Outlook
What percentage did you lower production during COVID-19?
The Specialist in Biofuels Plant Appraisals
SOURCE: ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE
• Valuation for financing • Establishing an asking price • Partial interest valuation Few certified appraisers in the United States specialize in ethanol plant and related biofuels properties. Natwick Appraisals offers more than 50 years of worldwide experience. Your appraisal will be completed by a certified general appraiser and conform to all state and federal appraisal standards. Our primary specialty in industrial appraisal work is with ethanol, biodiesel, and other types of biofuel facility appraisals, including cellulosic ethanol plants.
Call us for a free, no-obligation consultation today.
800-279-4757 701-793-2360 Natwick Appraisals 1205 4th Ave. S., Fargo, ND 58103 www.natwickappraisal.com natwick@integra.net 18 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2020
To what degree did your facility alter its daily operations because of COVID-19? (i.e., safety protocols, schedules, meetings, etc.)
SOURCE: ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE
bonuses. Nineteen percent said they have not decided whether to suspend raises and bonuses; less than 10% said raises and bonuses have been suspended; 2% said bonuses have been suspended; and 7% said raises have been suspended.
Recovery and the Future
The majority of survey respondents 76% reported that fuel market stability and recovery are their main concerns in terms of maintaining normal operations during the pandemic. None said their main concern is coproduct market stability; and 19% said their main concern is personnel health. It is reasonable to assume all respondents have similar concerns about employee health during the pandemic, but simply do not view it as a primary operational threat. Write-in responses included staffing concerns, the political climate, the upcoming election, and U.S. EPA’s lack of cooperation. Recovery seems to be a ways out, ac-
cording to most respondents. Nearly half of the producers that responded expect it will take more than a year for the ethanol industry to recover. Twenty-nine percent expect full recovery in six to 12 months; 14% in three to six months; about 5% said one to three months; and another 5% said the industry is already recovered, which doesn’t square with the industry’s collective production rate—still 10% below last year—and is presumably a reflection of their own experience. An astonishing 93% said they are evaluating or investing in new product technologies to enhance operational efficiency. They include high-end alcohol, cogeneration, high-protein coproducts, wind and solar technologies, additives, energy efficiency gains, fiber separation, distillation, centrifuges and carbon reduction. Respondents are largely dissatisfied with the current administration, saying President Donald Trump has been too pro-
