Iowa Corn Roots; September 2020 Edition

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A LOOK INSIDE: EDUCATION

Summer Consumer Outreach Programs Pivot Due to Pandemic

MARKET DEVELOPMENT Stronger Together

RESEARCH

Soil Health: It’s Not Just a Fad

ICPB SPECIAL EDITION September 2020

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Summer Consumer Outreach Programs Pivot Due to Pandemic

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his year has made it especially difficult to utilize the big events that allow Iowa Corn the opportunity to educate consumers about corn and the farmers that grow it. In the past we have reached thousands of Iowans by targeting places like the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series, Iowa high school boys state basketball, the Iowa Cubs, county fairs, Des Moines Farmers Market, RAGBRAI and the Iowa State Fair sharing the Iowa corn farmer’s story to all in attendance. Based on research, the best way to reach consumers is going to where they are whether that be events, social media, or targeting popular television, and radio markets to share messages and get them engaged with Iowa Corn. As COVID-19 continued to encourage people to stay home this summer by forcing events large and small all over the state to cancel, Iowa Corn has had to get creative when reaching consumers about the 4,000 products made from corn, farming practices used on farm, and more. Below are just a few ways we have altered our typical summer plans to do just that!

CommonGround Ladies Linked Week Iowa Corn has found great success in working with programs like CommonGround. This is a group of farmer volunteers having conversations about the food they grow and how they produce it.

Volunteers share personal experiences, as well as science and research, to help consumers sort through the myths and misinformation surrounding food and farming. The Iowa CommonGround group put on a virtual Ladies Linked event this June resulting in a successful week of virtual farm tours, cooking sessions, and even some beauty tips and cocktail mixes. The goal of this virtual event was to seek out the mom consumer who may have questions about agriculture in her community, feeding her family, and how to utilize Iowa grown corn products found at the grocery store and the gas pump. By the end of the week the Facebook group was bursting with 435 group members and 35 different posts made by our CommonGround Iowa volunteers. The conversations between consumer and farmer seemed endless with 1,205 total comments spread throughout the different posts. Participants also enjoyed numerous giveaways all week in partnerships with farms, local businesses, and other Iowa commodity groups. The CommonGround volunteers felt they had extraordinary engagement through this activity and plan to connect with even more consumers this way in October!

Learn more about the CommonGround program by visiting https://www.iowacorn.org/education/commonground.

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Faces of Farming The Faces of Farming social media campaign was created to share behind the scenes stories and adventures of Iowa farmers as well as share the human side of farmers. From personal encounters to generational tales these stories are told through the lens of Iowa’s hard working farmers. Iowa Corn is proud to share with consumers a much deeper dive into the personalities behind each highlighted farmer and their story of how they are now growing Iowa’s corn.

By humanizing our farmers, the goal is for consumers to see them more as their trusted neighbors who take care of the land, respect their water sources, and provide them food. Faces of Farming is a social campaign shared on Facebook and Instagram. So far this year we have highlighted four farmers from all over the state and plan to introduce one farmer per month for at least year 2020.

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Stronger Together

Warm Welcomes Consumer Magazine With the need for a new way to capture the attention of crowds as big as the Iowa State fair, Iowa Corn has decided to seek out Iowans at home. The Iowa consumer encounters corn in different forms daily, and usually not even realizing it.

This magazine will bring light to some of those corn products and agriculture experiences happening around them. The first ever Warm Welcomes From The Farm magazine will highlight must stops on a road trip across the state, yummy recipes staring corn, allow you to hear from both Iowa State University and the University of Iowa athletes about the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series, give tips on how to save at the fuel pump while cleaning up our air, and help you decorate your front door this fall using, you guessed it, CORN! Over 196,500 copies will be inserted in nine different newspapers across the state of Iowa and delivered right to the consumers doorstep to reach them where they are with news and education about Iowa corn and corn farmers. An online version of the magazine will be available as well at iowacorn.org/warmwelcomes.

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t Iowa Corn we believe all of agriculture is truly strong together. When Iowa corn farmers support the livestock industry, corn farmers see a direct return. The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) is proud to invest checkoff dollars in U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) programs around the world to support the further development of corn-fed beef and pork markets. In Iowa, the livestock industry consumes about 720 million bushels of corn annually. If you consider that roughly 14% of U.S. beef and 27% of U.S. pork is exported, red meat exports increased the value of corn about 12% per bushel in 2019. In fact, the projected value of red meat exports to Iowa corn from 20202029 is $4.37 billion.

The benefits of red meat exports can be attributed back to much more than just the corn farmer. Dried distillers grains (DDGS) utilized by pork and beef exports in 2019 represented about $0.04 per gallon in gross operating margin for ethanol plants, with the market value of red meat exports to Iowa DDGS surpassing $100 million in 2019. These numbers prove it is in corn farmers’ best interest to support a growing and healthy livestock industry to not only grind more corn but add value to the corn crop and related industries.

American diets tend to focus on thick muscle cuts, but that isn’t always the case in other markets around the world. For U.S. beef, variety meat exports equated to more than 27 lbs. per head of fed slaughter, with products like beef tongue and lips popular in Japan and Mexico, beef livers, hearts and kidneys popular in Egypt, South Africa and Indonesia, and stomach and intestine popular throughout Asia and Mexico. These variety meat exports added a value of $37.25 per head on beef cattle.

In the pork industry, variety meat exports add about $7.75 per head, with variety meat exports equating to more than 8 lbs. per head in 2019. In fact, China and Mexico accounted for more than 80% of total U.S. pork variety meat export volume in 2019. U.S. pork tongue tends to make it’s way to the Japanese, Mexican and Chinese markets, while pork feet, ear, snout and tail are popular in Northern and Southeastern Asia, and pork heart, livers and kidneys are featured in China and Mexico. In this instance, even in the face of a global pandemic, red meat exports allow our livestock producers to utilize and sell more of the slaughtered animal, resulting in a satisfied market here at home and additional value from our overseas partners.

• Despite the trade and business challenges of 2020, the South Korean market is holding steady due in part to Iowa Corn’s support of USMEF programs promoting beef through cooking demonstrations of Western culinary concepts like steak burger and BBQ which are gaining in popularity.

• Iowa corn checkoff dollars in Mexico market support point of sale tasting demos, events, contests and promotions with targeted customers to build demand and expand knowledge of the versatility, use, proper handling and quality attributes of corn-fed U.S. pork.

• Japan continues to be a leading U.S. pork and beef market. Iowa corn dollars are at work at the retail-level with consumer promotions featuring thicker-cut tasting demonstrations, consumer contests and social media education for corn-fed U.S. beef. On the pork side, dollars are enhancing national retail partnerships and increasing consumer touch points to promote branding efforts of corn-fed U.S. chilled pork.

• The China Meat Traders Club for importers and wholesalers of U.S. red meats has been funded for several years running by Iowa Corn, and has consistently grown in membership and interest as it positions U.S. pork and beef as a higher quality, corn-fed product.

ICPB has continued to invest checkoff dollars in USMEF programs in specific markets. With over 95% of the world’s population living outside of the U.S., there is a great opportunity to build for corn-fed meat around the world. Below are USMEF programs that are supported

by Iowa corn checkoff dollars in some of the strongest destinations for U.S. beef and pork.

Whether it’s in the support of corn utilization, in support the of our livestock partners, or in the support of Iowa farmers’ bottom lines, Iowa Corn Promotion Board is proud to continue to invest checkoff dollars in red meat exports around the world.

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Soil Health: It’s Not Just a Fad

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t’s hard to open a farming newspaper or magazine without seeing an article about soil health these days. But it makes you wonder, is it just another passing fad or is it here to stay? There is a lot of power behind soil health initiatives and frankly, the benefits speak for themselves.

beginning six years ago. Mark Mueller, a farmer from Waverly, is one of the first farmers to participate in SHP and has conducted strip trials of cover crops for six years.

My main reason for trying cover crops was to reduce erosion following corn silage. But the benefits continue to accumulate including forage to feed dairy cows, better retention of manure nutrients, and improved field trafficability. The co-op calls me first when it’s time to get back into the field, — Mark Mueller, District 3, Iowa Corn Growers Association

Regenerative ag, sustainability, water quality, and climate change are common buzzwords, but all have one thing in common: soil health. Farm practices that support soil health can build soil by increasing organic matter, reduce erosion, and prevent nutrient loss. Healthier soils provide consistent yields in times of extreme weather by improving water infiltration for larger rain events and increasing water holding capacity during times of drought.

Although these benefits do take time to develop, and there is always a risk to changing farm practices, but soil health practices like reduced tillage and cover crops have economic advantages too. Cover crops reduce costly nutrient losses from runoff and erosion and can improve weed control with cover crop residue.

Reducing tillage also saves you on fuel cost and time.

The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) has been researching the benefits of soil health practices with field-scale strip trials on hundreds of farms across the Corn Belt. Iowa Corn Promotion Board has provided financial and in-kind support to SHP since its

The trends in practice adoption also indicate soil health is not just a fad. According to the USDA Census of Ag, Iowa cover crop acres have increased from 379,000 acres planted in the fall of 2011 to 973,000 acres in the fall 2016.

More recently, the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council statistical survey showed about 2 million acres of cover crops were planted in Iowa. For no-till in Iowa, the USDA Census found acreage increased from 6.9 million acres in 2012 to 8.2 million in 2017.

Learn more about soil health practices and the farmers that use them at iowacorn.org/water and if you get the opportunity be sure to attend a field day in your area. Iowa Corn offers a monthly stewardship newsletter with the latest news and events to keep you up to date on the latest soil health and water quality issues.

Iowa Corn Board of Directors

Iowa Corn is proud to welcome those newly elected and re-elected individuals onto the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) and Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) Board of Directors. Elected directors began to serve their districts on Sept. 1, 2020. We thank all out-going board members for their time and successful efforts towards the corn industry!

ICGA

ICPB

Carl Jardon, President

Dennis Friest, District 5

Greg Alber, President

Rod Pierce, District 5

Lance Lillibridge, Vice President

Logan Lyon, District 6*

Kelly Nieuwenhuis, Vice President

Pete Brecht, District 6*

Jim Greif, Chair

Adam Bierbaum, District 7

Roger Zylstra, Chair

Ralph Lents, District 7

Dean Meyer, District 1

Steve Kuiper, District 8

Chad Harms, District 1*

Gary Petersohn, District 8

Stu Swanson, District 2

Dan Keitzer, District 9*

Jerry Maier, District 2

Stan Nelson, District 9

Mark Mueller, District 3*

Andy Hill, At-large

Derek Taylor, District 3*

Wayne Humphreys, At-large

Jolene Riessen, District 4*

Pat Swanson, At-large

Larry Buss, District 4

*Newly elected July 2020

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Iowa Corn | 5505 Northwest 88th Street | Johnston, Iowa 50131 | 515-225-9242 | iowacorn.org | corninfo@iowacorn.org

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