Posted on 06/02/2005 6:29:37 PM PDT by SJackson
He said ethanol plants' demand adds about 10 to 15 cents per bushel of corn sold by farmers.
"Farmers don't have to haul corn to market as far," he said. "A lot of corn in the past was hauled out of state to market."
At 10 cents more per bushel, state corn growers are capitalizing at about $35 million more in income per year, Mr. Oleson said.
"That's going to happen every year. That's the value of ethanol plants," he said.
"Wisconsin farmers who grow corn hybrids suitable for ethanol production are realizing increased income for their family farms," Bill Hoffman, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association president said in a statement.
He said almost 20 percent of the 2004 corn harvest would be sold for ethanol production. Two years ago that figure was zero, he said.
Mr. Olsen said the company had attempted to market ethanol to gasoline companies in hopes of selling a blended product.
"We've been working on this for 1½ years," he said. "It was tough getting markets, so we figured we'd get our own stations."
"Our goal is to get 100 stations up around the state," Mr. Olsen said.
"We're getting a fair amount of activity where places want us to come and look to see if they should put ethanol-based blends in," he said. "It's starting to gain momentum."
He said the next Renew E85 stations could open before July 4 near Green Bay, Oshkosh and Slinger.
Consumers have more options with ethanol-based fuels, said Mike Colthard, a representative of Les Stumpf Ford, Appleton.
"You won't see the difference in mileage, but the performance will be enhanced," he said about Renew E85.
Sitting in a sport utility vehicle that can use E85, Mark Schmidt, a former farmer from Kimberly, endorsed the ethanol blend.
"I'm glad we found a way to subsidize farmers to make them important," he said. "I understand it's also better for the environment because it's cleaner. And I have nothing against saving money."
Waiting in line to fuel their Buick, Harland and Carolyn Tritt of Omro had a different perspective on the grand opening.
Corn grown on the Tritts' land is sold to Olsen's mill and could have been in the ethanol they bought.
"They should have done this when we were milking cows," Mrs. Tritt said. "There's more money in this than in milking cows."
Don't you have to use more since it is less efficient?
Yes, you see your mileage drop.
The mileage of gas with the California formula drops in summer, because of the higher ethanol content.
I think there is a federal subsidy for ethanol plants, and it comes from taxes on gasoline. Kind of like taxing railroads to pay for Interstate highway construction. Surprise surprise we now pay more per mile for trucks to carry things that used to be carried by trains.
Why? because rail makes the land close to the tracks more valuable for manufacturing. Trucks get away from that, and you get impossibly dispersed manufacturing plants that are less efficient, but with a lower start up cost.
That is why the US has the highest productivity in the world, but is more dependent (per dollar of GNP) on fuel. Raising fuel costs puts us into recession. Lowering fuel costs (caused by low demand when the recession hits) gets us out of recession.
We're never going to see 85 cent gasoline. The states would just as soon tax the hell out of ethanol, to squander on the overall budget.
Local radio host did an hour a while back on THIS story you won't see in the popular press: Ethanol uses more in to grow the corn from which it's produced than it generates when burned for fuel. Energy costs based on what it costs to grow & transport the fuel and the finished product to the consumer.
It's actually anti-green.
The big questions? Will our farmer's give a big collective middle finger to Saudi Arabia? Or will the State of Wisconsin join OPEC?
My gas mileage increases in the summer {warmer weather} and ranges from 35 - 40 mpg. In the winter {colder weather} my gas mileage drops to 33 - 36 mpg.
I wonder what my summer gas mileage would be if they did not use ethanol.
My car is a 2004 model that pollutes very little so all of these gas additives just waste my money.
Maybe there should be two grades of gas. One for the environuts at $20.00 a gallon and one for the rest of us with no additives at $1.50 or so a gallon.
I am sure the farmers who greased the palms of the politicians are enjoying this subsidy.
"It's actually anti-green."
OK, but we don't have to donate to the Saudi princes' living style every time we use it.
In southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, it's 1.55 to 1.59, and gets noticeably less miles-per-gallon.
IMO, it's just a scam to finish off the transportation infrastructure for grain so it will be easier for the likes of ADM to take over the land.
Once ethanol is permanently in the fuel distribution system, it will be made from cheaper sources like sugar cane.
"OK, but we don't have to donate to the Saudi princes' living style every time we use it."
Considering we pay the #$%& even more that we would for 100 BTU of oil when we grow the corn from which 100 BTU of ethanol is made, that isn't an advantage. If it made sense, the Government wouldnt need to subsidize it.
BINGO.
#2 Diesel fuel = 140,000 BTU
gasoline = 114,000 BTU
Ethanol = 112,000 BTU
E85 = 83,000 BTU
Does anyone know how many gallons of Diesel fuel are consumed in the production, harvesting and transportation of corn to the refinery to produce one gallon of ethanol? I've always believed ethanol is a scam and its production consumes more petroleum than it replaces.
Wisconsin elects too many Jewish Senators to join OPEC.
Looks like someone at Berkeley has looked into this a little. Ethanol Stirs Eco-Debate
IIRC, A couple of guys in Vermont or New Hampshire also found simular results.
Does anyone ever calculate the BTU's it takes over eons to make petroleum?
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