Based in Washington, D.C., the Corn Refiners Association is the national trade association representing the corn refining (wet milling) industry of the United States. The association, and its predecessors, have served this important segment of American agribusiness since 1913.

For more than 150 years, corn refiners have been perfecting the process of separating corn into its component parts to create a myriad of value added products. The corn wet milling process separates corn into its four basic components: starch, germ, fiber and protein. After the components are separated, fiber and protein are made into animal feedstuffs, germ is further refined into corn oil and starch can be further refined to create starches with specific characteristics, a wide variety of sweeteners, bi-products and ethanol.
 
Contribution to the economy:

Corn refiners make a significant contribution to the health of the national economy and the local markets where refining plants are located.
 
The corn refining industry and its member companies provide good-paying jobs to over 65,000 employees across the country.  The national payroll for our specific sector is over $3.3 billion.  Nearly 41,000 farmers benefit from the sale of their corn to corn wet millers.
 
Corn refiners also contribute to the economy through purchases of material inputs such as utilities, fuels, shipping materials, transportation and manufacturing equipments, and other items necessary for plant operation.  Nationwide, corn refiners spend more than $23 billion annually on these types of expenditures, which have further multiplier effects in our nation’s rural areas.
 
Another important economic contribution from the corn refining industry is property taxes.  Corn refiners add nearly $8.8 billion annually to local economies through payment of property taxes, which in turn provide American citizens necessary public services.