The near-infrared (NIR) calibration, developed by DuPont’s Pioneer Hi-Bred business, allows ethanol plants to rapidly and consistently evaluate incoming grain, helping both plant managers and growers determine which corn hybrids and management practices can improve ethanol production.
The calibration has been incorporated into the QualiTrak system from Pioneer, a measurement and reporting program that facilitates the flow of ethanol yield information to both plant personnel and corn growers. It provides a measurement of the gallons of ethanol yield potential (EYP) per bushel of corn.
A number of QualiTrak and EYP systems have already been installed at plants throughout the US and are being run on the FOSS Infratec 1241 grain analyzers. The technology allows ethanol producers to use analytical data to manage the corn grain feeding for their ethanol production process through rapid analysis and grading at the point of grain receiving.
Farmers are expected to be able to take this information and combine it with their on-farm agronomic performance data to tailor the corn hybrids they plant and apply management practices to maximize the ethanol yield on every acre.
