University Launches New Website for Livestock Producers on Dried Distillers Grains

A new Iowa State University Web site is designed to help livestock and poultry producers find a place for their operations in the bioeconomy.

“The emerging ethanol industry creates new opportunities and challenges for livestock and poultry producers,” said John Lawrence, economics professor who directs the Iowa Beef Center. “On one hand, it’s use of corn presents competition for feed, but ethanol processing produces a new feedstuff, distillers grains with solubles (DGS).”

The new site, Livestock and Poultry in the Bioeconomy, is available online at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/livebio.

The site offers advice to beef, swine, dairy and poultry producers through reports, software and links to other Web sites. Most of the information deals with feeding DDGS and the economics of the new feed source.

“Cash receipts from animal agriculture make up more than half of Iowa’s cash farm receipts, and nationally livestock and poultry production is the largest use for corn,” Lawrence said. “This site is a resource for the latest research from Iowa State and other universities on feeding and managing ethanol co-products.”

Dried Distillers Grains, a co-product of the ethanol process, provide an important nutrition feed source for animals.

READ MORE

• DDGS Exports to Japan Reach Record Levels
  
• Ethanol Co-Product Pelletized
  
• Distillers Grains Key to Texas Livestock
  
• Livestock Industry Embracing Distillers Grains
  
• A-maize-ing Fact: One Bushel of Corn
• Websites Offer Info on Dried Distillers Grains

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Man of the Year: President George W. Bush

Nearly a year ago, President George W. Bush, called for mandatory Renewable Fuel Standard and enhanced CAFE Standards in his 2007 State Of The Union Address.

"Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we've done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years. … To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 – and that is nearly five times the current target. At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks – and conserve up to 8.5 billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017. … America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. And these technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change." — President George W. Bush, State Of The Union Address, 1/23/07

After a long battle with Big Oil and Big Food, Congress and the Administration came together in overwhelming numbers to support an energy bill for America's future.

For his courage and leadership helping to free America from foreign economic oil dependence, Food and Fuel America.com is proud to name President George W. Bush its "Man of the Year" for 2007.

Source: Whitehouse.gov/State of the Union Address

READ MORE

• Mission: Achieved
  
• President Bush Signs Energy Legislation
  
• US Congress Passes Historic Energy Bill
  
• Not Everyone Wants Renewable Energy
  

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Mission: Achieved

President Bush signs historic Energy legislation, December 2007.

READ MORE

• Inflation Surges Due to Fuel Prices
• President Bush Signs Energy Legislation
  
• Big Oil's Big Stall on Ethanol: Keeping E85 Out of Drivers' Tanks
  
• America's Energy Choice
  

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Corny Christmas: GrandMa Cornelia's Christmas Corn Bread

Merry Christmas 2007!

We're making our lists and checking them twice here at Food and Fuel America.com to see who's been naughty or nice concerning food and fuel this year. Some folks are going to get lumps of coal (OK, the cleaner burning coal). Others will get something sweet.

So we're busy in the kitchen whipping up some our favorite holiday foods. Here's one of our favorites direct from GrandMa Cornelia's kitchen:

GrandMa Cornelia's Christmas Corn Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup shortening

Directions

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl. Add the milk, eggs and shortening and beat for 1 minute. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 425 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until bread is golden brown and tests done (insert a toothpick in the center and remove. If it's clean, then the bread is done).

READ MORE

• How America Stacks Up on Food Costs
  
• Corny Thanksgiving: GrandMa Cornelia's Corn Bread Dressing
  
• James Garner Thanks America's Corn Growers
• It's Time to Thank Farmers

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San Francisco Mayor Proposes "Soda Tax" for Big Retailers

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced this week that he is looking into a new tax only on big-box retailers that sell drinks sweetened by high-fructose corn syrup. The tax money windfall would generate revenue to expand an anti-obesity initiative.

According to the mayor, soda is the enemy and a tax will fix the problem:

"A small fee on sweetened beverages is an interesting concept which my administration will be exploring in the coming weeks. Beverages sweetened by high-fructose corn syrup are standing in the way of our efforts to combat obesity.

Interesting concept indeed. To us, this whole things seems a bit fishy or at least San Francisco clam-chowdery.

The tax would only be on "big box" retailers, not all retailers of soda. So soda sold by the small local market doesn't have to pay the tax? Only Wal-mart and Target's sodas are bad for you? And soda served in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf tourist areas, already at high prices, must be healthier than others so they don't cause obesity?

And it's only soda sweetened by corn syrup that deserves a tax. What about other sugars used in soda and other high-caloric foods? They must be OK? Even with the same amount of empty calories? Or are they just next on the mayor's tax plan?

Sugar is sugar. Extra calories are extra calories. We all know the truth, even if we don't want to admit it.

Or, in our quest to be politically correct, to point fingers at the real reason for obesity in America: Lack of self-control by most American's in their diet choices and lifestyle; too much food and not enough exercise.

The answers for weight control remain timeless: eat in moderation; gorge on that Ghirardelli chocolate as an infrequent "San Francisco Treat"; include a variety of foods; and, burn up those extra calories with regular exercise.

This tax idea is all wet. Maybe the mayor should claim the Twinkie defense on this illogical idea to generate more revenue for the city's coffers.

The USDA's Nutrition website is a good start for more information on healthy eating. The FDA's Obesity site is also full of sensible facts about weight loss. And information on HFCS can be found on the HFCS Facts site.

Source: Mayor's Office, City of San Francisco

READ MORE

• Petroleum-Based Plastic Bag Ban Begins
  
• San Francisco Turns Waste Into Fuel
  
• Corn-Based Water Bottles Offer a Solution
  

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Danger Level of High Oil Costs: SEVERE

As cold weather moves across the country, homeowners are discovering, in their wallets, the price to be paid for sky-high crude oil. Home heating oils costs are 33% higher this year than last.

But motorists and consumers already know a lot about higher fuel bills. Every week at the gas pump AND and the grocery checkout line, higher transportation costs means more money out of their pockets.

Because we hear from so many people about how higher fuel costs are impacting consumer purchasing power, Food and Fuel America.com has elevated its "Energy Advisory Alert" to SEVERE.


READ MORE

• Inflation Surges Due to Fuel Prices
• Big Oil's Big Stall on Ethanol: Keeping E85 Out of Drivers' Tanks
  
• America's Energy Choice
  
• Former CIA Director Warns Foreign Oil is Threat to Economy

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How America Stacks Up on Food Costs

Heated discussions on food prices and supplies have dominated the news over the past months.

The energy bill signed by President Bush this week sets a quota for 36 billion gallons of biofuels and 15 billion gallons from corn-based ethanol.

But according to the corn growers association, those discussions linking food and gasoline prices to ethanol use are flawed.

In a release this week, they detailed:

• It's true that holiday dinner for 10 will rise about $4 this year, but the real dollar price adjusted for inflation has actually dropped by about 9 percent in the past 20 years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
• Americans spend about 10 percent of their disposable income on food. Households in India often spend 50 percent; many European countries spend double what Americans do.
• Farmers work hard to ensure our food supply is not only safe and secure, but plentiful enough to meet all demands and retain affordable food prices consumers have come to expect. Corn producers are harvesting the largest crop on record. More than 13 billion bushels. Of that nearly 2 billion will remain for use next year.
• Farmers contribute to national energy security and no shortage of corn will result because of increased ethanol production.
  
• Ethanol production is projected to use 17 percent to 18 percent of corn yields with roughly 30 percent being returned to the feed system as distiller grains, which have higher unit protein content than the original corn.
  
• New technologies are resulting in continuing increases in per acre corn yield, making unlikely any shortages for food or fuel, even for global supplies.
  
• Corn growers are part of the solution to high energy prices. They are helping to create a more secure energy future for Americans by producing corn for cleaner-burning renewable ethanol, and not at the expense of providing food.

To learn more about the impact farmers have on keeping the country's food costs affordable while stretching energy resources, visit FarmersMatter.org. Consumers can also leave their own message thanking farmers this holiday season by participating in a video contest and entering to win $1,500.

READ MORE

• A-maize-ing Fact: One Bushel of Corn
• Food vs. Fuel is Rhetoric
• How Much Corn is Actually in Meat?
  
• James Garner Thanks America's Corn Growers
  
• It's Time to Thank Farmers
  

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