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Transportation Is The Reason Behind Why The Us

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TRANSPORT: Transportation is the reason behind why the US is still the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn by accounting for 50 percent of the world’s corn trade each year. The production and consumption demand determine the transportation demand. Considering corn is the primary feed grain consumed in farms, this means that 96 percent of all feed grain production is corn. The corn produced in the US derives from seven states and from these states is shipped by rail, barge, and truck to feedlots, feed mills, ethanol refineries, and ports for export. For means of corn transportation, corn exporters depend on mainly rail and barge services, while domestic corn movements are typically handled by trucks. Between the years 2007-2011, trucks were responsible for transporting 7 percent of domestically used corn. Rail transportation was responsible for moving an average of 21 percent of domestic corn movements, which decreased between the years 2007-2010 from 26 percent to 19 percent. Overall, as food, seed, and industrial use for corn increased by 293 percent, the demand for corn increased by 57 percent, which would explain increases in corn transportation. More specifically, the increase in truck transportation came about from the increased demand for ethanol. Most ethanol plants are located 50 miles within the range of corn-producing areas, (United States Department of Agriculture, 2014). The transportation of wet distillers grains (WDG) is only economically viable

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