A new study conducted by the University of Illinois’ College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences found that the development of several factors will reduce the amount of U.S. corn acreage needed for ethanol production from 25% to 11% by the year 2026. Researchers discovered that advances in plant breeding, biotechnology, and agronomic technologies will result in yield increases of as much as 65% or 100 bushels per acre, reducing the amount of land attributed to biofuel production. Additional advances in market efficiencies will result in better DDGS utilization balanced with corn grain and soybean meal in feed rations used by animal protein producers. The increased use of DDGS in pig, poultry, and dairy feed rations as opposed to beef cattle rations will contribute to the reduction in land attributed to corn ethanol as pigs, poultry and dairy cows utilize the protein in DDGS in a more efficient manner than beef cattle. This study is the first to examine the inter-related effects of technological advances across the combined fields of corn production, ethanol production and animal protein production.
To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free weekly enhanced eNews service