I like Josh’s work. However it’s sadly primarily based on three partial myths thatbI woild hope skeptics right here wouldn’t propagate. Information simply are.
One is that it takes extra diesel to develop corn than the ethanol power it gives. Many research have checked out this utilizing various farming assumptions (for instance, moldboard or chisel plowing (or each) then harrowing earlier than planting (‘tilling’, often a minimum of two closely loaded tractor passes) requires far more tractor diesel than no until planting utilizing glyphosate, one mixed cross with the comparatively evenly loaded tractor. Having checked out many such research, IMO the precise in follow in US ethanol internet power achieve is about 1.4x. Not one thing lower than 1.
Second is that ethanol blended into gasoline is all about biofuels. It isn’t, and by no means was—till the farm foyer acquired onto E15 and (worse) E85. Ethanol is an octane enhancer changing groundwater polluting MBTE, itself developed to interchange air polluting tetraethyl lead. Any octane enhancer is sweet, as a result of it enhances the variety of helpful gasoline gallons that may be refined from a barrel of crude. Ethanol is close to splendid as a result of it doesn’t pollute something. And there’s a second profit. It’s an oxygenate additive, so reduces summer time smog. The unique 10% ethanol max nationwide ‘blendwall’ was set by figuring ‘splendid’ ethanol for premium gasoline for smog inclined LA summers. Most pumps say ‘as much as 10%’, as a result of completely different areas will mix much less, various by season and gasoline grade.
And the third delusion I’ve commented on right here earlier than, utilizing my giant Wisconsin dairy farm as the private truth instance. No completely different than after I purchased it in 1985 we used 75# hemp twine string certain rectangular hay bales laboriously collected and saved within the barn lofts utilizing bale wagons and bale lifts. However now we use solely 1000# hemp mesh certain hay bales saved in white plastic ‘sausages’ on subject edges, moved by tractor bale forks. (I haven’t wanted to make use of my hand hay bale hooks for over twenty years. They’re out of date antiques from an period when far more farm harvest labor was required.) We used to develop much less corn and extra alfalfa, crush it cobbed in a tractor implement, and use the crush as a direct alfalfa feed complement (together with individually harvested chopped fermented inexperienced corn silage saved in two tall blue Harvestors). Our cows by no means did just like the crushed cob corn very properly. We had numerous birds (like our wild turkeys) pecking undigested corn kernel bits out of the pasture cow pies. About twenty years in the past, we started promoting all our corn (harvesting kernels solely utilizing a brand new harvester so the cobs go returned to the soil) for ethanol (no extra fermented inexperienced corn silage—the Harvestor silos now sit empty), shopping for again the after fermentation protein enhanced (from yeast) ‘distillers grain’. Nationally, about 42 p.c of the corn crop goes to ethanol, returning in about 27% distillers grain (each by ‘dry’ weight outlined as 7% moisture—the extent at which lethal fusarium mildew can’t develop). Our cows love their distillers grain, a great ruminant feedstock complement (it’s protein and roughage enriched, simply what ruminants need). The upshot is we now plant extra corn, much less alfalfa, have happier dairy cows, and earn more money dairy farming. (Ours are all ‘black and white’ Holsteins, about 350 head (milking about 150 at any time limit) run on a mixed about 460 acres. My neighbor owns the brand new round sunken working pit milking parlor for the mixed operation. Solely value about $250k (okay, about two new 150hp tractors equivalents)—minimize milking labor from three to 2 individuals and from 3 hours per parlor session to 1.5, so a no brainer farm labor return on farm capital funding. Mixed, we’re simply inside the highest quartile for Wisconsin dairy farms by cows and sophistication 1 milk output.
