Nearly every gallon of gasoline in the U.S. contains a minimum of 10% ethanol derived from corn, according to the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Each year, about 30% of field corn goes into fuel ethanol. That makes it the second-largest customer of U.S. corn and a topic that is front and center for incoming NCGA President, Chris Edgington.
“I’ve got probably a half-dozen ethanol plants within a 50-mile radius of my house; it’s in big demand,” says Edgington, who farms near St. Ansgar, Iowa.
NCGA reports corn ethanol is positioned to play an even larger role in the future of transportation fuels, as the U.S. addresses the need for more sustainable fuels.
So, Who Is No. 1?
Edgington is quick to add that the No. 1 customer for U.S. corn by far is livestock – millions and millions of hogs and cattle on farms throughout the country – a fact that he encourages corn growers to appreciate and keep in mind.
“They are our largest market; they all utilize corn in one form or another,” he told AgriTalk host, Chip Flory, on Tuesday.
In recent years, he notes that the cattle industry has embraced dried distillers grains (DDGs) coming out of the ethanol plants.
“Trucks are hauling (DDGs) out every single day to the cattle feedlots,” he says. “It’s really become a feed of choice that feeders want every day in their cattle ration.”
Whether it’s working to expand the marketplace with higher blends of ethanol, like E15, or working to increase the amount of corn livestock producers use, these are just a couple of the key priorities for Edgington as he assumes his new role.
As he evaluates goals and objectives for NCGA and its farmer members, he notes that at the heart of them all for most growers is their desire to strengthen the family farm for the family and build a legacy.
“We’re all thinking about the next generation,” he says. “We’re looking at how do we grow our operation and make it more efficient for the next generation.”
A Long History Of Service
Edgington also serves as president of the NCGA Foundation, an executive committee member of NCGA’s Allied Industry Council, and as the association’s delegate to the U.S. Grains Council. He also serves as the liaison to the Agriculture Markets Advisory Council and the Renewable Fuels Association.
Previously, he served as the board liaison to the Freedom to Operate Action Team, the Food, Feed and Industrial Action Team, and the Market Access Action Team. He has also served on the CornPAC, the Finance Committee and the Governance Committee. He represented the Corn Board on the Syngenta Advisory Council for Enogen and the National Pork Producers Council.
A past chairman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and co-chair of Corn Vision 2020, he was a member of NCGA’s Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team prior to his election to the Corn Board. Currently, he also serves as chairman of Rural Development Partners.
