Posted on 04/21/2014 6:37:22 PM PDT by Walt Griffith
Ethanol Impact on Feed Prices
Written By: Renewable Fuels Association
Fueled by its desire for conflict, and a well-funded and organized public relations blitz by food and livestock industries, the media has spent a great deal of time in the past two years trying to portray an epic battle between America’s need for renewable alternatives to gasoline and its role as breadbasket to world.
Despite unsupported and hysterical claims, the battle between ethanol production and food and feed resources is not a battle at all. In fact, it is a symbiotic relationship that promises to provide long term financial gain for livestock and ethanol producers alike. First, it is critical that all sides in the debate agree to the facts. Ethanol production from corn is not leading to a shortage of grain for livestock feed. Quite the opposite is true. Because ethanol production produces both fuel and livestock feed, its quickly becoming a driving market force in the location and production of beef and dairy cattle.
Specifically, the production of ethanol from corn requires just the starch in each kernel. In the dry mill ethanol process, the entire corn kernel or other starchy grain is ground into flour (or “meal”) and processed without separation of the various nutritional component parts of the grain. The meal is slurried with water to form a “mash.” Enzymes are added to the mash, which is then processed in a high-temperature cooker, cooled and transferred to fermenters where yeast is added and the conversion of sugar to ethanol begins.
After fermentation, the resulting “beer” is transferred to distillation columns where the ethanol is separated from the remaining “stillage.” The stillage is sent through a centrifuge that separates the coarse grain from the solubles. The solubles are then concentrated ....
(Excerpt) Read more at americancattlemen.com ...
Because there is an ethanol dicussion. The professor does not seem to be aware of the fact that the ethanol sold in Nebraska has in the last few weeks been downgraded from 87 octane base to 83 octane base. The result in my 2008 Grand Prix is a reduiction from 31 MPG to 23 MPG on the highway. I am sure that this is a dirtier fuel since the oil companies have removed the refining process'/ingridients that broght the base product up to 87 octane before adding the alcohol. My last fillup was with 89 octane in hopes of regainning some milleage. I also have two other vehicles that the MPG has been greatly reduced.
WEG
Ethanol is a joke. We are now producing oil that would make us independent. Bakken— Midland— alone. obama has failed. But no new refineries in 40 years? We need a new government. This old one is real bad.
Certainly the argument could be made that money made on ethanol actually subsidizes animal feed.
A rough rule is that a given weight of corn will produce one-third ethanol, one-third high protein animal feed, and one-third CO2.
I think the most important feature of ethanol is that at any time in the case of severe food shortage we could stop making it and we’d have a lot of surplus corn. Ethanol gives us a food buffer in case of war or famine.
“exists solely on massive government subsidies all along the line from planting the seed to putting it in your gas tank”
No not really. The land will be farmed and grain produced ethanol or not.
And the direct ethanol subsidies are now gone. There is a mandate to use ethanol; but no direct subsidy.
When the SHTF, I’m sure all American heroes are going to band together and operate oil refineries because it’s so much more efficient than making biomass ethanol or biodiesel.
This article comes as no surprise to those who have actually bothered to be informed on the scientific numbers relating to ethanol.
There are a lot of good arguments against ethanol.
Energy efficiency and grain supply are not among them.
In all of the arguments to date that I've seen against ethanol, every one throws out the 1/3 high protein animal feed.
Instead, for purposes of advancing their sides argument, they assume that 1/3 to simply be landfill material, and of no value to anyone.
In actual large scale animal experiments done by universities, that 1/3 is sometimes as high as 1/2.
Lots of folks think we’re wasting food on fuel. Vegans think we’re wasting food for people on animals.
The use of lots of products is mandated by the gov’t; sanitary sewers, hardhats, catalytic converters, etc. Somewhere I missed the outrage at people who produce those things...
None of those things screw up gas mileage or ruin engines. I would like to use gas in my car, lawnmower, etc.
As this article points out, ethanol is just another product made from corn. After the ethanol is produced, using only the starch, the remaining grain is still almost totally there. From it they get corn oil and a large quantity of livestock feed. It is no different than getting the corn starch out of corn and then using the remainder to feed out cattle.
In that light, the only remaining problem I’d have with ethanol production would be government price supports.
Farmers and processors should be free to break down the corn in any way they wish (whiskey?) and sell it on the open market in whatever form(s) they think will bring them the best return.
Ethanol sucks, this is a propaganda piece.
I’ve read recently that the EPA is cracking down in distillers and brewers and make it harder to sell the distillers grains as animal feed. Wonder if the same holds true for distillers of ethanol for fuel?
Could you provide some more information on that? I thought ethanol was 113 octane.
Ethanol is a huge orgy for the corn industry...meaning we’re getting f****d in the form of higher food prices, lower MPG, damage to “older” internal combustion engines, etc, etc...
Using food for fuel, what a wonderful idea!!!
“...Using food for fuel, what a wonderful idea!!!..”
It’s a brilliant idea - because it’s doing exactly what it was intended to do. Drive up the prices of everything.
Good point, food prices ARE going up under Obama...just likew health care.
‘But is it really Obama? Or is it those greedy businesses and those racists who are against immigration reform driving them up? And greedy health care companies driving up health care prices. Fo profit,’
‘Obama wants mo $$$ for food stamps to compensate.
And increase minimum wage.
He has policies to help the little guy, he and Liz Warren.
They are fighting hunger in America.
They are trying.
They care for us.’
See how their game works ?
“..See how their game works ?...”
All too well, brother.
All each one of us can do is educate those within our immediate sphere of influence. So we do it.
And you direct them to alternate media sources so they can make up their own mind. Some will, some won’t. It is what it is.
Just like teaching people to shoot. You train them one at a time, and give them the skillset to be able to USE the new toolset, and they get educated about a couple things: their rights... the tool itself (overcome fear with personal knowledge)... and exactly WHO the enemy is and why they’re trying to stop you from exercising a Right.
and all this *free* fuel is doing wonders for gas prices too...
not to mention the devastation to all the lawn /garden equipment if it sits for more than a month with that sh!t in the tank...
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