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Christmas in October for Ethanol
DTN ^ | 10/12/09

Posted on 10/12/2009 8:51:52 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

Christmas in October for Ethanol

Traders and analysts are paying attention to the ethanol industry's renewed life and has resulted in a boost to the corn market, according to the Wall Street Journal. Profit markets are wider to the delight of ethanol producers who have operated in the red in recent years. In fact just last week, advancing energy prices pushed ethanol margins up a dollar per bushel, almost doubled margins from the week before. Ethanol plants are procuring more corn in order to ramp up production in order to pay down their debt. The renewed and optimistic predictions for ethanol have come from expectations of the large corn crop, estimated at just over 13 billion bushels. Ethanol demand -- along with weakness in the U.S. dollar and worries that unseasonably cold, wet weather could impede harvest and yields -- is boosting corn prices, which rose more than 30 cents between Monday and Friday last week.

(Excerpt) Read more at dtnprogressivefarmer.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: corn; energy; ethanol

1 posted on 10/12/2009 8:51:52 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: TigerLikesRooster; PAR35; AndyJackson; Thane_Banquo; nicksaunt; MadLibDisease; happygrl; ...

Ping!


2 posted on 10/12/2009 8:52:20 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (LUV DIC -- L,U,V-shaped recession, Depression, Inflation, Collapse)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

10% ethanol ate the fuel lines out of my 2 year old week wacker this summer. The lines all turned to mush and it will not hold a drop of gasoline.

Thank you very little, ethanol.....


3 posted on 10/12/2009 8:54:28 PM PDT by Bean Counter (Stout Hearts....)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

So they can handle the demand when all these people are NOT driving to work and back every day.


4 posted on 10/12/2009 8:54:32 PM PDT by bicyclerepair (Thank You Mr. Thompson, I'm Series.)
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To: TigerLikesRooster
Ford is developing a new type of engine, Bobcat, which is dual fuel.
5 posted on 10/12/2009 9:01:24 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Um, IIRC, 400 gallons of biofuel per year, per acre of corn. Is that still the ratio?


6 posted on 10/12/2009 9:03:02 PM PDT by papasmurf (RnVjayB5b3UsIDBiYW1hLCB5b3UgcGllY2Ugb2Ygc2hpdCBjb3dhcmQh)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

“Ethanol plants are procuring more corn in order to ramp up production in order to pay down their debt.”

I don’t understand this. Won’t that drive ethanol prices down during this economic climate via overproduction?


7 posted on 10/12/2009 9:18:32 PM PDT by headstamp 2
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To: Bean Counter

Lately I have not used my suburban much, so it sits for days unused. Because ethanol attracts water we are now having problems starting it......and when it runs it misses real bad.

My son-in-law is a mechanic. He said they see lots of problems caused by ethanol.

As soon as our house sells we are moving to the country. At least we can buy real gasoline there....no more ethanol.


8 posted on 10/13/2009 3:51:03 AM PDT by agondonter
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Burning ethanol in vehicles is a stupid, asinine thing to do.


9 posted on 10/13/2009 5:04:40 AM PDT by RoadTest (Religion never saved anyone, and never will.)
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To: papasmurf
By extrapolating annual yield trends to 2009, at 2.7 gallons per bushel, an acre would produce about 452 gallons; at the margin, newer plants will produce about 3.0 gallons per bushel, which in turn would yield about 502 gallons per acre.
10 posted on 10/14/2009 4:10:12 PM PDT by Mr. Lucky
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To: Bean Counter

I saw the same problem on my SILs Weedeater, but I think it’s cheap Chinese polymers used in the tubing that are the real culprit.

The 15 yr old lines on my Mitsubishi powered K&S Trimall are working fine.


11 posted on 10/14/2009 4:13:58 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: Mr. Lucky
By extrapolating annual yield trends to 2009, at 2.7 gallons per bushel, an acre would produce about 452 gallons; at the margin, newer plants will produce about 3.0 gallons per bushel, which in turn would yield about 502 gallons per acre.

Average corn yield per acre is 188 bushels.
A Bushel of corn weighs 70 lbs.
Americans consume 1540 lbs of corn per year, in whole or in products we eat/drink.
So that means, we can either have 59.4 gallons of biofuel per bushel, or feed 8 humans. I vote for humans.

Check my math.
12 posted on 10/14/2009 6:37:16 PM PDT by papasmurf (RnVjayB5b3UsIDBiYW1hLCB5b3UgcGllY2Ugb2Ygc2hpdCBjb3dhcmQh)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Two words:
Natural Gas.


13 posted on 10/14/2009 6:38:21 PM PDT by papasmurf (RnVjayB5b3UsIDBiYW1hLCB5b3UgcGllY2Ugb2Ygc2hpdCBjb3dhcmQh)
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To: papasmurf
A bushel of corn weighs 56 lbs.

But, refining for ethanol removes only the starch from the corn, leaving a high grade protein feed which is generally more readily digested by animals than was the whole corn to begin with.

I don't think you'll find a lot of science suggesting that Americans' diets are dangerously deficient in corn starch.

14 posted on 10/14/2009 7:12:07 PM PDT by Mr. Lucky
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To: Mr. Lucky
A bushel of corn (ears) weighs 70 lbs. I should have clarified.

I'm sorry, no offense intended to anyone, but I do think it a self defeating idea to waste the land and run prices up and compete for food, for the sake of a questionable source of fuel.

We have plenty of clean, American sourced, natural Gas available. It doesn't require a new engine or major modifications, nor does it clog up and ruin any parts of the motor, or compete with food.
15 posted on 10/14/2009 7:22:37 PM PDT by papasmurf (RnVjayB5b3UsIDBiYW1hLCB5b3UgcGllY2Ugb2Ygc2hpdCBjb3dhcmQh)
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To: papasmurf

Corn is cheaper now than it was last year and, adjusted for inflation, is as cheap or cheaper than it has ever been.


16 posted on 10/14/2009 7:38:49 PM PDT by Mr. Lucky
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To: Mr. Lucky

Biofuel is crap. It’s not clean, it screws up our motors, it’s more expensive, it gets worse mpg, produces much less HP, and competes with the food we eat.

Other than that, I think it’s really neato.


17 posted on 10/14/2009 7:41:05 PM PDT by papasmurf (RnVjayB5b3UsIDBiYW1hLCB5b3UgcGllY2Ugb2Ygc2hpdCBjb3dhcmQh)
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To: papasmurf
Actually, you have no idea what you're talking about.

(Unless, of course, you eat a lot of #2 yellow corn, in which case you would suffer terribly from acidosis).

18 posted on 10/14/2009 7:48:43 PM PDT by Mr. Lucky
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To: Mr. Lucky

Actually, you have no idea what I know, nor will you.

Goodnight. I hope your investment pays off.


19 posted on 10/14/2009 8:22:57 PM PDT by papasmurf (RnVjayB5b3UsIDBiYW1hLCB5b3UgcGllY2Ugb2Ygc2hpdCBjb3dhcmQh)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

All grades of gasoline in our little Texas town now have Ethanol and stickers are placed on the pumps to notify customers. Can’t find any nonethanol gas in town. I don’t believe that is morally right.


20 posted on 10/17/2009 8:36:43 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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