Crescent-News.com - Nothing corny about ethanol boosting the local economy

By JARED ORZOLEK
orzolek@crescent-news.com

Farmers like Mark Schwiebert of Hamler are getting ready to cultivate thousands of acres of corn and other crops across northwest Ohio when spring planting season arrives in April and May.

Producers will consider a variety of options for marketing grain, but an increasingly attractive destination for harvested corn is an alternative energy plant like the ethanol facility located in Leipsic.

Ethanol plants like the Leipsic facility will have a substantial impact on the local economy, according to Schwiebert, who works with his partners to cultivate close to 2,400 acres in southern Henry County.

Schwiebert is a member of the Ohio Corn Growers Association board and an investor in the Leipsic plant. He delivered a selection of his recent corn crop to the Leipsic plant last week.

"The plant does produce an enhanced price. They have to compete with the other grain buyers around here," Schwiebert said.

"There has been as much as 5-20 cents (per bushel) higher bid. That's money that ends up back in the farmer's pockets. They are going to pay their bills. These dollars are recycled through the local economy."

Glen Arnold, agriculture and natural resource director for Putnam County's Ohio State University Extension Office, said the ability of farmers to market their grain for use as an alternative fuel has had a positive impact on the economy.

"There is no question that there has been a lot of corn sent (to the Leipsic plant)," Arnold said.

"They have to bid enough to attract farmers. Farmers appreciate having that plant right here in Putnam County."

The Leipsic ethanol plant is operated by POET Biorefining, which currently operates 22 plants in six states, producing more than one billion gallons of fuel annually.

The $105 million facility in Leipsic employs 40 people and will use 22 million bushels of locally grown corn to produce 65 million gallons of fuel each year.

"These folks live in Putnam County and in neighboring counties. These are competitive wage paying jobs," Schwiebert said.

The plant opened on Jan. 10 and POET is working to open plants in Fostoria and Marion.

Despite the growing number of options for farmers to market corn for use in production of alternative fuels, agriculture experts are not predicting a significant jump in the amount of corn producers will plant.

Schwiebert said he does not think farmers will shift their crop in the direction of corn, as staples like soybeans and wheat remain viable crops.

"I don't see a huge shift of acres from one crop to another," he said.

"There is no one predetermined set of circumstances that will drive the decision. The situation is pretty dynamic."

Schwiebert said everything from weather factors to crop rotation patterns will impact which crops farmers decide to plant this spring.

Arnold said he is not predicting a significant swell in the amount of corn planted in Putnam County, in part due to increasing fertilizer costs.

He said nitrogen prices have risen to as high as 70 cents per pound.

"That's a primary element in raising corn," he said.

Ethanol is used as an additive to traditional oil-based gasoline and helps gasoline burn cleaner.

American consumers use close to 140 billion gallons of gasoline each year and the country produces 8-10 billion gallons of ethanol each year, however, the technology surrounding this type of fuel is constantly evolving.

Schwiebert said he believes the fuel type will be a staple for years to come.

"We continue to see increasingly high crude oil prices," Schwiebert said.

He explained that five years ago, ethanol-refining technology allowed for the creation of 2.5 gallons of fuel per bushel of corn -- a number which has since risen to three gallons.

"We will continue to see advances in technology," Schwiebert said. "These are increasingly good strides."

Arnold said future technology may allow ethanol to be produced from other crops, including certain grasses.

"There is a lot of interest in other forms of ethanol. You don't know what could be down the road," he said.