If you were driving on either I-90 or SD Highway 37 this afternoon you might have seen South Dakota Corn’s new Amazing Corn Adventure trailer on its way to the South Dakota State Fair in Huron. The 24 foot interactive trailer aimed at educating youths about today’s agriculture will be set up and ready for visitors near the South Dakota Corn tent on Thursday from 9am – 4pm.

Kids will be amazed by all the different activities they will find in the trailer including an interactive tractor cab. Inside the cab, kids will feel like they are behind the wheel planting corn on the South Dakota landscape with access to real monitors, levers and buttons.

There are also an interactive matching games, exhibits about soil, growth stages of corn  and a hands-on demonstration about the many uses of corn just to name few items.

South Dakota Corn has long been an advocate of educating our youth about agriculture and this trailer will undoubtedly be a fun, educational and memorable experience for those who participate.

Click here for more photos of the ACA trailer.

Corn Comments Podcast with Jim Woster.

We hope to see everyone at the South Dakota State Fair this Thursday as South Dakota Corn will be hosting True Environmentalist activities, a complimentary sweet corn feed and many other activities and giveaways.

Also, don’t forget about the 4H benefit auction on Sunday at 2pm at the South Dakota State Fair at the Dakota Lands Stage.

Football season is here as the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits kick off their season with the Cereal Bowl on Saturday, September 3rd against Southern Utah. South Dakota Corn will be hosting a tailgate BBQ prior to the game. Tickets to both the BBQ and football game  are available to South Dakota Corn memebers for $5. Members can purchase a maximum of 2 tickets. Tickets are limited.

Leaders from several South Dakota ag commodity groups met with U.S. Sen. John Thune and his senior advisor Lynn Tjeerdsma in Sioux Falls on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill.

“We want to find out what people want to see in the bill – what’s working and what’s not,” said Thune.

The biggest thing that is working for farmers today is Federal Crop Insurance, which is the top priority for the South Dakota Corn Growers among other groups.

“Crop insurance is our No. 1 issue,” echoed South Dakota Corn Growers Association President, Gary Duffy. “Crop insurance is an efficient and effective program for all producers and farmers do pay premiums on it.”

The second term senator recognized the importance and success of the crop insurance program but admitted that challenges do lie ahead.

“Unfortunately, the guys in cotton and rice country have a different opinion on crop insurance and direct payments,” he said.

Thune also discussed the common public misconceptions of the Farm Bill as three-fourths of its funding goes towards food assistance programs like SNAP.

“A dime out of every dollar from the ag budget goes to production agriculture,” Thune said. “People assume most of the money goes to farmers.”

Duffy agreed that the public’s perception of farm programs can be easily misunderstood.

“When agriculture is thriving, consumers tend be negative towards farm programs,” said Duffy. “People need to understand that these programs are in place for the rough times to not only protect our food producers, but our food supply as well.”

It’s amazing how misinformation can spread these days with nothing other than uneducated opinions and easy-to-blame targets. This seems to be especially true in regards to our rising food costs and assumptions of what’s driving up those costs. Some media blast ethanol production and high corn prices as the reason for your growing grocery bill but those claims simply lack the facts.

First things first. According to the USDA, only 11.6% of every dollar spent on food goes back to its origins, the farm. The very place where our food is raised holds a very small percentage of what determines its retail price.

Next you can look at corn specifically and its price implications on products consumers buy regularly at the grocery store.

Even with corn at $7 per bushel, its effect on the prices of the food we eat remains very minimal. So while that seven dollar number seems like an easy answer to everyday consumers, its’ impact doesn’t justify the blame. But what exactly is causing the rise in food prices?

As this blog has stated before, if you’re looking for a real culprit in the reason behind rising food prices, look no further than outlandish oil prices which hold our country hostage. Oil related expenses total 33% of each dollar spent on food, three times more than what goes back to America’s family farms.

All in all, America’s farmers continue to provide its’ citizens with the most abundant, safe, nutritious and inexpensive food in the entire world, and our corn crop is a major contributor to that success.

Corn Comments Podcast with Jim Woster.

The South Dakota State Fair is just around the corner and South Dakota Corn will be kicking it off with True Environmentalist Day on Thursday, September 1 from 9:00am-4:00pm in Huron.

South Dakota Corn will be bringing the new Amazing Corn Adventure trailer and will also be having a SD Ag Scavenger Quiz with the chance to win prizes. Kids will also have the chance to plant a sweet corn seed and there will be giveaways throughout the day.

And forget about our FREE Sweet Corn Feed starting at 11:00am!

While your visiting the SD Corn tent, you might as well sign up for the POWER IT UP raffle as we will be giving away a NEW John Deere Gator in January at our annual meeting.

We look forward to seeing you at the Fair!

Is increased ethanol production hurting beef cattle and dairy operations? The answer is NO according to a recent Texas A&M study detailing that cattle operation profits have increased since the implementation of the renewable fuels standard, which mandates that certain amounts of renewable fuels be used in the United States each year.

The study originated from allegations that increased corn ethanol production was causing instability and uncertainty in beef and dairy operations. While the analysis did show an increase in feed prices, the overall profits outweighed the increased costs.

“For years, corn farmers have understood that we have the ability to supply both growing ethanol and livestock producers simultaneously without negatively impacting these valued customers,” said South Dakota Corn Growers Association President, Gary Duffy, a farmer and rancher from Oldham. “With advances in both seed and farming technology, we have increased our average yield substantially in the past few decades. This abundance allows us to meet increased demand, providing both feed and fuel that benefit our nation’s economic security.”

Not only does this study answer the questions of those in the livestock industry, but it reassures our countries’ policy makers that the Renewable Fuels Standard is truly an effective program that is not hurting other facets of agriculture. The study also extinguishes yet another anti-ethanol myth.

 “While it is easy to reiterate artificial arguments against the use of ethanol, we believe this study clearly illustrates the fallacies on which they are often based,” said Duffy. “This study again concludes that, in reality, we do not have to choose between using corn for food or fuel.”