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Great Lakes Commission Great Lakes Potential Impacts of Increased Corn Production for Ethanol Commission des Grands Lacs in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Region Primary Author: Laura E. Kaminski, Great Lakes Commission The Great Lakes Commission was established in 1955 Rising Demand for Environmental Impacts of Increased An estimated 3.5 to 6 gallons with a mandate to “promote the orderly, integrated and Alternative Fuels: Corn Production: of water is required to produce comprehensive development, use and conservation of Within the United States and the water resources of the Great Lakes basin.” Founded Canada, a rising demand for Soil Erosion and Sedimentation 1 gallon of ethanol. in U.S. federal and state law, with membership consisting alternative fuels has been A majority of the corn production within the Midwest and of the eight Great Lakes states and associate member spurred by high fossil fuel Corn Belt regions relies on agricultural practices such as status for the provinces of Ontario and Québec, the Agricultural Impacts of Increased Corn energy prices, political support conventional tilling – the practice of turning or digging up Commission pursues three primary functions: communi- and policy decisions, high corn soils – to prepare fields for planting new corn seed. This Production: cations, policy research and analysis, and advocacy. prices and profit margins, and practice removes organic residue from the soil surface technology improvements. In left by previous harvests or cover crops. In disturbing the Conversion of Agricultural Lands The Commission addresses a range of issues involving 2006, ethanol production and soil surface, soil is more susceptible to erosion from rain Within the United States environmental protection, resource management, trans- use accounted for approxi- and wind. Although no-till would significantly reduce ero- and Canada, wheat, portation and sustainable economic development. All mately 3.5% of the total U.S. sion, it is often not practiced with corn production since coarse grains (including activities are directed at realizing the vision of a prosper- fuel consumption in 2006 and crop residues from past harvests paired with cool and wet corn), and oilseeds ous economy, a healthy environment and a high quality is expected to reach 7% by the end of this decade. As a soils typically encountered during the corn planting (including soybeans) of life for citizens of the region. result, farmers across the nation are making rapid season make it more difficult to plant corn seed. Im- compete for limited tem- changes to meet this demand. U.S. corn production is proved tillage and cropping management systems could perate agricultural lands In carrying out its initiatives, the Commission works in nearing an all-time record high with projected nation- potentially greatly decrease soil erosion from corn inten- that support these crops. close cooperation with many partner organizations, in- wide corn acreage of 90.5 million acres in 2007 – reflect- sive systems if the current limitations associated with no- Therefore, with increased demand for corn for ethanol cluding U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, binational ing a 15.5% increase in one year, alone. till for corn production can be overcome. fuel leading to increased market prices and higher re- institutions, tribal/First Nation governments and other re- turns, other less profitable crops have experienced de- gional interests. Ethanol production is expected Estimated Average Soil Erosion and Sediment Delivery Under creased production while corn acreage expands. In the Different Tillage Practices in the U.S. Portion of the Great near-term, these additional acres of planted corn are to consume 30% of the annual Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin coming primarily at the expense of soybean acres in the Tillage Practices Average Erosion Average Sediment Delivery Midwest and Corn Belt regions. However, shifts from U.S. corn harvest by 2009. (tons/acre/yr) (tons/acre/yr) Conventional Tillage * 1.8 0.4 other crops such as hay, cotton, wheat, and rice are also Cellulosic Ethanol: Reduced Tillage 0.8 0.2 occurring in other areas of the United States. No-Till 0.3 0.1 Cellulose-based ethanol is another form of bioethanol Source: Ouyang et al., 2003 that is produced from cellulosic feedstocks (e.g., fast- *Conventional tillage is a common practice in the production of corn. Loss of Conservation Acreage growing trees, corn stover, grain straw, switchgrass, forest Types of Impacts from Soil Erosion and Sedimentation products, municipal waste and construction waste). Cel- Lands that may be con- verted to agricultural lulosic feedstocks may yield a higher energy balance than Environmental Impacts Secondary Beneficial Use and ethanol made from corn, but are less developed and not • Sediment Loadings to Water Market Impacts production to meet the Bodies • Navigation and Dredging yet economically viable for commercial production. As demand for additional • Channel Modification of Rivers • Recreation corn acreage include the technology for cellulosic ethanol becomes commer- and Streams • Reservoirs and Water Storage cially viable, industry leaders see its production as an op- • Eutrophication of Lakes and • Drinking Water pasture and fallow Reservoirs • Drainage and Irrigation portunity to increase the volume of ethanol fuel produced lands; forest lands; grasslands; wetlands; marginal lands • Disturbances to Sensitive Habitats • Flood Control not previously cultivated for farming (i.e., lands requiring from biomass in the United States and Canada. • Increased Turbidity • Aesthetics and Property Values • Degradation of Water Quality larger agricultural chemical applications or containing highly erodible soils); and acreage from expiring Conser- Uses of Corn: vation Reserve Program (CRP) and Conservation Reserve Manufacturing of ethanol fuel is now estimated to be the Water Use Enhancement Program (CREP) contracts, or other conser- second largest U.S. market for corn, behind livestock Corn requires more water than other row crops since it is vation initiatives. This conversion of land use/cover (or feed/residual, consuming approximately 16% of the deep-rooted and produces greater biomass than other comparable crops. Corn variety and maturity length as lack thereof) – while enabling farmers to plant new acre- The Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Region: country’s 10.5 billion bushel production in 2006. This is well as soil type and texture through the root zone will age and harvest additional yields – has potential environ- The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region, for purposes projected to increase to nearly 18% in 2007 based on an- also impact seasonal water use for the production of mental consequences, such as the removal of vegetative of this research paper, is defined as the entire area of the ticipated corn yields. Changes in the supply of and corn. Irrigation may be required to supplement rainfall in cover intended to reduce sediment loadings from agricul- eight U.S. states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, demand for corn have additional ripple effects throughout drier areas and during dry periods to maintain this level tural lands to streams and lakes. New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin) and two Ca- the agricultural and retail food sectors, including impacts of soil moisture. In addition, an estimated 3.5-6 gallons nadian provinces (Ontario and Québec) that border the on the costs of livestock feed, farm income, government of water per gallon of ethanol produced is required by Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. payments, and consumer food prices. ethanol facilities for the production of ethanol — a figure that is largely dependent on the efficiency of the facility’s Although the data reported for the Great Lakes-St. Law- U.S. Ethanol Production: cooling towers and the quality of the water coming into rence River region represent an area larger than the Most U.S. ethanol fuel production occurs in facilities lo- the facility. Of this water, roughly 90-95% is lost through Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin, the trends de- cated in the Corn Belt or Midwest in close proximity to cooling towers, wet spent grain, and exhaust. scribed here are considered valid indicators of what is oc- corn supplies. In 2006, the production of 5.1 billion curring or could potentially occur within the basin. bushels of corn in the Great Lakes Region was nearly half of the total U.S. production. As of December 2007, the construction and/or expansion of 28 facilities was under- The Corn Belt: way within the Great Lakes states which, when com- A minimum of 4.6 million acres nationwide are expected to exit the The Corn Belt is a region of the U.S. Midwest comprised pleted, will nearly double the annual production capacity of Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. Approximately 50 CRP by 2010, as high crop prices encourage their return to production. for the region’s facilities to 4.8 billion gallons per year. percent of all U.S. corn is grown within these four states. Additional Corn Belt states include parts of South Dakota, U.S. Ethanol Biorenery Locations Loadings of Nutrients and Persistent Contaminants Addressing Future Challenges: Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, To increase yields per acre and maximize profitability, Current trends have shown that the rapid expansion of Missouri, and Kentucky. corn producers often increase nitrogen and other fertil- biofuel production and the associated increased produc- izer applications. Movement of agricultural chemicals tion of
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