Farm Compliance

Washington, DC - A new study that assesses land use changes and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impacts due to expansion of ethanol production in the United States provides further demonstration of the long-term sustainability of corn-based ethanol, the National Corn Growers Association said.

“Corn growers have been using biotechnology and innovative agronomic practices to significantly increase corn yield per acre,” said NCGA President Bob Dickey. “It’s ridiculous to base estimates on yields that are not realistic or forward-looking, and it’s dishonest to ignore the positive impact of distillers grains in providing feedstock.”

The study, conducted by Air Improvement Resource, Inc., a firm that provides engineering and consulting services in the area of mobile and stationary source emissions modeling and technology evaluation, concludes that the current Renewable Fuels Standard requiring 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol by 2015 should not result in new forest or grassland conversion domestically or abroad.

Among the study’s conclusions:

Using a yield improvement path to 183 bushels of corn per acre in 2015, the increase in corn use for U.S. ethanol production can be met without a decline in corn exports or stocks.

Increases in productivity and steady U.S. corn exports mean that any land use changes occurring elsewhere around the world cannot theoretically be attributed to U.S. ethanol expansion.

According to Argonne National Laboratories, one pound of distillers grains replaces nearly 1.3 pounds of base livestock feed, including soybean meal. As such, the net amount of land required for ethanol production is much lower than previously estimated in other studies that assumed DG replaced only corn on a pound-for-pound basis.

The expected increase in agricultural productivity combined with the impact of distillers grains on livestock feeding will result in no new pasture or forest land needed to produce 15 billion gallons of ethanol from corn per year by 2015.

Relatedly, a site-specific study on ethanol land use impact released this week found that a modern ethanol plant does not meaningfully change farmland use, neither the amount of land farmed nor the mix of crops planted. Commissioned by the Illinois Corn Growers (ICGA), the study's findings contest an unproven theory that increased production of corn ethanol results in the conversion of unused farm land into corn production and an increase in the percentage of corn acres planted by farmers.

The study was conducted by Dr. Steffen Mueller from the Energy Resources Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago utilizing a modern ethanol plant in Rochelle, Ill., as its test subject. The study looked at relevant farming data - including satellite imagery and farmer surveys - one year prior to the plant opening through to two years after.