Ethanol plant could fuel demand for local corn

CLINTON: Things may be looking up for local corn growers.

If all goes as planned, an ethanol plant could be under construction at the Victory Road Business Park as soon as next year. The facility would convert corn into ethanol, which is an environmentally-friendly gasoline additive.

This is being considered at a time when Congress is reviewing energy bills to provide tax incentives for producers of renewable energy. If the legislation becomes law, more ethanol producers could spring up nationwide.

More ethanol producers means greater demand for corn and local opportunity.

Most ethanol plants are located west of the Mississippi. That's also where the majority of U.S. corn is grown. But, according to Herb Hewitt, a regional organization director for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, that could change soon.

"The new energy bill could open the door to the Northeast," Hewitt said. "There's a huge market for ethanol in big eastern cities like New York City and Philadelphia."

Many Pennsylvania corn farmers ship their product farther east because western growers supply the western market. If more ethanol plants are started on the East Coast, corn will be in greater demand locally and prices should go up.

"This is one of the greatest things to come along for farmers," said Susan Bruce, an Armstrong County farmer and a governmental relations director for the Farm Bureau. "The economy is depressed right now."

"It's hard to raise corn in Pennsylvania," said Harold Foertsch, owner of Har-Lo Farms in Jefferson Township. "It costs about $2.26 to raise a bushel of corn, but you can only sell it for $2.04. When you add another 40 cents in trucking fees to every bushel, it's hard to make a profit."

If more plants opened closer to home, local farmers would save on shipping fees. The proposed Clinton plant is close to railroad lines, which also might be used.

"Anytime we open a new market for corn, there's a benefit to farmers. This could help stabilize the market," said Hewitt, who raises about 100 acres of corn on his Erie County farm.

An additional benefit to having ethanol plants nearby is that once the corn is fermented and the ethanol taken out, the leftover portion of corn, called distillers grain, can be used as feed for farm animals.

If ethanol creates a large enough demand, Hewitt said some farmers might be encouraged to grow more corn than they do now.

"Farmers produce what's profitable," Hewitt said. "If there's a profit involved, people will produce more corn if they can."

But some question whether local farmers will produce more.

"In Butler and neighboring counties, most of the decent farmland is being used," said Chris Kimmel, a member of the Farm Bureau's Ethanol Committee. "There's not much land left to develop."

"You can't take marginal land, grow corn on it, and expect to make a profit," added Kimmel, who raises corn in Armstrong and Indiana counties.

Kimmel said farmers growing other crops might decide to devote more land to corn if prices increase.

Ed Goldscheitter, a Clinton dairy farmer who plants about 600 acres of corn, questioned whether western Pennsylvania will be able to support an ethanol plant.

"I don't know if this is an ideal situation," Goldscheitter said. "It (the Clinton plant) might be better located in a larger corn-growing area."

But even skeptical corn growers anticipate the passage of a bill that makes ethanol production more viable.

"A healthy economy helps agriculture all around," Kimmel said. "It should give farmers a better market for their crops."

According to preliminary estimates, the proposed plant could require as much as 7.6 million bushels of corn annually.

Plant officials have said corn would be purchased from other parts of the country in addition to local suppliers.