BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Corn farmers had a lot to celebrate in 2007, but there’s plenty of room for growth.

That was the message last week at the annual meeting of the Bloomington-based Illinois Corn Growers Association.

“We’re very capable of growing enough corn for both food and fuel,” said outgoing association president Steve Ruh of Sugar Grove, near Aurora.

The fuel aspect – coming in the form of escalating ethanol production – has pushed corn into a brighter national spotlight than normal, Ruh said.

The country’s corn production is expected to total more than 13 billion bushels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More acres of corn were planted nationally than at any time since World War II. The biggest reason for the surge was to feed the nation’s growing number of ethanol plants.

Some of that corn is now piled high around grain elevators in the state but, with an additional 300 million gallons of ethanol planned for production in Illinois in 2008, “those piles of corn will go away quickly,” said Ruh.

While final figures on corn yields aren’t yet available, look for good numbers, especially from central Illinois corn producers, said Mark Lambert, the association’s communications director.

“Figures will be good outside of western Illinois, where high winds flattened some of the crop, and drought-stricken southern Illinois,” he said.

Also at the meeting, Dwight farmer Art Bunting was elected association president to succeed Ruh while Ross Pauli of Edwards received the association’s environmental action award.

Pauli, who has constructed numerous waterways, dry dams and terraces on his farm, is past director of the Peoria Soil and Water Conservation District.

A big part of Pauli’s message is that people can adopt conservation techniques without sacrificing productivity, said Lambert, adding that Pauli has also placed well in annual no-till yield contests.

Receiving the association’s “World of Corn” award was Bill Bradley of Gallatin County, cited for his efforts in helping to educate legislators on farm issues.

By Steve Tarter of the Peoria Journal Star