Partnerships

Minnesota Corn

AURI is dedicated to its work for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council

Minnesota corn invests in new uses to create new market opportunities for Minnesota farmers.

Corn is a versatile feedstock used in a variety of applications, including, but not limited to, livestock feed, ethanol production, polylactic acid (PLA), sustainable polymers, and high-value molecules.  

AURI partnered with MN corn on several feeding trials on distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in collaboration with universities to understand the safety and optimal usage in the diets of broilers, turkeys, swine, and cattle.  More recent projects explored the potential to develop DDGS into a human food ingredient, as it is a high-protein byproduct of the ethanol process. This work assessed the market and technical viability of upcycling the byproduct from the corn dry milling ethanol manufacturing process from animal feed use to a human food-ingredient use.  Another project explored the technical and market feasibility of using ethanol as a carrier for lower-carbon-intensity hydrogen for use in emerging technologies, such as fuel cells, and for industrial applications that require hydrogen. 

Related Research and Information

• DDG food use – Minnesota Corn Growers Association
• Ethanol fuel cells (Year 2) – Minnesota Corn Growers Association