Friends of Rural New York

From our friends in Minnesota

Yesterday I was busy working on some stuff for a customer and over the wire (Wisconsin Public Radio) came wafting into the room a lively discussion about corn ethanol. So, decided to listen to it.

Apparently Wisconsin is a target for mandated ethanol in their gas forced on them by the ethanol industry. The industry has spent 30 million dollars trying to buy the Wisconsin legislature. It didn’t look like it was working at all. A couple of legislators cut it up nicely and the call in from listeners was quite gratifying. They too tore it to pieces. You see, ethanol from corn is a scam on the tax payers and the environment of the first order. I have to hand it to the folks over in Wisconsin. Smart folks.

Making ethanol from corn is all about fossil fuel. As the cost of fossil fuel rises so does the cost of making ethanol. They are joined at the hip. I think that I’ve said that for the past few years.

Further, Industrial Agriculture is totally dependet on fossil fuel as well. As fossil fuel rises in price so does the cost of growing corn.
At the end of the day this demise of fossil fuel will be the death knell of what we see as Industrial agriculture today. It will end quite soon.

There is nothing that will be able to replace oil and gas in farming. One thing will… A team of Belgians.

This past year in the neighborhood (corn country Midwest) the price to make a bushel of corn was about $3.50 a bushel. The market price today here in my neck of the woods is $1.45 a bushel. Who pays the difference. One guess. Look in the mirror.

So, 67% of the ethanol industries raw material is paid for by the taxpayer. Look in the mirror.

Last year a pretty good number for the real cost of making a gallon of ethanol was $4.70 a gallon to make the stuff.

$13.16 is what it costs to make 2.8 gallons of ethanol from a bushel of corn. The bushel of corn costs $3.50.  Can we add? I hope so.

Almost all of the energy (calories) is removed from the corn when it is used to make ethanol. Calories (energy) are what fuel you and me. Makes me fat. There is no market for distillers grain. There is protein but the calories are gone into the ethanol. There is no market for this stuff. Smoke and mirrors. Trying everything they can to make excuses. Neighbor across the road feeds beef cattle. Lots of “high energy” corn to make really good steaks. Did you get the words high energy?

How much energy in a gallon of ethanol = 65,000 BTU

How much energy in a gallon of unleaded = 100,000 BTU

Not much energy in ethanol.

You cannot use coal to make anhydrous ammonia can you. This ain’t rocket science.

Here in Minnesota the ethanol folks stepped so low as to try to get permission to burn 10,000,000 tires a year to create energy to run the plant. Burning these tires across the road from our Elementary School. Do you have any idea how evil and crummy these folks are. Really bad stuff.