Nebraska Corn Kernels

• Legislative Ag Forum: We need to be able to tell our story

  The 21st annual Hamilton County Legislative Ag Form was held Monday in Aurora. It is put on by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce and the Hamilton County Corn Growers.
  
  Brandon Hunnicutt (@cornfedfarmer), president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, drafted a summery from the session - and [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 5:57pm EST
  

• Positive breakevens on retaining ownership offers opportunities

  An opportunity to lock in an extra $20-40 a head on calves being weaned this fall offers cow-calf producers an opportunity not seen in the last two or three years, according to Dr. Darrell Mark, an extension livestock marketing specialist with the University of Nebraska.
  
  Mark said it [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 3:51pm EST
  

• Millions of dollars of Nebraska corn still in the field

  With 12 percent of the crop still in the field -- and a winter storm barreling down on the state -- the Nebraska Corn Board noted today that, while 12 percent may not seem like much, it's about 180 million bushels, or about $630 million worth of corn.
  
  “If [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 3:02pm EST
  

• EPA makes it official, declares greenhouse gasses a threat to health, environment

  The Environmental Protection Agency held a news conference yesterday to declare greenhouse gasses a threat to the public health and environment.
  
  Here's the headline from a news release:
  
  Greenhouse Gases Threaten Public Health and the Environment / Science overwhelmingly shows greenhouse gas concentrations at unprecedented levels due [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 10:36am EST
  

• 12% of Nebraska corn still in the field

  Nebraska farmers have harvested 88 percent of the state's crop, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today. That is good news, for sure, although it does raise concerns about winter weather blowing its way into the state this week.
  
  As Don Hutchens, executive director of the Nebraska' [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 9:00pm EST
  

• Technology, knowledge improving water management

  While most corn grown across the country is watered only by Mother Nature in the form of rainfall, farmers who use water to irrigate crops are finding ways to more efficiently use their water resources.
  
  For example, by using modern tools and a water sensor network hosted by [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 6:38pm EST
  

• Harvest numbers improve, but still well behind

  KHAS-TV aired a report Sunday night - Wet weather slows down harvest - that was spot on. It features an interview with Brandon Hunnicutt (@cornfedfarmer) of Giltner, current president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association.
  
  You can read the article and watch the video here.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 5:36pm EST
  

• EPA puts off higher ethanol blend decision until mid-2010

  The Environmental Protection Agency has sent a letter (.pdf) to Growth Energy - the group the initially asked EPA to allow the use of ethanol blends of up to 15 percent - saying that it will be mid-2010 before it issues a final decision on the request.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 10:22am EST
  

• Kelsey Pope joins staff of Nebraska Corn Board

  Kelsey Pope has joined the staff of the Nebraska Corn Board as Ag Promotion Coordinator.
  
  In this role, Pope will work on behalf of Nebraska corn producers to expand marketing opportunities, partner with livestock industry groups to develop joint strategies and assist in coordinating [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 11:56pm EST
  

• Nebraska Ag Classic (#NEAC09) set to get underway

  The fifth annual Nebraska Ag Classic is gets underway tomorrow evening (Tuesday, Dec. 1) and runs through December 3. This year's event is at the Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln and, as always, features some outstanding speakers who will cover a number of critical topics for agriculture. (Here's the [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 11:15pm EST
  

• Use Garmin or TomTom? Download e85 points of interests (POIs)

  The Renewable Fuels Association today released downloads available to Garmin and TomTom GPS devices that allow you to import all e85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gas) stations in the country to the device.
  
  That means wherever you are in the country, your GPS unit can map out [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 11:00pm EST
  

• Climate change: Global warming with the lid off

  The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article that has spurred a huge number of comments and further muddied the climate change debate.
  
  Global Warming With the Lid Off provides a peek into the hidden/secret/deleted emails between scientists.
  
  The WSJ report notes that the emails show [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 9:54am EST
  

• Nebraska corn harvest 65 percent complete

  Farmers in Nebraska made good progress in getting the corn in again this past week - with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in its weekly crop progress report today, noting that 65 percent of the crop was harvested for the week ending Nov. 22.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 4:34pm EST
  

• Mike Rowe on agriculture; plus his early days on TV

  Mike Rowe, who hosts “Dirty Jobs” on the Discovery Channel, has spoken several times about farming and farm life - and how sometimes farmers do indeed know the best way to do what they do. (See this video on lamb castration, farming and hard work.)
  [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 5:20pm EST
  

• Podcasts: Corn checkoff testimony, appreciation

  Enclosure: [download]

  We have two podcasts this week.
  
  The first is by Lynn Chrisp, a farmer from Kenesaw and a member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association. Chrisp provides a few details on testimony provided by NeCGA president Brandon Hunnicutt, a farmer from Giltner, to the [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 8:24am EST
  

• Corn genome sequence - 'wiring diagram' - being released

  While we've known for sometime that a map of the corn genome had been completed, details from the Maize Genome Sequencing Project will officially appear in tomorrow's edition of the journal Science - which features a cover story on the subject.
  
  This new report highlights the [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 5:03pm EST
  

• Chief Ethanol Fuels turns 25

  Nebraska's first modern ethanol plant - Chief Ethanol Fuels near Hastings - is celebrating 25 years in operation with an open house next Monday, Nov. 23.
  
  Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson will provide keynote remarks at 1:00 p.m. Bob Eihusen, president of Chief Industries, Chief Ethanol's' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:39pm EST
  

• Nebraska corn 48 percent harvested

  In its weekly crop progress report issued today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 48 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop was in the bin - that’s an 18-point increase from last week.
  
  Harvest is still behind last year and the average. A year ago, [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 5:17pm EST
  

• Erwin recognized with Elevator Appreciation Award

  The Nebraska Corn Board recognized Rich Erwin with its annual Elevator Appreciation Award. Erwin is the owner and operator of Laurel Feed and Grain of Laurel, NE.
  
  “Rich Erwin is an active Nebraska elevator manager who exhibits an excellent understanding of the value of the Nebraska corn checkoff [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 4:59pm EST
  

• Decision unanimous to protect checkoff funds

  The Nebraska legislature's Appropriations Committee today agreed to recommend that the Legislature not authorize a transfer of money from several state checkoff boards to help balance the state's budget.
  
  Checkoffs that were on the list to have money transferred from their accounts to the general fund included corn, grain [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 5:04pm EST
  

• Podcast: Farmers remain a trusted source of information

  Enclosure: [download]

  In this Podcast, Carl Sousek, a farmer from Prague and a member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, talks about a survey that found broad public respect and trust for family farmers and broad support for corn as food, feed and fuel.
  
  The [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 5:00pm EST
  

• Checkoff thoughts from Nebraska Cattlemen

  Enclosure: [download]

  Michael Kelsey, executive vice president of Nebraska Cattlemen, did a radio report late last week talking about checkoffs - and how those funds were setup by farmers to promote their products.
  
  He noted that he believes it is inappropriate to use farmer checkoff funds in the state's general' [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 11:52am EST
  

• Irrigation, livestock water use lowest since 1970s

  Every five years the U.S. Geological Survey does an assessment of water use in the United States. It recently came out with its analysis of water use in 2005 (the latest figures).
  
  In its analysis, it said that the United States used 410 billion gallons of water per day [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 11:15am EST
  

• Testimony presented on corn checkoff

  Corn farmers testified in front of the Nebraska legislature's appropriations committee yesterday to explain why they believe it is wrong to transfer money from checkoff programs into the state's general general fund.
  
  Alan Tiemann, a farmer from Seward and chair of the Nebraska Corn Board, the farmer-run organization that [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 8:29am EST
  

• Podcast: Ag myths abound the popular press and bad TV shows

  Enclosure: [download]

  In this Podcast, Greg Whitmore, a farmer from Shelby and a member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, discusses some of the crazy things farmers have heard over the last few weeks -- from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and taxes to prime time television [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 6:52pm EST
  

• Nebraska corn 30 percent harvested

  Good news came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture today when its weekly crop progress report confirmed that progress was indeed made on getting Nebraska's corn crop in the bin.
  
  USDA reported that 30 percent of Nebraska's corn crop was harvested as of Nov. [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 6:43pm EST
  

• Checkoff, budget plan continues to draw attention

  Enclosure: [download]

  A proposal to use checkoff funds to help fill a small gap of the big hole in the Nebraska state budget continues to draw the attention. Media continue to report on the subject, and many farmers, it seems, have been contacting their state legislators and representatives to voice their opinion [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 11:34pm EST
  

• Corn checkoff in the news

  Repurposing checkoff funds as a way to help the state of Nebraska close its budget has been in the news across Nebraska this week -- and I’ve compiled a list of a few of those articles below.
  
  In general, ag groups point out that checkoff funds are paid by [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 4:35pm EST
  

• What is the corn checkoff?

  Over the last couple of days, several folks have asked “what is the corn checkoff?” To help answer that question, I’ve put this together as an attempt to explain. Feel free to leave a comment if you have a question or clarification.
  
  Many corn producing states have implemented a [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 8:32am EST
  

• Chevy VP: For biofuels, it’s all of the above

  While not online, the Oct. 29 issue of Rolling Stone magazine includes an interview with Brent Dewar, vice president of Chevrolet Global.
  
  As pointed out on the Domestic Fuel blog, Dewer was asked about biofuels - and he had some positive things to say:
  
  Biofuels have [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 4:37pm EST
  

• Distillers grains production, use expanding

  Reuters has published a good article on distillers grains -- the feed product produced by corn ethanol plants.
  
  The article explains that as ethanol production expands into the next year, the supply of distillers grains will increase as well. In fact, estimates in the article are that distillers [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 12:22pm EST
  

• Podcast: First modern ethanol plant turning 25; ag groups need to work together

  Enclosure: [download]

  In this Podcast, Jon Holzfaster, a cattle and corn farmer from Paxton, talks about the growth of the ethanol industry over the last year. (Yes...growth! Production each month this year has surpassed last year.)
  
  He also talks about the importance of different ag groups -- [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 4:49pm EST
  

• Crop progress?

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture came out with its latest crop progress report today -- although progress is certainly open for debate, especially if you live in western Nebraska and got socked with a another foot of snow last week.
  
  USDA said 18 percent of Nebraska's corn crop' [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 5:56pm EST
  

• While positive, NYT guest editorial highlights important issue

  The New York Times this past week ran an editorial written by a Lan Samantha Chang, who lives in Iowa City, Iowa, and is director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. This was part of the Times' "Home Economics" effort - which involves allowing guests to write pieces that provide [...]
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  Posted: October 31, 2009, 12:24pm EDT
  

• Become a fan of A-FAN

  The Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska - known as A-FAN - has a Facebook page.
  
  If you're on Facebook, be sure to check out A-FAN's page and become a fan. It's an easy way to keep up on what A-FAN is doing, as' [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 5:42pm EDT
  

• Podcast: Thoughts on a grain indemnity fund

  Enclosure: [download]

  In this Podcast, Brandon Hunnicutt, a farmer from Giltner and president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, discusses a recent hearing held to discuss a possible grain indemnity fund in Nebraska.
  
  He covers some of the issues farmers had with one proposal and expresses [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 3:30pm EDT
  

• Nebraska corn only 15 percent harvested

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture said today that only 15 percent of the Nebraska's corn crop is in the bin. That’s only a 2 point increase from last week and a 5 point increase from two weeks ago.
  
  Wetter than normal weather has hampered' [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
  

• Ethanol keeps Nebraska running in tough financial times

  The headline of this post comes straight from CNN, where John King, CNN's chief national correspondent, produced a good article highlighting the importance of ethanol to Nebraska's economy.
  
  For those of you on Twitter, John King is @JohnKingCNN. He Twittered and posted several picture during his trip [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 10:34am EDT
  

• Podcast: Dickey had a great year as president of NCGA

  Enclosure: [download]

  In this Podcast, Jim Hultman, a farmer from Sutton and a member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, reflects on the challenges and accomplishments Bob Dickey saw during the year he was president of the National Corn Growers Association. Dickey is a farmer from [...]
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  Posted: October 21, 2009, 4:38pm EDT
  

• Farmers remain trusted messengers

  The National Corn Growers Association released a survey that shows people across the country have a tremendous amount of respect and trust for family farmers. There's also a lot of support our there for using corn for food, feed and fuel.
  
  The nationwide survey found that 95' [...]
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  Posted: October 21, 2009, 4:32pm EDT
  

• Harvest progressing slowly but 82% of Nebraska corn is good to excellent

  Thirteen percent of Nebraska's corn was harvested as of Oct. 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in it's weekly crop progress report today.
  
  That's up only 3 points from last weeks' 10 percent harvested -- and behind last year's 17 percent harvested at this point. The five-year' [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 4:52pm EDT
  

• Academic Excellence in Agriculture scholarships

  Are you in college majoring in an ag-related field? Here's an opportunity to get some of that education paid for -- and get some face-to-face time with hundreds of like-minded individuals during Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Cal.
  
  The National Corn Growers Association and BASF Corp. are again this year' [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 5:31pm EDT
  

• Video: Hey sugar cube - face forward

  A sugar is a sugar - and, as noted at SweetScam.com - some people mistakenly believe that some sweeteners are healthier than others.
  
  Yet the facts don't add up.
  
  Sugar from cane, beets and corn all have the same number of calories - and all come from' [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2009, 5:26pm EDT
  

• Harvest is a busy, dangerous time; be safe around equipment and on the roads

  Enclosure: [download]

  In this Podcast, the Nebraska Corn Growers Association's Mat Habrock, encourages farmers to be safe during this busy time of year - and asks motorists to keep an eye out for farm equipment and trucks.
  
  
  Nebraska Corn Kernel podcasts are also available iTunes!' [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 3:42pm EDT
  

• Ten percent of Nebraska's corn is in the bin

  Ten percent of Nebraska's corn crop was in the bin as of Oct. 11, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop progress report today.
  
  That's up four points from last week but is three points behind last year and well behind the five-year average of [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 4:27pm EDT
  

• Spreading positive corn farming messages at the Archway

  He's not like the scary scarecrows you watch in movies.
  
  Instead, this scarecrow on display at the Great Platte River Road Archway in Kearney is designed to get the attention of visitors and teach them a thing or two about today's corn farmers.
  
  The scarecrow is the [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 3:55pm EDT
  

• Nebraska yield estimate jumps to 178 bu./acre

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture today estimated Nebraska's average corn yield at 178 bushels per acre -- 9 bushels more than its estimate last month. If realized, it would easily break the state's previous record of 166 bu. per acre set in 2004.
  
  With the increase in yields came [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 9:49am EDT
  

• Video: This Land is Your Land

  "The only thing as important as growing a crop and getting a fair price is farming responsibly, assuring opportunities for future generations." -- Darrin Ihnen, president, National Corn Growers Association
  
  That quote is from the opening of a new video (below) produced by NCGA on the subject of [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 6:04pm EDT
  

• Nebraska pork brings value, nutrition to dinner tables around the world

  The Nebraska Corn Board today distributed a news release touting the many positives of pork -- from the value it brings to rural communities (and the whole state!) to the value it brings to a healthy balanced diet.
  
  “Pork is a real price value, and [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 5:52pm EDT
  

• Oil's dirty footprint: On display in DC

  At the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, you can now see the traveling exhibit Edward Burtynsky: Oil.
  
  The exhibit will be in place through December 13, 2009, offering a good opportunity for regulatory officials, government employees and elected representatives to examine the impact of [...]
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  Posted: October 06, 2009, 4:08pm EDT