Golden image of corn-based ethanol shows some erosion

USA Today
Aug. 22, 2008
By Sue Kirchhoff, USA TODAY

CLAREMONT, Minn. — From his office window at the Al-Corn Clean Fuel ethanol plant, manager Randy Doyal watches a steady stream of trucks roll in, weighed down with grain. A decade ago, many of the delivery trucks were beat-up, all-purpose workhorses. Today, a growing number are gleaming semis, reflecting the improved fortunes of this farmer-owned facility as well as the nearby countryside.

"All the folks that invested in the first place took a gamble. It's been big for them," says Doyal. The firms' huge fermenters, grain elevators and cooling towers loom over the flat cornfields, physically underscoring the economic reality that ethanol is the most important thing around.

Market changes and a growing chorus of concerns about ethanol make Doyal and other ethanol supporters question how long the good times will last. Corn prices, though down lately, remain high at $5.98 a bushel, making it harder for ethanol producers to profit. Livestock producers blame the ethanol industry for driving up feed prices and fueling food inflation for consumers.

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