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Utilization conference explores corn uses, processing efficiencies

The Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in St. Louis explores not only what can be made from corn, but also the technologies that can be used or improved to make processing more efficient.

The conference takes a closer look at new uses for corn, according to Dr. Rick Vierling, research director at the National Corn Growers Association.

“It’s very important that we bring all the researchers together, have them exchange ideas and work together to push new uses forward,” Vierling told Brownfield Ag News at the conference, “because that is what’s going to keep farmers profitable in the future.”

However the conference also has sessions about advances made in the way that corn is processed.

“So it’s just the continual evolution of what a mill can do,” he said, “but we also know that the mill has to make ethanol efficiently, so we do look at all these ways to make things more efficient and cost effective.”

New uses, according to Vierling, include further processing ethanol into various bio-renewable chemicals.

Dr. Rick Vierling (4 min. MP3)