Gov. Mike Johanns recently announced a value-added initiative for Nebraska's raw agriculture commodities, noting Nebraska ranks 43rd in the nation in adding value to its ag commodities. The Corn Board has pledged its strong support for this initiative, which closely matches the Corn Board's vision which says that, ideally, a net bushel of corn will never leave Nebraska in its raw form. Going to Extremes for New Corn Uses. The La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles are a long ways from the cornfields of Nebraska, but they may contain the key to finding a huge new use for corn. UNL researchers, with support from the Nebraska Corn Board, have discovered a new and unexplored source of micro-organisms called extremophiles in the La Brea tar pits that could be used to improve or even develop new ways to make ethanol, sweeteners, organic acids and a host of other products from corn.
Exports Hit Two Billion.
Final numbers are in for U.S. corn exports for the 1998-99 marketing year. The U.S. Grains Council, which receives substantial funding from the Nebraska Corn Board, reports U.S. corn sales overseas totaled 2 billion bushels. This exceeded USDA projections by over 3 percent. The article contains a number of inaccuracies about Bt corn, biotechnology and the possible effects on monarch butterflies. The Corn Board has responded vigorously to Science World about this article.