Road crews around the country are preparing for winter weather by running preparedness drills and stocking up on road treatment products. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) added a new product to their lineup for dealing with ice and snow on the roadways, one that includes a corn-based compound.
“We added another road treatment option to our winter operations,” says MODOT St. Louis Maintenance Engineer, Mark Croarkin. “The corn-based portion of the product is a carrier for Magnesium Chloride. There are similar products that result in an approximately 2% Magnesium Chloride treated salt that use other base materials. These products typically cost a little more to mix, but they can be more effective.”
Croarkin says the corn-based product MODOT started using goes by IceBan® M20 or IceBan® 300. “If I was trying to quantify I would estimate the IceBan® treated material is about 25% more effective overall,” says Croarkin. “The benefits we have seen depend on the temperature; the colder the storm the better results.”
According to AJP Corporation's website, “Ice Ban® is a natural liquid concentrate residue from the wet milling of corn and the production of alcohol. Ice Ban® is environmentally friendly, non-toxic to vegetation, and actually delivers valuable nutrients to the soil and may enhance vegetation growth. Ice Ban® is less corrosive on metal than other ice melters. In fact, it actually inhibits corrosion caused by chloride salts. Testing indicates that Ice Ban® is less corrosive than water. Ice Ban® freezes at temperatures lower than most other ice melters. Ice Ban® contains more molecules than other ice melters and has the potential to melt more ice.”
The corn-based compound is designed to keep roads ice-free longer. “For us, this is another tool in our toolbox to treat roadways,” Croarkin said.
COVID-19 Resources
NCGA is taking a series of actions to do our part to help contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the economic fallout it is creating for corn farmers and our customers. Short term, this means instituting policies to protect the health and safety of our stakeholders and the broader communities we serve. Long term, we’re focused on creating solutions to help corn farmers and our customers recover from the financial impacts of this crisis.
CommonGround
CommonGround is a group of farmers connecting with consumers through conversations about science and research and personal stories about food and misinformation surrounding farming. Supported by the NCGA and state corn organizations.
SHP
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is a farmer-led initiative that fosters transformation in agriculture through improved soil health. Administered by NCGA the partnership has more than 220 working farms enrolled in 16 states. SHP’s mission is to utilize science and data to partner with farmers who are adopting conservation agricultural practices that improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the farm.
