Corn is all around you.
Corn farming in Kentucky provides food and fuel while protecting natural resources.
Food
From cornflakes to steak and eggs, corn plays a role in making most meals possible.
Fuel
Grown in fields across Kentucky, corn ethanol is today’s renewable fuel.
Natural Resources
Corn is grown by family farmers who care for the environment.
Food
From cornflakes to steak and eggs, corn plays a role in making most meals possible.
Fuel
Grown in fields across Kentucky, corn ethanol is today’s renewable fuel.
Natural Resources
Corn is grown by family farmers who care for the environment.
Why does corn matter? Corn is important to Kentucky.
Kentucky corn farmers are currently producing between 200 and 250 million bushels of corn annually, achieving record average yields the past several years. Corn is among the top crops grown in the Bluegrass, recently providing more than $1 billion in cash receipts.
Corn in Kentucky.
Livestock Feed
Between 40 and 50% of Kentucky’s corn crop is fed in-state to livestock. Poultry in Kentucky consume about 45 million bushels alone. Beef and dairy cattle and hogs are also important corn consumers.
Ethanol
Over 17 million bushels of Kentucky corn goes into fuel ethanol every year. Leftover from the process, is a product called distiller’s grains which is used to feed livestock, primarily poultry.
Bourbon & Spirits
Another 15-20 million bushels of corn is utilized by Kentucky’s bourbon and spirits industry.
Food Processing
Kentucky is also home to a thriving food processing industry, where corn is ground for grits, corn bread mixes, tortillas, and taco shells.
Corn Means Food
Corn feeds people (and LOTS of animals). Kentucky farmers produce sweet corn, popcorn, and white corn. These types of corn are ground for foods like grits, cornbread, tortillas and taco shells. But the vast majority of the corn grown in Kentucky is field corn.
Most of our field corn goes to feed animals. Poultry farms are the number one purchaser of corn in Kentucky. But we don’t discriminate! If you enjoy steak, bacon, chicken nuggets, milk, eggs, or bourbon, there’s a good chance corn makes your meal possible.
Ethanol is Engine Smart & Earth Kind
Corn ethanol is a renewable motor fuel that’s cleaner for the air and the environment than petroleum. It reduces prices at the pump and allows us to be less reliant on oil from both foreign governments and drilling at home.
Corn Farmers Care
Corn farmers care about the environment. Conservation practices, like grass waterways and no-till are commonplace on Kentucky farms. Corn farmers also use technology like GPS to protect groundwater, which enables them to apply nutrients and other crop health products in a precise way so that the plants only get what they need in specific areas of the field. These efforts preserve natural resources for future generations of farmers as well as their neighbors in the city.