Biofuels are here to stay, and agriculture will be asked to play an increasingly important role in helping make this future possible, says Robert Fraley, Monsanto chief technology officer.
“Twenty-five years ago corn yields in the U.S. averaged 80 bu./acre. Today, USDA expects the average to be 154 bu./acre, nearly double that of only 25 years ago,” Fraley says. “In the future, we expect yields to increase sharply, leading the opportunity to once again double yields in the next 25 years by 2030. We think corn yields can reach nearly 300 bu./acre.”
This year in the U.S. 18% of the nation's corn crop will be converted into nearly 5 billion gallons of ethanol.