Ethanol by-product fights weeds, boosts crop yields

摘要

Distiller's dried grains (DDGs) are the leftovers from converting corn into fuel ethanol. In the US Midwest alone, ethanol producers generate 10 million tons of DDGs annually. Farmers buy the stuff for between US 85 dollar and US 110 dollar a ton andfeed it to livestock. Soon, though, growers may be spreading it on their fields to cut down on herbicide use. Some DDG extracts may even find health-food uses. Several Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists from the US certainly hope so, since US ethanol production is expected to climb from 4.4 billion gallons annually to 7.5 billion by 2012. That'll mean even more DDGs and other by-products.