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2010 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference participants didn’t waste any time diving into showing and telling what’s cool in corn this week at the multi-day event in Atlanta. The biggest challenge facing attendees was absorbing all the information.

“This year’s theme, “Corn: America’s Renewable Resource,” was a very appropriate choice for 2010,” said CUTC Chairman Larry Hasheider in his closing remarks. “Clearly, corn offers a variety of solutions for many of today’s problems, but we must persist in finding ways to improve existing options and to create entirely new ways to utilize this amazing resource.”

Tuesday’s sessions covered current industry innovations in corn breeding and genetics, the role of corn in human health and nutrition, maximizing distillers grains quality, corn derivative utilization, improved production efficiencies and second generation biofuels. Also included in the day’s agenda was a session on lifecycle analyses that give greater understanding to evaluating the environmental impacts of corn production, co-products and renewable technologies.

Wednesday’s sessions explored the exciting potential awaiting the corn industry. Now that the maize genome sequence has been completed, a pathway of exploration has opened up for researchers to look both at the future and past of corn. Session-goers were treated to the latest genetic findings that have aided researchers to identify next steps in corn’s commercial and humanitarian utilization and suggest that corn’s domestication could go back as far back as 9,000 years. Unique applications to the milling process launched lively discussions from panelists and attendees exploring the possible scenarios for the hybridization of wet and dry mills into an integrated biorefinery.

Applications gave way to ideas, concepts and points of view in a panel discussion exploring the effect of land use criteria (such as greenhouse gas emissions) on the determination of whether corn meets qualifications of an advanced biofuel and its significance to the corn industry. Although panelists addressed the issue from varying perspectives, they all agreed that current models are excessively complex and very contentious.

“Because these emissions are projections of what may happen in an uncertain future, there is a wide range of estimates, each associated with large uncertainty,” said Adam Liska of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Challenges in water consumption by agriculture, especially in corn production, were explored by industry and academic experts in the final CUTC presentation.

NCGA Chief Executive Officer Rick Tolman thanked CUTC panelists and attendees for sharing their insight and producing such a high quality of discussion. “With roughly one in 11 U.S. jobs tied to agriculture, these discussions are important to both to agriculture and the health of our economy,” said Tolman.

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