Distillers grains advantage: When you're close to the source, the advantages of this ethanol byproduct feed can't be ignored

摘要

If you're a grain farmer whose primary cash crop is corn, you probably view the ethanol boom as purely positive. Watching corn prices climb to 3.50 dollar and then go beyond 4 per bushel dollar last winter was enough to make the most stoic corn growergiddy with glee. And the corn-hungry ethanol industry's projected growth promises to keep farmers grinning. However, the increased use of corn to produce fuel leaves livestock producers with less reason to smile. The competition has brought higher feedcosts capable of draining profit from cattle feeding enterprises. Higher corn cost also puts downward pressure on feeder cattle and calf prices. If there is a bright spot for cattle producers, however, it is that increased production of ethanol also yields a greater abundance of byproduct useful as livestock feed.