Nat'l Corn Growers Association's new head on another challenging season, and what gives him hope
ST. JAMES, Minn. — It was another challenging growing season for many farmers across the state. A dry summer and a wet fall have now made for an interesting harvest.
Harold Wolle, the new president of the National Corn Growers Association, acknowledges recent farming challenges but argues corn growers and airlines can work together to their mutual benefit.
"The corn had a little bit tougher time with the weather we were given this year," Wolle said.
Wolle has spent most of his life farming near St. James. This year he experienced another dry summer, but the challenges really began in the spring.
"We ended up having way too much rain right at planting time and ended up having to replant about 20% of our crop so that was one of the issues that makes the harvest a little bit less," Wolle said.
But for Wolle, there's still cause for celebration. His soybeans are done and yields were better than expected, and earlier this month he was elected to be the new president of the National Corn Growers Association.
"I'm very proud to be from Minnesota, but in this position, I'm very proud to advocate for all of the nation's corn farmers," Wolle said.
And as a farmer himself, that means looking well into the future. Wolle is hoping to make an international impact on corn growers. In particular, he wants to make ethanol a bigger part of aviation.
"The aviation industry wants to have ethanol for jets, so we need to make this happen," said Wolle. "We need to have very low carbon intensity scores in order for ethanol to qualify as a sustainable aviation fuel."
He said carbon intensity scores can be lowered with farming practices and at ethanol plants. Wolle believes it's inevitable that Minnesota ethanol will cross paths with international airlines.
"The quickest way to de-carbonize that is to use more ethanol, because ethanol has a 50% less carbon intensity score than gasoline. The more we burn it the quicker we de-carbonize," said Wolle.
As the new National Corn Growers President, Wolle is also hoping to advocate for cover crops. These are often crops like radishes and rye that are planted to help with soil health and the environment.