SEPTEMBER 2021
TOGETHER AGAIN After Two Years Apart, Ethanol Industry Gathers Again In Iowa PAGE 24
PLUS
Coproducts Revenue Trends Upward PAGE 16
FEW Award Winners Share Stories, Gratitude PAGE 32
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Contents
16
STOCK
24
BBI INTERNATIONAL
34
BBI INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER 2021 VOLUME 27 ISSUE 9
DEPARTMENTS 6
EDITOR'S NOTE Fairness, Inclusion and Opportunity
FEATURES 16 COPRODUCTS
Coproducts Revenue Rising Income from ancillary outputs shows growth
By Tom Bryan
7
AD INDEX/EVENTS CALENDAR
8
DRIVE Anti-Biofuel Attacks Have Major Economic Consequences
By Holly Jessen
24
By Emily Skor
10
GLOBAL SCENE What the EU’s New Climate and Energy Revolution Means for Biofuels By Emmanuel Desplechin
12
EVENT
Together, Determined in Des Moines
Regulatory battles, market growth discussed at FEW By Susanne Retka Schill
32
AWARDS
Instructor and Innovator
ON THE COVER In July, about 2,000 people, including nearly 600 producers, attended the 37th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo in Des Moines, Iowa. PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
2021 Award of Excellence recipient Kurt Rosentrater
GLOBAL SCENE Making Sure Our Best Days Lie Ahead
By Matt Thompson
By Brian Jennings
14
BUSINESS BRIEFS
38
MARKETPLACE
34
AWARDS
For the Team Around Him 2021 High Octane Award recipient Steve Markham By Matt Thompson
Ethanol Producer Magazine: (USPS No. 023-974) September 2021, Vol. 27, Issue 9. Ethanol Producer Magazine is published monthly by BBI International. Principal Office: 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Periodicals Postage Paid at Grand Forks, North Dakota and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Ethanol Producer Magazine/Subscriptions, 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58203. ETHANOLPRODUCER.COM | 5
Editor's Note
Fairness, Inclusion and Opportunity As I wrote this column in mid-August, I wondered how the challenges dropped on our industry this summer would be resolved. Less than a month earlier, at the 2,000-person International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo in Des Moines, Iowa—our first in-person FEW in two years—Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper adeptly laid out the policy, regulatory and legal battles in front of us—the fairness fight we’ve been in for years—safeguarding year-round E15 and ending unwarranted SREs. Three weeks later, as drought conditions persisted throughout much of the Midwest, the Biden administration overlaid a new set of worries on top of the court setbacks we already face. The administration unveiled a fresh national target for electric vehicles, calling for them to represent half of all new vehicle sales by 2030. Simultaneously, the EPA released a proposed rule to establish stricter light-duty vehicle GHG emissions standards without addressing ethanol or high octane—a real letdown. And on top of it all, the Senate passed a bipartisan infrastructure package that did not have the biofuels inclusion our industry had pushed for. Never a dull policy moment in ethanol. The work never stops, and we are fortunate to have not one association, but three fighting for ethanol’s fair inclusion in our nation’s clean energy future. The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol are tightly aligned and resolute in their efforts to overcome our current challenges—on Capitol Hill, in court and at the pump. In “Together, Determined in Des Moines,” on page 24, we recap July’s insightful FEW general session that included Cooper’s essential keynote speech and panel discussions with additional association leaders and ethanol plant executives. We have big and complicated hurdles in front of us as an industry, no doubt, but that morning at the FEW left us informed, unified and encouraged. Indeed, this industry always provides reason for optimism. When one thing goes down, another seems to go up. Such is coproduct revenue right now. While distillers grains prices have been dampened recently, overall revenue from coproducts (DDGS, distillers corn oil, etc.) makes up a larger percentage of plant income than ever before. As we report in “Coproducts Revenue Rising,” on page 16, coproduct profitability went up notably in 2020, keeping the industry moving forward during the pandemic. That trend will likely continue. According to Christianson Benchmarking LLC, coproducts revenue, on average, made up 27% of overall plant income in the first quarter of 2021 after hitting an already impressive 26% in 2020. With growing markets for DCO, protein and carbon, coproducts’ slice of plant revenue should continue to grow. Finally, on page 32, we profile our 2021 FEW award winners: Kurt Rosentrater and Steve Markham, recipients of the Award of Excellence and High Octane Award, respectively. Both men have given decades of their careers to advancing and expanding markets for coproducts. And like so many past FEW awardees, both Rosentrater and Markham credit their successes to those around them and an industry that never stops providing new opportunities.
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Drive
Anti-Biofuel Attacks Have Major Economic Consequences
Emily Skor
CEO, Growth Energy 202.545.4000
eskor@growthenergy.org
American biofuel producers and clean energy advocates suffered a major setback in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in AFPM v. EPA after oil refiners successfully sued to roll back the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to allow the sale of year-round E15, a 15 percent ethanol blend. The oil industry may have gotten what they wanted, but it represents a clear and present threat to our climate, working families, and the economy. Fortunately, our champions in Congress wasted no time in offering a permanent solution. In the House, the bipartisan Year-Round Fuel Choice Act (H.R. 4410) was introduced by Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Adrian Smith (R-Neb.). In the Senate, the bipartisan Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S. 2339) was introduced by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). These bipartisan companion measures would ensure that consumers have uninterrupted access to low-cost, low-carbon E15 year-round at the pump. Alongside these champions, Growth Energy is fighting tooth and nail to ensure this important legislation reaches the desk of President Biden, who has offered repeated commitments to support working families, grow clean energy jobs, and uphold the Renewable Fuel Standard. As always, we continue to hammer home the importance of higher biofuel blends like E15 for the environment and U.S. climate efforts. As regular readers know, Growth Energy published a study in December showcasing how a transition to E15 could slash carbon emissions by 17.62 million tons per year—equivalent to removing 3.85 million vehicles from the road. More recently, however, we’ve cast a fresh spotlight on the vital role that E15 plays in delivering economic benefits to consumers and workers alike. During a June appearance before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, I unveiled the results of a new study demonstrating that a nationwide transition to E15 would add $17.8 billion to the GDP, create 182,600 new jobs, generate $10.5 billion in new household income, and save consumers $12.2 billion in fuel costs. Now more than ever, it is important that we remind lawmakers that biofuels are critical to securing an economically robust domestic agricultural supply chain, and also for the broader U.S. economy. With 90 producer plants and 91 businesses that support biofuel production, Growth Energy members drive commerce and job growth from California to New York, and the transition to nationwide E15 can turbocharge that growth while delivering savings for drivers and reducing the amount of fossil fuels in our gas tank. To support these efforts, we invite readers to visit the new Growth Energy action page focused on restoring year-round sales of E15 and securing strong Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the RFS. We cannot allow Big Oil to eliminate consumer choice at the pump, delay the nation’s clean energy transition, or freeze economic recovery efforts in rural communities. That’s why we’re making sure that decisionmakers in the White House and on Capitol Hill fully appreciate just how important biofuels are to a cleaner, more prosperous future.
8 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
Global Scene
What the EU’s New Climate and Energy Revolution Means for Biofuels Emmanuel Desplechin Secretary General ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association desplechin@epure.org
The EU’s legislative landscape for energy and climate policy is about to undergo another massive change as a result of the European Commission’s new Fit for 55 package, which seeks to accelerate the drive to carbon neutrality. For the EU biofuels industry, the new proposals—including major changes to policies on renewable energy, the Emissions Trading System and energy taxation, as well as a de facto deadline for the end of the internal combustion engine through new CO2 standards—promise a potentially bumpy road ahead as the implications become clear. But one thing should be clear to policymakers as they fine-tune these proposals in the coming months: unleashing the true potential of crop-based ethanol and creating a policy environment that can spark investment in advanced ethanol are must-have components of any realistic roadmap to carbon-neutrality. As usual, the signals from the Commission about whether biofuels can play a major role in transport decarbonization are mixed. On the one hand, the Commission’s new Fit for 55 package sets important new goals for emissions reduction and creates a solid foundation for reaching them by giving a role to renewable liquid fuels in decarbonizing transport. On the other, the Commission still hesitates to make the best use of emissions-reduction tools it has today, including biofuels—even when targets have been raised to such a degree that their contribution is essential. Fully enabling biofuels in the drive to carbon-neutrality is just common sense. Even under a scenario in which electric vehicles make rapid gains in market share and the sale of internal combustion engines is phased out, the EU car fleet will consist predominantly of vehicles that run fully or partly on liquid fuel in 2030 and beyond. For these petrol and hybrid cars, renewable ethanol is the most cost-effective and socially inclusive way to reduce emissions. Europe cannot afford to ignore this important part of the equation. With the main components of the Fit for 55 package, the Commission should fully maximize the tools it has on hand for decarbonization—especially the Renewable Energy Directive. This is the third time since 2009 the Commission has tried to get RED right. With Fit for 55, the Commission finally realizes that to succeed it needs to focus on higher GHG intensity reduction targets that drive renewable energy in transport, without multipliers that hide the EU’s continued reliance on fossil fuels. Now that sustainability issues have been settled, the EU should unleash the potential of crop-based biofuels and encourage the wider deployment of advanced biofuels. The main questions about the sustainability of biofuels were settled after RED II was adopted in 2018 by phasing out high ILUC-risk biofuels. We know that deforestation and outdated “food vs. fuel” arguments do not apply to EU renewable ethanol. So with this revision we should be taking the next logical step and unleashing the potential of good biofuels. Other Fit for 55 components should work in concert to promote solutions that make a realistic impact on decarbonization. The CO2 for Cars Standards should include more than just one technology and recognize the benefits of using renewable fuels such as ethanol to reduce the carbon-footprint of cars on the road. The Energy Taxation Directive should incentivize renewable fuels, moving away from volume-based taxation to carbon intensity. A parallel Emissions Trading System for transport should complement, not replace, binding national targets for emissions reductions in the Effort Sharing Regulation, and avoid increased fuel prices and social discontent. As the European Parliament and EU Member States go to work on these proposals from the Commission in the coming months, it will be interesting to see whether Fit for 55 can be made fit for purpose.
10 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
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Grassroots Voice
Making Sure Our Best Days Lie Ahead
Brian Jennings
CEO, American Coalition for Ethanol 605.334.3381 bjennings@ethanol.org
Recent adverse court decisions reminded me of that Chinese proverb, “may you live in interesting times.” Frankly, boring would be a nice change of pace given these court rulings occurred on the heels of our unfortunate exposure to mismanagement of the Renewable Fuel Standard, trade wars, and a global pandemic. But alas, it seems boring is never going to be reality for those of us in the ethanol industry. While our power to control the courts, Congress, COVID, and EPA is varied and limited, we have complete control over how we react and push forward to make sure ethanol’s best days lie ahead. Hopefully by now you have come to the correct conclusion that the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on small refinery exemptions (SRE) is regretful but not disastrous. The court narrowly ruled refineries can seek RFS waivers at any time. That’s it. Justices did not say EPA must approve unwarranted exemptions, nor did they make it easier for refineries to receive waivers. In fact, if EPA adheres to the other restraints the Tenth Circuit decision placed on SREs, restraints which were not addressed by the Supreme Court and makes exemptions harder to obtain, the days of SREs being handed out like Halloween candy should be over. The Biden EPA knows what it should do going forward, we just need them to do it. The DC Circuit’s 3-0 decision to invalidate EPA’s regulation allowing E15 to be sold year-round in all parts of the country is much more serious and concerning. If a solution is not found to ensure uninterrupted availability of E15 by the summer of 2022, the vital growth market we secured in 2019 encompassing two-thirds of the U.S. will be taken away. That’s why there is a sense of urgency to pursue all options to keep the E15 market alive. What are those options? First, bipartisan, bicameral bills to allow E15 sales year-round are pending in Congress and could be attached to infrastructure or other must-pass legislation. Second, it is expected the DC Circuit’s decision will be appealed, which could buy more time and keep E15 on the market. Third, EPA could issue a revised interpretation of the statute; essentially a new proposed regulation to address evaporative emission limits on ethanol-gasoline blends and allow E15 sales during the rulemaking process. While increasing demand for ethanol depends upon getting the RFS back on track and once again securing market access for E15 year-round, creating a meaningful growth trajectory also requires us to capitalize on ethanol’s low carbon value in future carbon markets. Elected officials at all levels of government in the U.S., indeed around the globe, are exploring policies to create carbon markets that mitigate the negative effects of climate change, and ACE has been actively promoting corn ethanol as an immediate and meaningful part of the solution. The good news is that our efforts are bearing fruit. At the state-level, ACE has helped mobilize a diverse coalition of groups and companies behind the Midwest Clean Fuels Initiative. The initiative put forth a blueprint for Midwest governors and legislators to follow in drafting clean fuel or low carbon fuel standards. Our blueprint was used by lawmakers in Minnesota to introduce the Future Fuels Act, bipartisan legislation to reduce the carbon intensity of the state’s fuel by 20 percent in 2035. Modeling we helped commission indicates increasing the use of E15 and E85 are low-cost ways to achieve this standard. We are encouraged by the progress in Minnesota and the fact many other Midwestern states are considering legislation for 2022. At the federal-level, ACE is engaging Congress and the Biden administration to position corn ethanol as part of the solution to their policy efforts designed to reduce climate emissions. We have also joined a diverse coalition to encourage Congress to take up legislation establishing a technology-neutral low carbon fuel standard to boost demand for midlevel ethanol blends. Our best days lie ahead if more of us are willing to put in the effort to position ethanol as part of the climate solution. I encourage you to join ACE in pushing forward.
12 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
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Willis elected U.S. Grains Council chairman
Willis
The delegates of the U.S. Grains Council elected Chad Willis, a Minnesota farmer representing the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council, as chairman of its board of directors at its annual meeting in early August. “I was drawn to the council because I need dependable markets to sustain my farming operation,” Willis said. “But as I’ve served the council and, as I’ve been able to see firsthand by traveling to other countries, it’s a twoway street. To be successful, we need each other.”
Willis has been farming since 1997 and has worked in both the corn milling and feed industries. He is a vocal advocate for ethanol and ethanol coproducts. “As we recognize the importance of our grain markets, we must continue to build on our value-added markets for DDGS and ethanol. The value of global trade has so much potential if we work together to access them.”
CHS expands E15 availability with 19 more terminals CHS Inc. is now offering E15 at 19 ing options for ethanol blended fuel is additional fuel terminals. important for our Cenex brand retailers The agribusiness cooperative, and our farmer-owners,” said Akhtar which owns ethanol plants in Rochelle Hussain, CHS’ director of refined fuand Annawan, Illinois, is registered with els marketing. “CHS has always been the U.S. EPA as an E15 manufacturer committed to offering ethanol blended and sells E15 as an approved grade of flexible fuels throughout its network fuel through its Cenex retail locations. of 1,450 Cenex brand retail facilities. In total, CHS is now offering E15 at 29 We continue to demonstrate this comMagellan, Nustar and CHS terminals mitment by working with our terminal across eight Midwest states. partners to offer higher ethanol blends in a broader geography “As the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative, expand- across the Cenex retail network.”
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Former Minnesota ethanol plant resumes isobutanol production Gevo Inc. has announced that operaGevo also expects to utilize some of the tions at its advanced biofuel plant in Luverne, IBA for specialty products. Minnesota, have recommenced. The Luverne "We are getting geared up for what facility was originally built as an ethanol plant will be the next stage of Gevo’s growth but later converted to produce fuel-grade, rewhich is coming at us at an accelerated newable isobutanol (IBA). rate,” said Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber. The IBA produced in Luverne will be used as a feedstock for “We are leveraging our existing Luverne location to optimize converGevo to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable pre- sion of our isobutanol production to develop the standard in operatmium gasoline, which will be produced at a refinery Silsbee, Texas. ing discipline for efficient and safe IBA production facilities.”
Green Plains, Tharaldson Ethanol partner on high protein project Green Plains Inc. has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Tharaldson Ethanol in Casselton, North Dakota, to own and operate a Fluid Quip Technologies’ MSC system. The 175 MMgy Tharaldson plant will produce 105,000 tons of Ultra-High Protein as well as post-MSC distillers grains. Green Plains is now offering the technology to exclusive industry partners and will provide up to half of the necessary capital, project management support and more. “As Green Plains’ facilities fully transform into the model biorefineries of the future, we are offering the industry an opportunity
to innovate with us through these turnkey solutions,” said Todd Becker, president and CEO. “We believe this is truly the most disruptive event in this industry since its inception and feel strongly that these aligned partnerships will maximize the technology’s potential.” Fagen Inc. is the general contractor on the project, which is expected to be completed in 2022, preceding additional MSC installations at multiple Green Plains plants.
16 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
Coproducts
Coproducts Revenue Rising Revenue benchmarking trends point strongly toward a growing percentage of overall plant income coming from ethanol’s ancillary outputs. By Holly Jessen
New data shows ethanol coproducts represent increasingly higher percentages of plant revenue. In 2020 coproduct profitability went up
notably, keeping the industry moving forward in extremely difficult times, and that trend has continued in 2021. “The ongoing theme is coproducts’ contribution to the bottom line,” says Connie Lindstrom, senior biofuels analyst for Christianson Benchmarking LLC, a subscriptionbased service which aggregates ethanol industry data. In the past 12 months, it included data from 65 facilities operating in the U.S. and Canada. As revenue from ethanol fell in 2020, ethanol plants participating in the benchmarking program brought in an average of 26 percent revenue from coproducts, per gallon of ethanol sold. That was the highest percentage recorded since the company started collecting data in 2003, she says. Then in the first quarter of 2021, the number went up again to 27 percent, according to the data complied in July. Now that she’s seen the numbers for Q1 2021, Lindstrom says there seems to be an ongoing trend in this direction. That wasn’t so certain at the end of 2020, however. “Because ethanol sales were so unusual last year, due to the pandemic, it was hard for me to kind of
gauge what proportion of that result last year was simply due to relative low ethanol gallons,” she says. While it’s too early to say definitively that ethanol producers should throw their focus onto coproduct diversification, it’s something to seriously consider. “I think certainly that is what people are talking about and wondering about,” she says. “Our numbers as of right now, for the last six, eight quarters are certainly pointing toward that.” Kenneth Scott Zuckerberg, lead economist of grain and farm supply for CoBank, helps write the company’s yearly and quarterly Knowledge Exchange reports. He confirms that revenue from coproducts helped ethanol producers stay afloat in 2020 and has been an important contributor to profitability so far in 2021. “Ethanol coproducts, including distillers grains and corn oil, will continue to help ethanol producers diversify their business mix and improve margins,” he says. “This is a long-term story both from a feed and industrial alcohol use perspective.” CoBank’s quarterly report released in early July says the ethanol industry “outperformed expectations” in the second quarter of this year. General economic growth, seasonal demand for ethanol in the summer months and more people driving were among key demand drivers.
PHOTO: STOCK
ETHANOLPRODUCER.COM | 17
Coproducts Average daily operating margins for a representative Iowa dry-mill ethanol plant hit 26 cents in Q2, more than double from the average in Q1, according to an Iowa State University Center for Agricultural and Rural Development chart referenced in the CoBank report. Operating margins averaged near 10 cents a gallon for the first quarter of 2021 but began rising sharply to more than 25 cents in March, when ethanol prices rose and natural gas prices dropped, according to CoBank’s Q1 report.
More Benchmarking Stats
When Lindstrom ran the recently compiled first quarter numbers for this story, the results surprised her enough that she delayed the interview to double check the numbers. She was concerned the data included outliers of very high or very low numbers, which could throw off the results. “That wasn’t the case,” she says. “It was a pretty normal distribution.” Average coproduct revenue per sales gallon of ethanol was up to 58 cents for the
Revenue from Ethanol vs Coproduct Sales by Percentage 2021 Jan-Mar
73.1%
26.9%
2020
74.5%
25.5%
2019
76.8%
23.2%
2018
76.8%
23.2%
2017
80.8%
19.2%
2016
79.3%
20.7%
0%
20%
40%
Ethanol Netback %
first quarter of 2021. Compare that to an average of 40 cents in 2020. “58 cents per gallon is as high as I’ve seen it since 2012, 2013,” she says. Even more interesting was the spread between the top 25 percent of participating ethanol plants, the leaders, and the bottom 25 percent performers, the laggards. In 2020,
60%
80%
100%
Coproduct Netback %
there was a roughly 10 cent gap between the leaders and laggards on average coproduct revenue per sales gallon of ethanol. It was even more pronounced in the first three quarters, with a 12 cent gap between the two groups. In Q1 2021 it jumped up a bit more, with leaders, on average, earning about 15 cents more than laggards. “We thought that it
2017
Coproduct Sales Corn Recapture Percentage 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
2016
2017
Average
2018
2019
Leaders (Top 25%)
would normalize and go back to about an 8 cents gap between that top 25 percent average to the bottom 25 percent, but it has not,” she says. “It has actually widened.” The corn recapture percentage is another useful number to look at, especially considering increased corn prices. It’s the percentage of revenue ethanol producers are getting
2020
2021 Jan-Mar
Laggards (Bottom 25%)
back in coproduct sales per every dollar spent on corn feedstock, she says. In 2020 the average corn recapture was 33 percent, while leaders were at 37 percent and laggards at 30 percent. In the first three months of 2021 the average and the laggards had about the same corn recapture percentage as the previous year. The number for leaders, on
the other hand, went up about one percentage point to 38 percent. “Even though corn prices did rise so high, the plants 81% are still getting that high corn recapture percentage,” Lindstrom says. 77% Ethanol netback per sales gallon of undenatured ethanol also77% went up. In 2020 the average was $1.19 for the full year. In Q1 2021 the number went up to an average of 74% $1.63 per sales gallon of ethanol. Compare that with the average results for the first 73% quarter of last year, which came in at $1.09 ethanol netback. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Increased revenue from coproducts, especially when looking at the gap between Coproduct leaders and laggards, reminds Lindstrom of when there were a number of ethanol plants extracting corn oil but not all the industry had installed the technology yet. That seems to be what’s happening here, she says, as more plants produce new types of specialized coproducts, their revenue from coproducts is going up. It could also be ethanol plants with higher corn oil yield coming out front in coproduct revenue, because corn oil
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22 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
prices have been high. “At 'Even though this point, one of the drivers corn prices did could be simply the amount of corn oil, because there rise so high, the is quite a range there,” she plants are still says. “Do you produce about getting that high half a pound per bushel or corn recapture do you extract a pound per bushel?” percentage.' Currently, the benchConnie Lindstrom marking program doesn’t Christianson Benchmarking LLC collect specific data on different coproducts but that’s Lindstrom going to change in the future, she says. As more ethanol plants diversify their coproduct mix and others consider adding 2020, due to the demand for cleaners and on new technologies, producers have been sanitizers, he says. He’s also visited ethanol asking for more details on the profitability plants in Nebraska where a technology to of specific coproducts. Another area of in- produce an ultra-high protein coproduct is terest is information on revenue from phar- being installed. “Coproducts have always been an exmaceutical grade alcohol, ethanol produced tremely valuable part of the ethanol profor export markets and more. Although there are plans to start col- duction process,” he says. “I think it will lecting data for the benchmarking program only become more important as we consoon, it will be a while before Christianson tinue to advance technology to further specan release it to their clients. “If there’s cialize and separate very valuable compoonly two plants in the whole country that nents that are in the coproducts.” Green Plains Inc. is one of the compaare producing a particular type of product, whether that’s coproduct or a grade of eth- nies Flodman mentioned as an example of anol, we don’t want to report identifiable an ethanol production company charging data,” she says. “We want to make sure we ahead to diversify its product streams. In January, Ospraie Management and Green are protecting our participants.” It’s the same way the company handled Plains announced they had acquired majorit as distillers corn oil (DCO) extraction ity interest in Fluid Quip Technologies and technology was installed at a few early- would deploy a number of the company’s adopter plants. The data was collected but technologies, including ultra-high protein, not included in the reports until more fa- renewable corn oil and Clean Sugar Techcilities were producing DCO. “There’s a nology (CST), beginning this year. Progress toward the company’s goal bigger risk associated with being an early adopter, so the plants that are doing it want to install ultra-high protein extraction techto maximize their reward for taking that nology at all its ethanol plants has marched risk, without blasting it out to everybody forward quickly, with multiple projects in that, hey, this is going to make your bottom Nebraska. In early July, Green Plains announced it broke ground on its third ultraline better,” she says. high protein instillation, Fluid Quip’s MSC system, at its Central City, Neb., facility. In Diversification in Progress Hunter Flodman, technical advisor for addition, construction is ongoing at Green the Nebraska Ethanol Board, points to mul- Plain’s Wood River, Neb., ethanol plant, tiple plants in that state that have installed with startup expected in the third quarter or are working to install new technologies of 2021. Green Plain’s first instillation of the to diversify their product and coproduct offerings. Several Nebraska ethanol plants technology was at its Shenandoah, Iowa, began producing higher purity alcohol in plant. Production of ultra-high protein
'Coproducts have always been an extremely valuable part of ethanol production. I think it will only become more important as we continue to advance technology to further specialize and separate very valuable components that are in the coproducts.' Hunter Flodman Nebraska Ethanol Board Flodman
started there in April 2020 and by February of this year the company announced it had achieved a sustainable protein concentration of 58 percent. Green Plains has also made progress in diversification projects at its York facility, another of its ethanol plants in Nebraska. Two announcements were made in January. First, the company said it had completed an upgrade, adding a new distillation production unit to produce United States Pharmacopeia (USP) grade alcohol, with plans to upgrade again to Grain Neutral Spirits by adding additional distillation and processing capabilities so it can serve more highvalue markets, including beverage alcohol. Next, the company said Fluid Quip would engineer and construct fully scalable commercial CST production at the York Innovation Center, co-located with the York ethanol biorefinery. Another announcement relevant to the topic of diversification came in early June when ICM Inc. signed an agreement with Texas-based Visionary Fiber Technologies Inc. (VFT). ICM will serve as the exclusive distributor, engineering, procurement and construction contractor for VFT’s fiber reactor separation technology, for deployment within the ethanol industry. The proprietary technology can be used to refine corn oil produced at ethanol plants, removing significantly more impurities so it can be sold to renewable diesel refineries for use as a feedstock without the need for pretreatment and without risk of catalyst damage. VFT’s technology is installed as bolt-on skids, which can be scaled
up or down to various sizes and causes minimal or no interruption to operation, says Scott Kohl, chief technology officer for VFT. It’s one of several applications in development by VFT for the ethanol industry. “We look forward to continuing to enhance the ethanol industry’s profitability and sustainability based on new product creation over the coming years,” he says, adding that the company is working in multiple other industries as well, at commercial scale as well as testing and scale-up trials. The agreement with ICM is focused on corn oil pretreatment for renewable diesel production, Kohl says. The renewable diesel industry is rapidly expanding, with strong demand for feedstocks like corn oil, with a low carbon intensity score. “Distillers corn oil extracted from ethanol plants is strongly positioned to meet both the immediate and forecasted growing demand,” he says. “The ability for ethanol plants to pretreat distillers corn oil within their own facility to increase the value for their current coproducts, thus further diversifying producers’ sources of revenue and cash flow, while meeting an immediate and highgrowth industrial need in the market has a clear parallel to the business model that started the ethanol industry.” Author: Holly Jessen Questions: editor@bbiinternational.com
Event
TOGETHER, DETERMINED In Des Moines
Nearly 2,000 attendees, many returning to in-person events for the first time in two years, were briefed on policy objectives and producer priorities at ethanol’s big summer show. By Susanne Retka Schill
After more than a year of virtual meetings throughout the ethanol industry, the energy at the 37th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo was palpable as colleagues met in person July 1315 in Des Moines, Iowa.
In his keynote remarks at the opening session July 14, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper addressed two recent court rulings that threatened to dampen the enthusiasm, assuring the attendees that although discouraging, “both decisions will prove to be hollow and short-lived victories for oil refiners who remain intent on keeping ethanol in an E10 box. These decisions are temporary setbacks.” Three weeks before the FEW, the Supreme Court overturned a key piece of the Tenth Circuit Court’s landmark ruling on small refinery exemptions (SRE), Cooper explained, ruling that refiners can petition for an exemption from Renewable Fuel Standard obligations, even if they have not received an exemption previously. A week after the SRE decision, the D.C. Circuit Court sided with oil refiners and said the U.S. EPA had exceeded its authority by giving E15 the same volatility waiver that is provided to E10, potentially reinstating the summertime ban on E15 in conventional markets. “The courts have had their say,” Cooper said, adding the next moves are up to the Biden administration. “In both cases, EPA has the tools available to lock in longterm growth opportunities and provide marketplace certainty.” The Supreme Court may have overturned one aspect of the Tenth Circuit’s decision on SRE’s, he said, but it did not comment on the Tenth Circuit court ruling that refiners asking for exemptions must prove economic hardships were caused solely by the RFS. “Second, the court underscored that refineries of all sizes pass
'We have an enormous opportunity to decarbonize liquid fuels now with ethanol, which is essentially a liquid form of solar energy,' Geoff Cooper President and CEO Renewable Fuels Association
through their RIN costs to the wholesale prices for their refined products, meaning it will be next to impossible for them to establish that the RFS itself has somehow harmed them.” The E15 ruling, does not mean retailers selling E15 in conventional gasoline markets this summer must stop, Cooper said, because the current E15 rule should remain in force as the appeals process plays out “and there will be appeals.” Cooper addressed another arena that many in the industry consider a potential threat—the drive towards electric vehicles (EVs). “Some apparently believe that mandating the sale of electric vehicles is the one and only solution for decarbonizing our transportation system,” he said. Discussions about decarbonizing the transportation sector need to be grounded in reality, since one cannot flip the U.S. vehicle fleet overnight. The Energy Information Administration projects that liquid-fueled internal combustion engines will still account for 80% of new automobile sales in 2050. However, three weeks after the FEW, the Biden administration unveiled a new national target for electric vehicles, calling for them to represent half of all new vehicle sales by 2030. “We have an enormous opportunity to decarbonize liquid fuels now with ethanol, which is essentially a liquid form of solar energy,” Cooper said. We are on our way to get to net-zero with ethanol through using biogas, adopting carbon capture and se-
CAPTIVATING KEYNOTE: Geoff Cooper, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
questration and proper accounting of soil carbon accumulation in cornfields. “But it’s going to take smart policy to get us there, policy that puts an economic value on carbon reduction,” he said, continuing on to talk about the growing interest in adopting clean fuels policies in states or even a national low carbon fuel standard. Other association leaders reinforced Cooper’s message in the panel session that followed the keynote. Clean fuels policy has dominated the work at the American Coalition for Ethanol, CEO Brian Jennings said. If the policy is truly technology neutral, “ethanol comes out as a winner. Carbon markets could increase the demand and price for ethanol, but we have to get the policy right.” For a clean fuels standard (CFS) to truly benefit the ethanol sector, Chris Bliley, senior vice president of regulatory affairs at Growth Energy, said there must be a path forward for higher blends. “If ETHANOLPRODUCER.COM | 25
Event
POLICY PRIORITIES: Panelists on the 2021 FEW association panel, (left to right) included Chris Bliley of Growth Energy, Brian Jennings of the American Coalition for Ethanol, and Troy Bredenkamp of the Renewable Fuels Association. PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
you have a performance standard that gets tighter and tighter, but you have no room for growth in the market place, it’s sort of a dead end.” Troy Bredenkamp, senior vice president government and public affairs at the RFA, also discussed the importance of a technology neutral CFS. The Biden admin-
istration is setting very ambitious carbon goals, he said, stressing that ethanol is a solution that can deploy very quickly if the policy is developed in the right way. “The sky is the limit, I think, if that policy gets done correctly,” he said. A potential national CFS isn’t the only federal policy ethanol groups are work-
26 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
ing to shape. The EPA is also scheduled to develop post-2022 regulations for the RFS. Bliley said Growth Energy sees an opportunity with that RFS “reset” rule, although there is also a bit of fear and caution. Big Oil is expected to lobby heavily for changes that would benefit fossil fuels, he said. However, there is also tremendous
PRODUCERS PONTIFICATE: (from left to right) Mick Henderson of Commonwealth Agri-Energy, Walt Wendland of Ringneck Energy, and James Broghammer of Pine Lake Corn Processors shared insight about the upgrades and capital investments at their facilities in relation to broader industry trends. PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
opportunity for biofuel industry to lobby the agency to better recognize the carbon reduction attributes of renewable fuels.
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Producer Reaction
In the producer panel that followed in the general session, three industry leaders were asked for their reaction to the messages from the association leaders. “Without good policy, we can’t operate,” said Mick Henderson, general manager of Commonwealth Agri-Energy, Hopkinsville, Kentucky. “As one of my board members says, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the plate.” “I wish we weren’t quite as dependent on policy and could create more demand,” said Walt Wendland, CEO of Ringneck Energy, Onida, South Dakota. “I hope we can expand exports.” “I was encouraged, by the idea of ethanol plants taking the lead in net zero,” said James Broghammer, CEO of Pine Lake Corn Processors, Steamboat Rock, Iowa. Each of the producers spoke of ways they are working to improve efficiencies and respond to changing markets. Pine Lake Corn Processors has reduced natural gas and improved efficiencies every year since starting up in 2005. Currently, the
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SETTING THE STAGE: BBI International President Tom Bryan (left) opens the 2021 FEW general session; Marcos Filgueiras (middle) of Thermal Kinetics, the general session sponsor, addresses the audience; and FEW Program Director Tim Portz (right) tees up a policy discussion with association leaders. PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
company is investing in improvements to push their corn oil yields to 1.25 pounds per bushel of corn processed, Broghammer said. “With corn prices more than doubling, efficiency has been our focus,” Wendland said, explaining that with Ringneck being a new plant built with current technologies, the work has mostly been in process improvements such as fermentation timing and temperature staging. During the pandemic, Henderson said Commonwealth quickly pivoted to supplying ethanol for hand sanitizer to multiple craft distillers in Kentucky that had shut down. With that experience of upgrading distillation for hand sanitizer, the company has decided to further upgrade to do grain neutral spirits. For Pine Lake Corn Processors, the impact of the pandemic came in three phases, Broghammer said. “When the country shut down, ethanol was deemed an essential industry but we quickly saw nobody was on the road.” The plant ran at half rate for a month before demand started to return. In the second stage, COVID hit the region and after one wedding everyone on one shift tested positive. “The employees stepped up,” he said, picking up different roles as needed, such as mechan-
During the pandemic, Commonwealth quickly pivoted to supplying ethanol for hand sanitizer to multiple craft distillers in Kentucky that had shut down. Mick Henderson General Manager Commonwealth Agri-Energy
ics becoming operators. In the third phase, the hiring process for hourly people has become very difficult. “The employees are not there to hire,” he said. “We’ve had an an open position for eight months, and see people hired away by John Deere.” Being located in a manufacturing area in Kentucky, Henderson agreed that the competition for good employees is stiff. “You’ve got to raise wages and compete for being a good place to work.”
28 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
Award Winners
Alongside the policy discussions and producer panel at the opening session, Steve Markham and Kurt Rosentrater, were recognized for their contributions to the ethanol industry (see page 32). Markham, director of risk, global grain and processing at CHS, received the High Octane Award, which acknowledges a person who has helped the industry progress over time. Starting in 1984, Markham has worked to develop distillers grains markets, pioneering the practice of third-party marketing and playing a role in developing rail and barge transportation as demand grew. Rosentrater, executive director and CEO of the Distillers Grains Technology Council and associate professor at Iowa State University’s Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, received the Award of Excellence, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the fuel ethanol industry through their research, technical advisory and/or development activities. For nearly 20 years, Rosentrater’s research has helped overcome challenges and improved utilization of distillers grains, improving handling and storage of the coproduct. He was the first to develop a commercially viable method to pelletize
BACK TO BUSINESS: The 2021 FEW welcomed nearly 2,000 attendees, including more than 600 producers and 300 exhibitors, surpassing the size of the event's pre-pandemic trade show.
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PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
100 percent DDGS. He has also helped develop new market opportunities for distillers grains in aquaculture. Just over a quarter of the nearly 2,000 attendees at the 2021 FEW were biofuel producers representing 74% of U.S. ethanol plants, 16% of Canadian ethanol plants and 30% of U.S. biodiesel plants. Separate tracks focused on biodiesel and biomass topics alongside the usual ethanol tracks covering production, operations, coproducts, product diversification, leadership and financial management. FEW attendees represented 45 U.S. states, five Canadian provinces and 22 countries, in spite of Covid-19 restrictions preventing travel for many. The overflow expo hall hosted 300 exhibitors, larger than the 2019 pre-pandemic show and overall attendance was at par with recent FEW events. The dates and location for the 38th International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo next year were announced: June 1315 in Minneapolis.
tŝŶďĐŽ ŚĂƐ ŽǀĞƌ ϴϬ LJĞĂƌƐ ŽĨ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ͕ ĐŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƟŽŶ͕ ĂŶĚ ƌĞƉĂŝƌƐ ŽĨ ĐƵƐƚŽŵ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐŝŶŐ͕ ƐƚĂŝŶůĞƐƐ ƐƚĞĞů͕ ĐĂƌďŽŶ ƐƚĞĞů ƚĂŶŬ ƐLJƐƚĞŵƐ ĂŶĚ ĞƋƵŝƉŵĞŶƚ ĨŽƌ ƵƐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĂŝŶ͕ ĞƚŚĂŶŽů͕ ŚLJĚƌŽͲĐĂƌďŽŶ͕ ĐŚĞŵŝĐĂů͕ ũƵŝĐĞ͕ ǁĂƐƚĞ ǁĂƚĞƌ ĂŶĚ ďĞǀĞƌĂŐĞ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĞƐ͘
Author: Susanne Retka Schill Questions: editor@bbiinternational.com
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ACCOLADE APPRECIATED: Upon accepting the honor, 2021 FEW Award of Excellence winner Kurt Rosentrater told conference attendees: "It truly is a humbling feeling. You go to work, you try to help the industry, but to be recognized for your work … It's a fantastic feeling.” PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
INSTRUCTOR AND INNOVATOR
2021 Award of Excellence recipient, Kurt Rosentrater, has had a meaningful impact on the evolution of ethanol coproducts through research and education. By Matt Thompson
32 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
“I’ve got to admit, I’m always excited about distillers grains,” says Kurt Rosentrater, this year’s recipient of the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo’s 2021 Award of Excellence. “It’s never a dull moment. The in-
dustry continues to evolve, and it always has.” The Award of Excellence is given to individuals who have helped the ethanol industry through research, development or technical advisory. As an associate professor at Iowa State University and the executive director of the Distillers Grains Technology Council, Rosentrater holds down the dual roles of researcher and market developer. One of the more exciting aspects of his career has been watching it evolve, he says. “In particular, we see coproducts evolving. Not just distillers
Awards grains anymore, but specific designer protein feeds, for example,” he says, adding that designer fiber feeds and yeast are also becoming important for animal nutritionists and the feed industry. “What I’ve seen over the last decade is a movement towards biorefining—not on the alcohol or chemical side, but biorefining in terms of capturing and using nutrients from the grain itself, and that’s really exciting.” Rosentrater began his career after graduating from Iowa State University where he studied agricultural engineering. “It was a confluence of grain and science and math, and I found my calling,” Rosentrater says. After graduating, he joined an engineering firm while he worked toward his graduate degree. He then took a position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he “was spearheading their distillers grains research program because, at the time, the industry was just getting ready to really start to grow,” Rosentrater says. “This was back in the early 2000s. It was really a great opportunity to help the industry.” The early efforts, followed by two decades of continuous work to grow the industry, were recognized by Rosentrater’s peers and the industry at large in July. More than a dozen letters of recommendation were submitted in support of Rosentrater receiving the Award of Excellence. “That is quite something. It truly is a humbling feeling,” he says. “You go to work, you try to help the industry, but to be recognized for your work … It's a fantastic feeling.” Rosentrater has been a professor at Iowa State University in the Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering for the last decade where, in addition to distillers grains research, he also teaches. But it was his dedication to research that his colleagues recognized in nominating Rosentrater. Charles Abbas, CTO of ibiocat Inc., says Rosentrater’s background allows him to take an approach to research that helps the industry solve relevant problems. “For almost 20 years, his research program at several universities has focused on over-
coming challenges and improving utilization for alcohol fermentation feed coproducts,” Abbas says. “Specifically, he has been working on ways to improve the physical nature, material handling characteristics, and storage of coproducts; and develop new market opportunities for coproducts.” Lance Forster, manager of global animal safety at ADM agrees. He says he appreciates Rosentrater’s “dedication to the science as well as to the application of his results to industry and commercial applications. While the industry’s evolution has been exciting to see, Rosentrater says there is still work to be done, especially as it relates to new feed ingredients. “As the industry continues to evolve, there’s still a lot of things that have to be done in terms of educating livestock nutritionists, educating livestock producers on what are these feed products that are coming out of the ethanol industry,” he says, adding that the education needs to focus not just on what these new products are, but how best to utilize them. That’s especially important as distillers grains find their way to new industries like aquaculture and pet food, he says. “There’s a lot of work to do in terms of educating the pet nutritionists and the fish nutritionists about not just, can you use these products, but how do you effectively use these and how do you optimize your feed strategy by using these ingredients,” Rosentrater says. That education is part of the mission of the Distillers Grains Technology Council, which focuses on improving the quality of distillers grains, as well as education and communication about the value of DDGS. Rosentrater has served as CEO and executive director of the organization since 2013, when Charlie Staff retired. Rosentrater’s efforts at the DGTC are also appreciated by his colleagues. “Via the Distillers Grains Technology Council, [Rosentrater] has been able to synthesize information to be presented to industry players so that they may foresee future challenges,” says Reece Cannady, manager of global trade for the U.S. Grains Council.
ROLLING UP THE SLEEVES: Award of Excellence recipient Kurt Rosentrater has, for years, been working on ways to improve and optimize the value of ethanol coproducts. PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
Reflecting on his career, Rosentrater says he enjoys seeing ethanol plants focusing on the quality of the feed ingredients they produce. In the early days, as production ramped up, the challenge was dealing with an abundance of distillers grains. “I think it’s really interesting to see not just quantity, but now quality,” Rosentrater says. “I think that’s the really great thing, the quality. You see ethanol plants looking to improve their distillers grains quality.” And that quality has led to growing markets for DDGS. “We are seeing the industry acknowledge that the feed products we manufacture make a big difference, not just to the ethanol industry, but to the U.S. agriculture industry,” Rosentrater says. “Because distillers grains, wet and dry, are the no. 1 feed ingredient in the U.S.” That growth and innovation excites Rosentrater. “The industry is moving forward, and I think that’s really exciting,” he says.
ETHANOLPRODUCER.COM | 33
CREDIT TO OTHERS: Taking the stage to accept his accolade, 2021 FEW High Octane Award winner Steve Markham thanked his family and coworkers for supporting him throughout his career. PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
FOR THE TEAM AROUND HIM Steve Markham, this year’s High Octane Award recipient, credits his career success to past and present colleagues, trade groups and family. By Matt Thompson
34 | ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2021
Steve Markham, this year’s winner of EPM’s High Octane Award, and director of risk for CHS Inc, is a family man. He’s proud of his kids’ accom-
plishments and says that the reason he’s worked so hard growing markets for distillers grains for the past three decades is his family. “Truly, my motivation has always been my family,” Markham says. And in some ways, the team he works with has become like family. He notes that many of his current team members have worked with him for more than 10 years. Recognizing the efforts of his team is important, he says, as he accepted the High Octane Award on behalf of the people he works with and for. “We’ve got a very experienced, very capable team of people. It’s not just me.”
Awards
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A LONG RUN: Markham (right) has worked with longtime friend and coproduct trading partner Sean Broderick (left) for more than three decades. PHOTO: BBI INTERNATIONAL
Markham began his career in marketing distillers grains after graduating from South Dakota State University, where he played football on scholarship. After graduating, Markham worked at Pillsbury, which at that time had more agricultural assets. He spent 12 years there. “That’s where I learned the craft,” he says. He adds much of what he learned came from senior trader John Wood. “He taught me everything I needed to know and still use today,” Markham says. "We were trading wheat middlings, a coproduct of the flour milling industry used in animal feed. It is very different from DDGS nutritionally but trades in a similar fashion." When Pillsbury began selling its agricultural divisions, the feed ingredient division was up for grabs. Markham and several of his colleagues purchased the division and formed Commodity Specialists Company, which traded DDGS, among other commodities. Markham spent another 12 years at CSC before the company's DDGS
business was bought by CHS, where he’s remained for the past 13 years. “CHS really wanted to be in the distillers grains business,” Markham says, adding that CSC was the biggest DDGS marketer, by volume, when it was acquired. Sean Broderick has worked with Markham for over 30 years. The pair began working together at Pillsbury and then continued that relationship at CSC. It was there that Broderick says Markham helped educate buyers and build new markets for DDGS. “Early on, unless you were close to an ethanol plant, you probably did not know very much about DDGS—you had to explain to customers what it was before they would even look at it,” he says. “Steve’s knowledge of animal nutrition and his consensus-building that involved the university research … helped to expand the market early on.” And when Markham reflects on his career, he sees parallels between the early days of marketing dried distillers grains,
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Award and the current high-protein feed products that are growing in popularity. “It’s new and different, and for me it’s fun. It’s kind of like the old days when nobody knew what distillers grains was. Now we’ve got this high-pro product and nobody knows what it is,” Markham says. “Challenges are opportunities.” One of those opportunities is marketing high-protein feed to the aquaculture industry, he says. “It was a couple years ago, our company, in conjunction with the U.S. Grains Council, put on an aquaculture conference where we showcased our highpro product in the Philippines, and invited a bunch of nutritionists and feed manufacturers in for it. You’ve got to teach them. ‘Here’s what we’ve got, and here’s how it works, and here’s the research to back it up,’” Markham says.
In the early days, Markham says the challenge was finding enough buyers for distillers grains. “The volume that came on in a very short period of time was challenging,” he says, adding that in the 1980’s there were just a few plants producing DDGS. Today, the U.S. ethanol industry has the capability to produce more than 40 million metric tons of distillers grains a year, which is considerably more than the country can use. About a third of the volume is now exported, but establishing overseas markets didn’t happen overnight. For years, Markham was among those in the industry who worked with trade groups and the U.S. Grains Council to find new markets for DDGS. “Finding export options was a big challenge,” he says, adding that some of those challenges include
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freight, logistics and governmental regulations. But a larger challenge was just spreading the word about DDGS. “We spent a lot of time flying over to countries and taking Ph.Ds in nutrition with us,” Markham says. “That’s one of the advantages of doing research: it’s kind of like advertising. Well, then you’ve got to go tell people about it.” Another early challenge Markham says, was just moving distillers grains. Many ethanol plants were shipping the coproduct by truck, and so when volume increased, the industry shifted to shipping by rail, unit trains, barge, vessel and containers, each of which had its own logistical issues that Markham and his team helped work through. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says Markham’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. “Throughout a career that has spanned four decades, Steve has been a leader in developing new markets and expanding existing markets around the world for both ethanol and distillers grains,” Cooper says. “But he’s more than a marketer. Steve is a thoughtful industry leader and a tremendously effective advocate for ethanol producers and farmers.” Back home, current market trends with new processes and high-protein feed products are opening opportunities in aquaculture and pet food industries, Markham says. “Clearly, the coproduct line is becoming more diverse, and it always has been. Finding the right market for this diverse coproduct is our challenge,” Markham says. “A lot of these products have opened more of a line into the pet food and aquaculture industries. When you get into these high-protein, high-yeast products, you get a lot more interest from the pet food people.” And that diversity, in addition to family, is worth going to work everyday, he says. “That’s what keeps it interesting,” Markham says. “To be in an industry that’s growing is way more challenging, but way more fun.” Author: Matt Thompson Questions: editor@bbiinternational.com
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