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Old 03-30-2014, 10:44 PM   #21 (permalink)
ksa8907
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bryn View Post
i read a book a last year called "alcohol can be a gas" the auther claims most corn in the US goes to feed animals for meat.
cows are really bad at digesting sugers, so corn made into ethanol removes the sugars, leaving cooked protiens and fiber. he claims the left over distillers grains are a better food for cattle, than the raw grain with all of the starch still in place,
the same bushel of grain cooked for alcohol with the starch removed will grow healthier cattle, bigger, faster.


it was a good read and he lists alot of crops for ethanol production, with potential gallons per acre, as well as considerations for things like climate, drought resistance, soil quality etc.

his take away was that corn is not a great source for ethanol because it requires really prime farm land, lots of fertalizer, and irigation,

but if you are growing corn anyway its better to make ethanol with it first, then feed it to animals not ment to eat a high grain diet

This is the basic truth. Its a pretty inefficient process and very energy intensive, but the ddg are just as good as a feed and they collect the co2 that is produced.

As far as the controversy over government subsidized farming for ethanol and ethanol content mandates.... well the government typically screws everything up.

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