference Thursday. Ihnen took the opportunity to share how farmers can meet increased demand for corn in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive manner.

“Demand for corn is expected to continue to increase dramatically in the next five years as the ethanol industry continues to expand and international demand for feed energy and protein increase,” said Ihnen, a grower from Hurley, S.D. “Farmers have already demonstrated they can respond to increased demand by producing more corn per acre. We expect that future demand for corn will be met with higher yields and slightly expanded acreage.”

Ihnen said only a small portion, about 14 percent, of United States corn acres are irrigated, whereas the remainder of the crop is rain-fed.

Ihnen also explained that farmers are using far less fertilizer per bushel of corn produced today than in decades past, and that . new biotech hybrids are helping producers significantly reduce the amount of chemical pesticides they apply. Farmers are also adopting new tillage techniques and conservation tillage practices to help reduce the amount of soil erosion.

The event was sponsored by the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.