A trade delegation from Japan recently visited the farm of Gary Prescher where they learned about Midwest corn production.

“Welcome to my outdoor classroom,” Gary Prescher told his visitors on Monday, June 26, as they stepped into one of his cornfields located northeast of Blue Earth in Barber Township.

Prescher’s guests were members of a Japanese trade delegation who were visiting the United States to learn about the various steps in producing corn and how it is handled and shipped to their country. Two members of the group, including an interpretor, work for the organization that helped facilitate the trip. The 10 other guests from Japan work for companies who purchase corn for various uses in Japan – mostly for feed and livestock consumption.

The trip was arranged by the U.S. Grains Council, a group that operates in several countries around the world on behalf of corn growers to assist in foreign trade development and to help deal with trade issues which arise between different countries.

Prescher, who is a director and current vice-chairman on the Minnesota Corn and Research Council, was thankful for the opportunity to share the story with his guests of how Minnesota produces a corn crop.

“The group flew into Washington D.C. and heard a lot of gloom and doom about the weather and the condition of the corn crop,” Prescher said. “Their visit to Minnesota helped them understand that although some parts of the country may not have ideal crops, there is a large area of the United States where the crops look good.”

Prescher, who began his career as a science teacher, had a captive audience when he began explaining the life stages of a corn plant, including how weather plays an important part in the development of the plant.

“All but one of the Japanese visitors had never been in a cornfield before so they asked a number of questions,” Prescher commented.

With many countries becoming more concerned about the environmental impact of producing a crop, Prescher informed the group of changes in practices that U.S. producers have made so the crop uses less water and requires less nutrients.

“The younger generation of farmers in this country has been very quick to adapt new practices which make corn production more sustainable,” Prescher remarked. “The U.S. Grains Council has been out front on this subject and has put a lot of effort into developing a sustainability website growers can utilize to understand the sustainability metrics involved in growing corn.”

Prescher also addressed the carbon footprint of his own farm.

“As a grower, my carbon index score, based on the European model, is a negative score,” Prescher says. “Corn production actually puts carbon back into the soil. We need to defend and get credit for what we are doing in terms of conservation.”

After Prescher finished his presentation in the corn field, the group boarded their bus and drove a few miles to the Prescher-Willette Seed Farm.

While there, Damian Prescher, one of the owners of the seed farm, explained their setup for handling corn once it is harvested from the field.

“With our setup, the pit where we dump the corn can hold almost a full semi load at once,” Damian Prescher explained.

He then went on to talk about grain drying and how the corn is stored.

“If you are buying something, you want to become familiar with the process,” Gary Prescher added. “This tour is giving these people the opportunity to get first-hand knowledge of how we do things.”

The group’s first stop in Faribault County was actually at the Giant Welcome Center in Blue Earth where they had a chance to stretch their legs and have their picture taken with the Green Giant statue after their bus ride from the Twin Cities.

The group planned to continue their tour the next day with a visit to the CHS Savage Terminal and in the town of Brownton where they were going to see an elevator that ships corn to the Pacific Northwest to be sent to their country.

“Japan has been a very loyal and consistent customer for our corn produced in the Midwest,” Prescher said. “They are typically second or third in the amount of corn they buy from us with Mexico being our number one customer.”

Prescher also highlighted some of the exciting research being conducted utilizing corn instead of petroleum-based fuels.

“ClearFlame Engine Technologies is making it possible to use ethanol in diesel engines,” Prescher noted. “Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a biofuel used to power aircraft that has similar properties to conventional jet fuel but with a smaller carbon footprint. Another project being undertaken by the University of Minnesota, which is being partially funded by producer check-off dollars, is creating molecular polymers (plastics) out of corn instead of petroleum.”

According to Prescher, Minnesota is usually third or fourth in corn production in the United States, second in pork and turkey production and fourth in the production of ethanol.

“There are roughly 24,000 corn farmers in the state,” Prescher added. “And, 96 percent of the farms in the state are family owned farms.”