Biofuel: More Than Just a Buzzword

News-Democrat and Leader, KY 10-12-06

Biofuel: More than just a buzzword

By Cyndie Sirekis -American Farm Bureau

Editor's Note: An ethanol plant has been proposed for Logan County. The commentary in this article provides food for thought on the subject.

As management trends ebb and flow in corporate America, new buzzwords describing the current working environment surface. “Play hard ball,” “think outside the box,” “paradigm shift,” “reorganize” and “win-win” are just a few of the words and phrases that have made their way into the English lexicon in recent years.

Although widely used and accepted for a time, buzzwords themselves and the concepts they represent are frequently made light of in the press and on late- night TV comedy shows. Gradually they fall out of use, existing primarily as curiosities to those with an abiding interest in the written word.

That same fate is not likely to befall “biofuel,” according to a group of industry experts, academics, ag economists and farmers who met recently in Iowa for a conference organized by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Biofuel- the sturdy term for clean, renewable energy- holds great potential for agriculture. It encompasses wind power, methane, biodiesel, ethanol and more.

Exploring the many ways the rapidly expanding biofuels industry will affect crop and livestock producers was the thought-provoking theme of the AFBF conference. The rapid increase in ethanol plants across the U.S., which primarily use corn for production, raised many questions.

There currently are about 110 ethanol plants in operation in the U.S., with annual production capacity of nearly 5 billion gallons. That figure could more than triple by August 2009, when industry experts estimate an additional 115 plants now under construction - many designed with capacity of 100 million gallons or more of ethanol annually - will begin production.

The greatest concentration of ethanol plants is in Midwest states including Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska. Groups of farmers and other private investors are gearing up to begin building plants for the first time in other states, such as Arkansas.

According to industry estimates, by 2010, U.S. ethanol production could displace the equivalent of 311,000 barrels of imported crude oil per day. That's more than one large oil tanker per week. “The biggest unknown is this: At what point will expansion in ethanol plants begin to level off?” said Bob Wisner, an Iowa State University professor and ag economist.

Wisner and other conference presenters offered insights on what increased ethanol and biodiesel production could mean for agriculture down the road. It's clear more corn will be needed to meet the growing demand for ethanol. Farmers will need to adjust the crops they grow from year to year. Livestock production also will be affected, as less corn becomes available for feed, while at the same time, greater quantities of distillers grain, a byproduct of ethanol production, become available.

It's clear that biofuels such as ethanol present both promises and challenges for agriculture. Figuring out the best way to deal with the challenges and turn them into opportunities is not a bad problem to have.