NCGA Paper Addresses Corn Growers Supplying Food and Fuel (7-19-06)

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has produced “U.S. Corn Growers: Producing Food AND Fuel,” a short paper that demonstrates that U.S. corn growers will continue to be reliable suppliers of both food AND fuel.

The piece is a companion paper to “How Much Ethanol Can Come From Corn?” which NCGA released in April.

“Several media outlets and ethanol critics have positioned corn ethanol and the food supply against each other, suggesting corn growers will not be able to supply both markets. That is completely false,” said Gerald Tumbleson, NCGA president. “The fact is corn growers have increased corn production in recent years, and we have been more than able to meet demands for fuel and food.”

The paper disputes five myths critics address when discussing ethanol production and food supply. For example, one common myth is ethanol diverts corn away from feed and food markets. The paper indicates clearly there is plenty of corn available for all uses, highlighting that distillers grains, an ethanol coproduct, can be used to feed livestock.

“This paper addresses fallacies regarding fuel and food supplies in a succinct, accurate manner,” Tumbleson said. “This is a good source for growers, legislators and agribusinesses to get information straight from people who know the most about the corn industry: corn growers.”

To view the paper, click here.