DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey commented on the release today of a major study tracking the movement of grain and co-products from Iowa farms to its various end users. The report is titled; The 2007/08 Iowa Grain and Biofuel Flow Study: A Survey Report.
“This is a key report that helps farmers understand where the products they produce are going and how they get there,” Northey said. “The inclusion of biofuels and their co-products in this study gives greater understanding to the movement and demand for the commodities coming from our farms.”
The report documents how farmers, grain handlers, corn and soybean processors, as well as biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel) manufacturers, move their products to their end users. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship served as the project coordinator. The project was funded by nine different sponsors including state agencies, producer associations and processor organizations. The study was conducted by Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD).
The report is the latest in a series of studies that have focused on the transportation flow of Iowa’s farm commodities, but the first to have included biofuels and selected co-products.
The report was co-authored by Economics professors Chad Hart of ISU and Tun-Hsiang “Edward” Yu of the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Hart cited three findings from the study: first is that the survey indicated over one third of all ethanol manufactured is going to East coast markets; second is the continued shift to the use of semi-tractor trailers by farmers; and finally, that country elevators (cooperatives and privates) continue to receive some sixty percent of Iowa corn directly from farmers and sixty six (66) percent of their soybeans.
“This tells me that the country elevator continues to dominate as the destination of choice for most farmers,” Hart stated. “My guess is that many elevators may still be originating much of the grain that eventually goes into ethanol. It also tells me that with our larger harvests of late, our farm to market roads are getting used by heavier vehicles each year” he concluded.
The full report can be accessed at www.card.iastate.edu.
Sponsors of the report included: Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Iowa Biodiesel Board, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, Iowa Department of Economic Development, Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Institute for Cooperatives, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, and Iowa Soybean Association.
