NCGA Attends Distillers Grains Symposium (5-23-06)

The 10th Annual Distillers Grains Symposium in Louisville, Ky., provided the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) an opportunity to meet face-to-face with key collaborators on distillers grains initiatives and learn more about the impact of emerging ethanol production processes on distillers grains. NCGA Director of Ethanol and Business Development Geoff Cooper attended the conference.

More than 200 people attended the symposium, which is sponsored by the Distillers Grains Technology Council. Attendees included nutritionists, distillers grains marketers, ethanol producers, government officials and academics.

“New corn fractionation processes are radically changing the way the industry thinks about ethanol coproducts,” said Cooper. “In many cases, these new technologies are improving the nutritional composition of distillers grains and allowing ethanol producers to manufacture feed products that are more prescriptive in nature.”

The symposium also covered transportation issues, trading rules, regulatory issues, and a host of other topics.

Cooper also met with industry partners to discuss two important distillers grains initiatives in which NCGA is involved: standard analytical test methods for distillers grains and distiller grains educational outreach to nutritionists.

NCGA, along with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and American Feed Industry Association, is supporting an effort to research the potential application of standard test methods for distillers grains nutritional analysis. Additionally, in cooperation with RFA and industry leaders, NCGA is planning a major distillers grains educational event for animal scientists and others interested in learning more about the benefits of feeding distillers grains.