Nebraska's beef industry is the number one consumer of corn and corn co-products like distillers grains and, therefore, is top of mind for Nebraska's corn producers, said Don Hutchens executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board.
"Although the Nebraska ethanol industry has grown and today uses more raw corn, one-third of that corn utilized in the production of ethanol comes back in the form of distillers grains," he said. "When you consider the amount of raw corn, silage and distillers grains that beef cattle consume, you quickly realize how important corn and beef producers are to each other." To help spread the positive news about corn co-products, the Nebraska Corn Board has sponsored, along with the University of Nebraska, a handbook for the beef industry titled "Utilization of Corn Co-Products in the Beef Industry" that is in its second edition.
Copies of the first edition were snapped up quickly and considerably more research had been completed on feeding distillers grains to cattle.
Another manual on methods of storing distillers grains, so cattle producers can stock up on the feed ingredient, will be released soon.
"There is probably no other state that has as much knowledge and actual experience in feeding distillers grains as Nebraska," said Dennis Gengenbach, chairman of the Corn Board's Research Committee. "In fact, the Corn Board has allocated nearly $200,000 this year alone in distillers grains research." The board also applied for a federal grant to work with National Ag Statistics to survey 12 states to better understand producers knowledge and utilization of distillers grains.
Nebraska is the third-largest corn producing state in the nation and the second-largest ethanol producer. The state is also the second largest beef cattle state. Combined, this makes the synergy between the commodities quite dynamic. "There is no state in the nation or any place in the world that is better situated to take advantage of the corn to ethanol to distillers grains to beef opportunity than Nebraska," Hutchens said. "We can add value several times to a single bushel of corn, which benefits the entire state." Hutchens explained that is why the Nebraska Corn Board invests three times more corn checkoff dollars promoting Nebraska red meat exports than bulk corn exports.
"Why export corn when you can add value to it not only once but multiple times, and then ship the value added products to other states and other countries? That is the best economic development and job creation tool rural communities can have," he said.
According to Stan Boehr, chairman of the Corn Board's Government Affairs Committee, there is also tremendous opportunities for the two commodity organizations to work together on federal policy issues. The Nebraska Corn Board, while not allowed to use checkoff dollars to influence state legislation, can be involved at the federal level.
"For two years now we have traveled to Washington, D.C., together with representatives of the Nebraska Cattlemen to lobby for issues we mutually agree on," Boehr said. "Getting more beef back into the world market has been our number one focus, along with animal welfare and environmental issues. By working together, we can pack a much more powerful punch, and our representatives in Washington appreciate the fact that we do this. It's unique to Nebraska." Hutchens said corn and cattle producers benefit by working together like that.
"Whether it is research, market development, education and information sharing, working to influence Congress and finding reasons to support one another, it is really what our producers expect of us in Nebraska," he said.
"Sure we have differences, but at the end of the day, we truly need each other to be successful and we both enjoy the benefits and reap the rewards of our good relationship."
