My Maize

Yesterday I was a corn girl. Today I was a peanut girl. But, today you're going to see corn stuff. I'd like to call today's post, "My Maize" to make a play on words. Dang, that's clever.

Ok, not really.

I was in corn country yesterday in the Texas Panhandle and the corn really seems to be looking swell. We need some rain out in these parts real soon, or there's going to be some very depressed farmers in West Texas.


One of our board directors from Muleshoe said he'd received a total of 5 inches of rain for the year...I think you peeps back home got that in one afternoon earlier this summer.

It's just plain dry out here.

Until recently, I hadn't really spent much time out in the fields, which is what our board is all about - the corn that is grown and the people that grow it. It's good to get out of the office, or away from the large cities where meetings and conferences are held, and actually get out in a corn field.

It was also super cool to see an ethanol plant.

Since I really don't care to be lost or become one with the children of the corn, I just stay on the outside and take pictures.

I was at a peanut field tour all day with Congressman Neugebauer's staff again, and I'm about to head north to Amarillo for a corn field day tomorrow.

We got some good news today that was unofficially released on Reuters that the EPA has declined the governor's request for a 50 percent waiver on the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) mandated by the 2007 Energy Bill. That's huge. There's a press conference tomorrow at 1 p.m., so I will be shooting pictures out in the field while trying to keep up with the announcement from Washington.

This is a much anticipated announcement that has already been delayed a week, due to the large number of letters sent to the EPA on the subject. Exciting stuff happening in the corn world, despite the depressing cost of inputs.

Stay tuned.