January 12, 2006

US able to meet corn demand domestically, despite ethanol

Despite rising use of corn in ethanol production, US corn growers will have no difficulty in meeting the growing demand for corn for all uses, including for animal feed, said the US National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Gerald Tumbleson.

The country's Renewable Fuels Association (RFS) have predicted that US ethanol production will consume almost 2.8 billion bushels of US corn by 2008; Dr Allan Gray of Purdue University also estimated that corn prices might increase 35-40 cents a bushel as a result of increased demand for corn.

As for the livestock production industry, Dr Gray said, the increase is not likely to go unnoticed.

However, some industry players, such as the NCGA, believe that distiller-dried grains could be the answer to the loss of corn for feed. However, more work is needed to gain better acceptability of this co-product by poultry and swine.

Tumbleson also noted that other feedstocks such as sorghum and wheat are being used to supplement corn in ethanol production, potentially freeing up small amounts of corn for other uses.