Many of us drive down the road and don’t think twice about the corn fields we pass. Did you know that 425 million (and growing) bushels of corn grown in Iowa are used to produce ethanol each year?
It is hard to believe that just one little acre of corn (about the size of a football field) can produce 400-450 gallons of ethanol. If you used the pump labeled ethanol at the gas station, that one little acre of corn could fuel four cars for one year! Now that is efficient!
Just how does it get from the field 
to the pump and into my car, you say? It is quite a journey, but one that puts Iowa on the map. By being the leading corn-producing state, we have the ability to produce more corn, which means more ethanol. Because corn growers in our state have been promoting ethanol for years, we can find it at nearly every gas station. Just now, other states are just catching on- we always knew we were smart!
In the spring, farmers head out to the field to prepare the soil and plant the corn. As in any garden, they have to be prepared for weeds, bugs, and weather, but on a much bigger scale. Through the summer months, the corn grows and when we are sweating in Iowa from the humid August weather, corn plants are loving it and growing! In the fall, the farmer heads out to the field and harvests the corn. That corn is then delivered to the ethanol plant, to the co-op, to a local livestock producer or loaded up and taken out of Iowa on a boat, truck, or rail car.
Corn that is delivered to an ethanol plant gets soaked, squeezed and crushed. Parts of it are used to make ethanol that goes into your car and the other parts (distillers grains, commonly called DGS) are used to feed livestock. Nothing goes to waste and when we plant more corn, we can make more, remember- just one little acre makes 400-450 gallons of ethanol!
Now when you drive down the road, those corn fields take on a whole new meaning.
Join Us in June to promote ethanol in Iowa
