Do you know squat about anything? The ethanol credit goes to the blender, not the producers. It’s to compensate them for the inherent problems of handling and blending ethanol with gas, and to give them incentive to do so. The main issue is water attraction, that’s why they put ethanol thru molecular sieves, because you can’t get that last 5% out with distillation, because ethanol like ammonia has a chemical affinity for water. That why ethanol gas doesn’t freeze in the winter because it keeps the water in suspension. Ethanol producers generally get zip from the govt and have to make a profit on what they sell.
What exactly is wasted in ethanol production? Do you understand that the reason pig farmers supplement with soybean meal is that the carb-protein ratio in corn is TOO HIGH? You can’t feed straight corn to a pig, because of the extra carbs. Farmers don’t want any more carbs than they need to to provide energy to the animal as it’s gaining weight. Other grains like wheat, or even dried milk have lower carbs to protein and can be feed with less soybean supplement, and some farmers do exactly that.
So what exactly is lost by converting carbs to ethanol? To ag animals - not much. If they keep the stillage out of the DDG, they can feed those out at a fairly high rate and the carb-protein ratio is better as is the amino acid profile. It’s better feed. At least that’s what the farmers tell me. Who wouldn’t want better feed plus ethanol or some other fermented product. Maybe they do it different where you’re at, but that’s how they do it in Iowa, and we are a little bit experienced with hogs and corn here.
You can blow all the rhetorical smoke in the Universe on this subject, but your argument is seriously weak. You have still fail to answer why it takes so much energy to make Ethanol and the pitiful energy it yields in comparison.
This is the REAL reason that Ethanol absolutely must be subsidized by those of us who are not on Government welfare like the Ethanol industry is. Without the Government supporting it, it would raise the cost of Gas by 50% and you know it.
Your repeated mantra that livestock feed justifies this folly and gross waste is disingenuous to say the least.
Where is the documentation of these numerous problems Pigs have with eating corn with fructose?
Numerous problems including rapid weight gain?
What is wasted in ethanol production?
8 billion a year in subsidies.
Engine parts rusted due to water attraction.
40% of our crop of edible corn reduced to a pig food supplement.
An Iowan, eh?
Not surprising that those who seem most in favor of ethanol are those most likely to benefit from its continued government mandate and subsidies.
If it made any economic sense at all to turn corn into ethanol, and ethanol were actually a consumer desired product, it wouldn't require a mandate and subsidies.
Economics 101.
Conservatism 101.
No wonder it seems so far beyond your understanding!