American Ethanol Raises Profile at Martinsville
The American Ethanol coalition announced that the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet race car will feature a special-edition American Ethanol paint scheme at this weekend's Martinsville Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. This car will be driven by American Ethanol spokesman and recent Talladega race winner, Clint Bowyer. Millions of TV viewers will be seeing the American Ethanol brand, as the sporty black, silver and green paint design will be on-track all weekend and will be accompanied with a broadcast in-car camera on Sunday.
Through its partnership with NASCAR, which is using Sunoco Green E-15 racing fuel this season, American Ethanol is promoting the nation's homegrown, clean-burning alternative fuel to millions of brand-loyal NASCAR racing fans. NASCAR has made a seamless transition to the new fuel by developing and implementing flawless distribution at the track, where many racing teams report an increase in horsepower.
In fact, in a detailed 'white paper' issued on September 21, NASCAR announced it has accumulated more than a million miles of driving in 2011 on America's toughest proving grounds: the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™, NASCAR Nationwide Series™ and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™. With more than 1.3 million miles accumulated in practice, qualifying and racing laps in NASCAR racing vehicles - all without incident since the racing season began in February with the Daytona 500 - the report demonstrates the performance of mid-level ethanol blends. You can access this report here.
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Farmers Offer Vision of Reformed Farm Programs in Hill Publication
In a letter to Roll Call published yesterday, the National Corn Growers Association, American Farmland Trust and the National Farmers Union explain why maintaining a strong safety net for growers remains important even as farm programs face reform. The authors note that, while farmers support reform that will help our nation during these difficult economic circumstances, government support of a farm safety net is necessary if American agriculture is to remain robust.
"Failure to adequately assist farmers and ranchers in managing risks they have no other option to protect themselves from will, at best, invite dramatic consolidation of farms and, at worst, make American citizens dependent upon foreign countries for food just as we depend on others for oil," the joint letter notes. "For nearly a hundred years, American public policy has believed that the health of agriculture is important and affects our national security - especially if we want to feed and clothe ourselves."
Following this explanation of the benefit of supporting U.S. farmers, the authors explain the goal of a modernized system.
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To read the letter in full, please click here.
Clint Bowyer, American Ethanol and the No. 33 Team Win at Talladega!
Kansas native and American Ethanol spokesman, Clint Bowyer, won his first race of the year in dramatic fashion at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday as he raced to the front in the last lap to claim victory in the Good Sam Club 500. This also marks Bowyer's first race win since becoming spokesman for American Ethanol, of which NCGA is a founding member.
"We are all incredibly proud of Bowyer and elated to congratulate him on this important victory," said NCGA NASCAR Advisory Committee Chair Martin Barbre. "This win is also important for American ethanol. While every winner in every race this season won using a 15 percent ethanol blend, it puts ethanol in the spotlight as a high-performance, sustainable, domestic fuel source."
In addition to his trip to Victory Lane, Bowyer also won the American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award in Talladega. He will receive the award during the seventh race in the season-ending Chase championship next Sunday at the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
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Report Indicates Harvest Progress Ahead of Schedule
Harvest is progressing quickly this year with 65 percent of acres already complete, a full 14 points over the five-year trend, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released Monday afternoon. Corn condition overall remains stable as the season nears an end, with 54 percent of the crop rated good or excellent.
"Farmers relied on a strong, deeply engrained work ethic this season that allowed them to grow an abundant crop despite difficult conditions across much of the Corn Belt," said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer. "Now, they are reaping the benefits of their labors as harvest moves along quickly in most areas. Farmers should take pride in their accomplishments and the greater public, as beneficiaries of their work, should examine the importance of the technologies and practices that made this achievement possible."
These accomplishments come in spite of areas which, due to adverse weather conditions, continue to lag in maturity or harvest progress. Only 76 percent of planted acres of corn in Ohio, which had an extremely short planting window late in the season, have reached maturity, thus causing it to be the only state not matching the five-year trend in this respect. Any lag appears relatively minor to overall progress though as, nationally, progress has moved more quickly than normal. Thus, indications point to timely harvest completion for the vast majority of growers.
For a full copy of the report, please click here.
Improving Stewardship Practices, Gaining Perspective on Progress
Last week, NCGA staff took to the fields of South Dakota taping video footage to be used in updates of the group's online Insect Resistance Module. This footage, which features NCGA Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team Chair Chad Blindauer of Mitchell, S.D., will be used along with interviews taped late this summer to create a module that helps to explain insect resistance management in an accessible manner and features actual explanations from real farmers about the practices implemented on their farms.
"The IRM calculator and module have been a great help to growers and, through the improvements underway, NCGA hopes to make them an even more effective tool," said Blindauer. "Insect resistance management is incredibly important as it allows traits to function at the best level possible until improved varieties are made available. We hope that, by explaining this in a manner that is both clearly applicable and accessible, we can help even more farmers to understand the importance of carefully taking the necessary precautions in their operations every year on every acre."
The video interview highlights the importance of biotechnology at the farm level, the cost savings these products can offer, the importance of proper stewardship, refuge planting rationale and procedure and the tools that NCGA offers farmers. The videos in the new module will also feature a similar interview with Jim Zimmerman of Rosendale, Wisc., the action team's vice chair.
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A New Beginning for Field to Market
NCGA has been a partner in a cross-platform sustainability initiative since 2006, now called Field to Market. Originally organized by The Keystone Center, Field to Market is taking steps toward independence so it can "work faster and think bigger" to meet the global challenge of sustainably feeding, clothing and fueling 9 billion people by 2045.
"Field to Market is unique in its focus on shared values that can make an economic case for change while also meeting societal and environmental needs," said Clark Gerstacker, a Michigan corn grower and NCGA Corn Board member. "This proven collaboration of growers, conservation organizations, companies and other agricultural experts works because we concern ourselves with innovation and outcome-based metrics to drive performance. Working as a standalone entity will help us to make a larger impact by speeding up the implement of tools we've developed on a meaningful scale."
Since its founding, the Field to Market alliance has developed performance-based metrics and pilot programs such as a 2009 sustainability report and the FieldPrint Calculator. By the end of 2012, Field to Market's leaders expect the organization to be up and running on its own, to accelerate improvements that reach from the individual farm to the global marketplace.
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Cattle Report Indicates Short-Term Gains for Corn, Long-Term Challenges
Cattle in U.S. feedlots has risen to 11.3 million head, a five percent increase since this time last year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released last week. Additionally, the number of cattle placed on feed rose slightly from 2010 also. Texas, the state with the largest feedlot industry, in particular saw inventories rise to 2.95 million head, a 12 percent increase over Oct. 1, 2010.
In the near future, this increased demand for feed will boost demand for corn. The initial rise in demand is not likely to be sustained, however, as the cattle cycle as a whole continues to contract. This influx of cattle into feedlots and subsequent contraction of the overall cattle industry are some of the lingering ill effects of the devastating drought that set into the southern Plains last fall. Currently, these drought conditions persist without sign of imminent relief.
"This year, farmers and ranchers alike have faced weather-related challenges," said NCGA Corn Board Member and feedlot owner Jon Holzfaster. "While corn growers experience a transitory benefit from increased feedlot inventories, it is important to remember that the livestock industry remains the largest market for U.S. corn. As complimentary parts of the overall food system, we rely upon the continued health of our fellow producers and hope that both our farmers and ranchers in the southern Plains will soon benefit from a badly needed end to the drought."
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Field Notes opened the farm gate this spring and provided followers with an inside look at the activities of several farmers from a variety of geographical areas. With corn harvest nearly complete on his farm, we caught up with Maryland grower and National Corn Growers Association Corn Board Member Chip Bowling to review this year's growing season and discuss what he plans to do this winter.
