C.O.R.N. Newsletter: 2016-40

What is “food grade” corn?

Food grade corn, also referred to as hard endosperm corn, is yellow or white dent corn with specific endosperm (starch) characteristics. Hard endosperm corn contains high amounts of hard or (horny) endosperm relative to the amount of floury endosperm. Hard endosperm is a characteristic that is important to dry milling and alkaline cookers. The goal of the dry mill process is to keep the horny endosperm in large pieces and to remove the germ and pericarp to yield a low-fat low-fiber product. If the kernels are significantly soft or broken, there is less opportunity for millers to produce large grits. Product composition and color, as well as process stability, can also be affected by hardness and breakage. Other “food” corns directly consumed or widely used in food products include sweet corn and popcorn. However, these are not dent corns.

Where is food grade corn grown?

According to U.S. Grain Council (USGC) information from 2005, yellow food grade corn production is scattered throughout the Midwest and South. The highest concentrations are in Illinois, western and southern Indiana, central Ohio, northwest Missouri, southwest Iowa, southeast Nebraska and west central Nebraska. Major areas of white corn production are eastern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, western Tennessee, Nebraska, Texas, southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri. There is some production in Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

What food products is hard endosperm corn used for?  What’s in my corn puffs cereal?

Hard endosperm corn is used in alkaline cooking processes for making masa, tortilla chips, tostadas, taco shells, snack foods, and grits. Flaking grits derived from hard endosperm corn are used for corn flakes, corn meal and corn flour. Brewer grits are used for the production of beer and corn meal and corn flour for corn bread, corn muffins, pancakes and waffles. Uses of white food grade corn are similar. White food corn is typically grown under contract and sold to dry-mill processors or used in alkaline cooking processes for making masa, tortilla chips, snack foods, and grits. One of the export markets for white corn is for starch. White food grade corn has limited wet milling use for food grade starch. Paper uses also exist for white corn.

When is #2 yellow dent corn used for human consumption?

#2 yellow corn is widely used in snack food and cereal production. Past USGC surveys indicates that hard endosperm corn has greater test weight than #2 yellow corn, slightly lower broken corn and foreign material, lower amounts of stress cracks and lower percent thins than #2 yellow corn. Similarly, surveys of white corn quality indicate it was higher in test weight and density than #2 yellow corn and slightly lower in stress cracks, and lower in percent thins. Most corn oil, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup directly consumed or widely used in food products are derived from #2 or other grades of yellow dent corn – not specifically from food grade/hard endosperm hybrids.

How many acres of food grade corn is grown in the U.S.?

According to a USGC survey conducted about 10 years ago, yellow food grade corn acreage ranges from 1.0 to 1.5 million acres and white corn acreage ranges from 600,000 and 700,000 acres. Determining annual production of food grade corn is difficult because most food grade corn used for dry milling and snack foods is grown under contract.

Does food grade corn contain transgenic (GMO) traits? Can food grade corns be used in organic crop production?

Hard endosperm/food grade hybrids are typically conventional hybrids with high yield potential. Usually yields of hard endosperm/food grade corn are comparable to those of hybrids without food grade characteristics. According to the USGC, although some food grade products contain transgenic traits such as Roundup Ready®, Liberty Link®, and Bt, the resistance to biotechnology continues to persist and create a market for non-GMO products. Food grade corn hybrids are not consistently associated with non-GMO hybrids. Several seed companies market several versions of their corn hybrids with and without transgenic traits. Some non-transgenic hybrids have demonstrated high yield potential in the OSU corn performance tests but they are not always hybrids with desirable food grade characteristics. There are also transgenic white corn hybrids available with and without Bt and herbicide resistance traits.

Source

United States Grain Council. 2005. Value Enhanced Corn Report 2005/2006. http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/USGC_Value_Enhanced_Corn_Report_200_08C79...

The 2017 Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program series will begin on Tuesday, January 10 at the Plaza Inn Restaurant in Mt. Victory. Each session will start at 7:30 am with complimentary buffet breakfast followed by the program at 8:00 am. Other sessions will be held on January 24, February 7 and 21.

On January 10, the program will feature Dr. John Fulton, Precision Ag & the 4Rs. Fulton is from The Ohio State University, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Fulton has been a national leader in Precision Agriculture, doing research in this area. His work has him studying drones and aerial imagery to help make management decisions with crop production. He has also been using variable rate technology and multi-hybrid seeding in plots around Ohio. He is working on compaction studies and its effect on yields. His presentation at the Conservation Tillage Club breakfast will focus on using precision ag to determine fertilizer needs and then using equipment technology available to farmers to get the right source of fertilizer applied at the right time, using the correct rate, and the proper placement.

The January 24 program will feature Dr. Jeff Stachler, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator in Auglaize County. Stachler received his Ph.D. in Weed Science and has worked out of state before coming back to Ohio to serve as a county extension educator. Stachler will address New Weed Control Options such as the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend program and other new pesticide programs to help farmers control problem weeds such as marestail, giant ragweed, waterhemp, and Palmer amaranth. His talk will discuss using fall or spring burndowns, pre-emerge, post-emerge, and use of residuals to help control problem weeds in soybeans and corn.

February 7 Cal Whewell will speak to the Conservation Tillage Club. He will be presenting the Grain Marketing Outlook, providing area farmers with grain marketing strategies. Whewell is no stranger in grain marketing circles. He is a Risk Management Consultant and Regional Director at FC Stone, serving the Toledo area. FCStone Inc. provides clients across the globe with a comprehensive range of customized financial services and tools to help them protect their margins and manage volatility. A pioneer in specialized financial services, they open markets for underserved mid-market clients with insight, guidance and access.

The February 21 program will feature Steve Baker, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Soil Scientist speaking about Soil Health. Baker is a well-known expert on soil health, speaking to audiences about the importance of building soil quality to maximize fertility and improve crop production. He will discuss various conservation practices that build soil health, while at the same time protect natural resources such as our land and water. Some of his resources include unlocking the secrets of the soil, soil health and sustainability, and discovering soils from the ground up. Attendees will gain knowledge of how they can improve their soils, while protecting this most important resource.

The Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program series is jointly sponsored by OSU Extension and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Hardin, Logan, and Union Counties, and in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Breakfast is provided by the generous support of agricultural lenders and agricultural businesses. All events are open to the public and no advance registration is required. Continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisers is pending.