Ethanol producers benefit from growing livestock sector
LINCOLN, NE — Distillers grains are an important component of an
ethanol plant, as the high-quality feed ingredient adds to the plant’s
bottom line.
“Ethanol producers pay close attention to the
quality of their distillers grains,” said Todd Sneller, administrator
of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. “A product with consistent quality is of
greater value to livestock producers.”
In the past year,
Nebraska’s ethanol plants produced more than 2 million tons of
distillers grains. That’s a lot of feed; or, more precisely, Sneller
said, that’s a lot of opportunity to add value. “Distillers grains adds
value to corn and cattle add value to distillers grains,” he said. “In
essence, ethanol production compounds the benefits of corn production
to the state as a whole.”
These benefits include investments in rural communities, new jobs and increased tax revenues, he said.
As
the ethanol industry grows, distillers grains production will increase.
By some estimates, production will reach 10 million tons by 2010. “That
creates a lot of opportunity to add value by feeding as much as we can
locally,” Sneller said.
To take full advantage of that opportunity
Nebraska needs a strong, healthy and growing livestock industry,
Sneller said. “That’s what excites me about efforts to expand
Nebraska’s livestock industry by organizations such as the Alliance for
the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (A-FAN),” he said. “The more we
compound the value of our agricultural products in the state, the more
everyone benefits.”
A-FAN helps farmers by assisting them when
they want to add a livestock component to their operation or expand an
existing operation.
A strong local livestock sector reduces
the need to dry distillers grains and ship them via truck or rail to
other parts of the country. Instead, Sneller said, ethanol plants can
supply them to the livestock producers down the road, creating
efficiencies for both the plant and producer. “Growing the livestock
sector along with the ethanol industry makes sense in order to take
advantage of those efficiencies,” he said.
A-FAN is a non-profit agriculture promotion, education and producer assistance organization.
Established
in 1971 by the Nebraska Legislature, the Nebraska Ethanol Board is
devoted to the development, support and advocacy of the ethanol
industry.
NOTE: To view Todd Sneller’s commentary about the importance of the livestock industry to Nebraska and the state’s ethanol producers, click here.
Media: For more information, contact Todd Sneller at 402.471.2941 or Roger Berry of A-FAN at 402.710.1110 or 888.580.2326