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Distillers' Grains: Past, Present, And Future Economic Analyses, Daniel E. Gertner

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis is comprised of four chapters, each of which discusses or conducts economic research related to the distillers’ grains market. The first three chapters are meant to be standalone papers. Chapter four provides potential paths forward in distillers’ grains research based on the findings of the first three chapters and concludes the thesis.

The first chapter conducts a comprehensive literature review that categorizes and summarizes economic research on distillers’ grains products. This section shows how the physical market has moved beyond the current academic understanding of market products and structure. Existing research finds that traditional distillers’ grains products positively …

Sweet Sorghum As Feedstock In Great Plains Corn Ethanol Plants: The Role Of Biofuel Policy, Richard Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Subir Bairagi, Ismail Dweikat

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This research examines whether sweet sorghum, a crop considered more drought-tolerant and suitable for semi-arid areas than corn, could result in an economically viable sweet sorghum ethanol pathway in the Great Plains. We find that that if the D5–D6 RIN price spread exceeds the $0.35/gal recently experienced, the benefits of the pathway would be equivalent to about $90/acre of sweet sorghum, or $0.38/gal of ethanol. Because of sparse cultivation potential, only four the six existing plants in the Nebraska–Colorado High Plains area might expect transportation costs to be low enough for economic feasibility.

Determinants Of Iowa Cropland Cash Rental Rates: Testing Ricardian Rent Theory, Xiaodong Du, David A. Hennessy, William M. Edwards

William Edwards

Based on the Ricardian rent theory, this study employs the variable profit function to analyze the determinants of Iowa cropland cash rental rates using county-level panel data from 1987 to 2005. Accounting for spatial and temporal autocorrelations, responses of local cash rental rates to changes in output prices and other exogenous variables are estimated. We find that Iowa cash rental rates are largely determined by output/input prices, soil quality, relative location, and other county-specific factors. Cash rents go up by $79 for a $1 increase in corn price in the short run. The marginal value of cropland quality, as represented …

Determinants Of Iowa Cropland Cash Rental Rates: Testing Ricardian Rent Theory, Xiaodong Du, David A. Hennessy, William M. Edwards

William Edwards

Based on the Ricardian rent theory, this study employs the variable profit function to analyze the determinants of Iowa cropland cash rental rates using county-level panel data from 1987 to 2005. Accounting for spatial and temporal autocorrelations, responses of local cash rental rates to changes in output prices and other exogenous variables are estimated. We find that Iowa cash rental rates are largely determined by output/input prices, soil quality, relative location, and other county-specific factors. Cash rents go up by $79 for a $1 increase in corn price in the short run. The marginal value of cropland quality, as represented …

Determinants Of Iowa Cropland Cash Rental Rates: Testing Ricardian Rent Theory, Xiaodong Du, David A. Hennessy, William M. Edwards

William Edwards

Based on the Ricardian rent theory, this study employs the variable profit function to analyze the determinants of Iowa cropland cash rental rates using county-level panel data from 1987 to 2005. Accounting for spatial and temporal autocorrelations, responses of local cash rental rates to changes in output prices and other exogenous variables are estimated. We find that Iowa cash rental rates are largely determined by output/input prices, soil quality, relative location, and other county-specific factors. Cash rents go up by $79 for a $1 increase in corn price in the short run. The marginal value of cropland quality, as represented …

Structural Shifts In Agricultural Markets Caused By Government Mandates: Ethanol And The Renewable Fuels Standard, John Olson

John Olson

For many decades, demand for agricultural commodities has remained stagnant and its growth has been limited. In contrast, agricultural production continues to become ever more efficient by increasing output for stable or decreased inputs. Long-run profits have historically been near zero due to an ongoing relative equilibrium. But recent U.S. energy policy has changed to include a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), the goal of which is to boost domestic energy independence in an environmentally sound way. Most of the RFS in the near-term relies on the production of 15 billion gallons of ethanol made from corn. This has the effect …

Powering America: The Impact Of Ethanol Production In The Corn Belt States, Luisa Blanco, Michelle Isenhouer

Luisa Blanco

This paper investigates the impact of ethanol production in the Corn Belt states (Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). Employing data at the county level, from 2005 and 2006, we investigate the effect of ethanol production on employment and wages. Our empirical results show that ethanol production has a positive significant effect on employment and wages, but this effect is of insignificant magnitude. We also find that counties with high and medium levels of ethanol production capacity show higher levels of employment and wages than those counties that do not produce ethanol. …

Description Of 2011 Biofuels Policy Alternatives, Wallace Tyner

Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) Policy Briefs

In the US, at the end of 2010 Congress extended the ethanol tax credit (VEETC) of $0.45/gal. for one year with the clear message to the industry and lobby groups that it wanted a long-term solution to be passed and implemented by the end of 2011. Following are some of the policy options that are being considered in 2011:

• Continue the 45 cent/gallon subsidy and the import tariff as at present
• Shift the subsidy from blender to biofuel producer
• Subsidy that varies with the price of crude oil or gasoline
• Subsidy based at least in part on performance in reducing …

Ethanol And Food Prices - Preliminary Assessment, Richard K. Perrin

Richard K Perrin

Food prices in the U.S. rose dramatically in 2007 and early 2008. Given the integration of the world markets for foodstuffs, prices increased around the world as well, leading to riots in a number of countries in early 2008. The popular press has tended to attribute these food price increases to demand for corn by the ethanol industry. Grain prices are one determinant of food prices, but they constitute less than 5% of food costs in the U.S.(a higher percentage elsewhere.) This paper focuses on the likely relationship between ethanol and food prices, ignoring the potential role of other important …

Opportunities For Nebraska In Future Carbon Markets: Final Technical Report For Ncesr Project 3-#303, Richard K. Perrin, Adam J. Liska, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Richard K Perrin

This study was funded to explore potential opportunities for Nebraska in future carbon markets, most explicitly those opportunities related to the possibility of replacing fossil fuels with biomass at Nebraska corn ethanol plants. The most direct and significant finding is that biomass-fired CHP (combined heat and power) technology is not economically viable for Nebraska corn ethanol plants under current conditions. We estimate in the study that corn stover price would have to be at least $50 per ton of dry matter for the requisite amounts to be delivered to any of the three ethanol plant locations considered (Adams, Norfolk and …

Grain Ethanol - Why Consider Food For Fuel?, Richard Perrin

Richard K Perrin

Current U.S. energy policy encourages additional ethanol production through a combination of subsidies and mandates. Grain ethanol production converts a potential food into fuel. Concerns have been expressed that this drives up the price of food, and could contributed to world hunger problems. Other objections to grain ethanol have been raised: it might not reduce greenhouse gases much if at all; intensified cropping could deteriorate environmental resources, and it might increase smog in cities. Why, then, do proponents favor increased grain ethanol production? It is possible that it will educe greenhouse gas emissions; it can reduce petroleum imports, it can …

Sustainable Energy Crops: An Analysis Of Ethanol Production From Cassava In Thailand, Aerwadee Ubolsook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The first essay formulates a dynamic general equilibrium optimal control model of an energy crop as part of a country's planned resource use over a period of time. The model attempts to allocate consumption, production, and factors of production to achieve the country's sustainable development goal. A Cobb-Douglas specification is used for both utility and production functions in the model. We calibrate the model with Thailand data. The selected model is used to generate the stationary state solution and to simulate the optimal policy function and optimal time paths. Two methods are used: a linear approximation method and the Runke-Kutta …

Opportunities For Nebraska In Future Carbon Markets: Final Technical Report For Ncesr Project 3-#303, Richard K. Perrin, Adam J. Liska, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

This study was funded to explore potential opportunities for Nebraska in future carbon markets, most explicitly those opportunities related to the possibility of replacing fossil fuels with biomass at Nebraska corn ethanol plants. The most direct and significant finding is that biomass-fired CHP (combined heat and power) technology is not economically viable for Nebraska corn ethanol plants under current conditions. We estimate in the study that corn stover price would have to be at least $50 per ton of dry matter for the requisite amounts to be delivered to any of the three ethanol plant locations considered (Adams, Norfolk and …

Classification Of Ethanol Consumers And Willingness To Pay For Reductions In Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Purchases Of E85, Adrienne Elizabeth Marra

Masters Theses

In recent years, the issues of energy dependency and renewable energy options have gained recognition with not only policy-makers but also mainstream consumers. Understanding consumer beliefs and preferences related to these issues is therefore relevant as innovative renewable energy markets have the potential to change conventional consumer purchasing decisions. This paper investigates the beliefs and behaviors of U.S. consumers related to E85 ethanol from corn and cellulosic feedstocks. Four distinct market segments are created so that the ethanol market can be investigated more in-depth. Overall familiarity with ethanol as an alternative fuel is high; however, individual segments vary on beliefs …

Economic Impacts Of Production, Storage, Transport, And Conversion Of Switchgrass For Cellulosic Ethanol In Tennessee, Adam David Fulton

Masters Theses

The goal of this study is to evaluate the introduction of cellulosic ethanol conversion plants using switchgrass as the feedstock and how it impacts the economies of two Tennessee regions. Switchgrass feedstock production, storage, and transportation costs are estimated for one plant in West Tennessee and one plant in East Tennessee. In each region, the location for a cellulosic ethanol conversion plant and the acreage required to meet a 61.8 million-gallon/year capacity are specified. The costs associated with switchgrass production and cellulosic ethanol conversion are then entered into IMPLAN to estimate the economic impacts of one cellulosic ethanol plant in …

Powering America: The Impact Of Ethanol Production In The Corn Belt States, Luisa Blanco, Michelle Isenhouer

School of Public Policy Working Papers

This paper investigates the impact of ethanol production in the Corn Belt states (Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). Employing data at the county level, from 2005 and 2006, we investigate the effect of ethanol production on employment and wages. Our empirical results show that ethanol production has a positive significant effect on employment and wages, but this effect is of insignificant magnitude. We also find that counties with high and medium levels of ethanol production capacity show higher levels of employment and wages than those counties that do not produce ethanol. …

Structural Shifts In Agricultural Markets Caused By Government Mandates: Ethanol And The Renewable Fuels Standard, John Christian Olson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For many decades, demand for agricultural commodities has remained stagnant and its growth has been limited. In contrast, agricultural production continues to become ever more efficient by increasing output for stable or decreased inputs. Long-run profits have historically been near zero due to an ongoing relative equilibrium. But recent U.S. energy policy has changed to include a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), the goal of which is to boost domestic energy independence in an environmentally sound way. Most of the RFS in the near-term relies on the production of 15 billion gallons of ethanol made from corn. This has the effect …

Temperature Influence And Heat Management Requirements Of Microalgae Cultivation In Photobioreactors, Thomas Hagen Mehlitz

Master's Theses

Microalgae are considered one of the most promising feedstocks for biofuel production for the future. The most efficient way to produce vast amounts of algal biomass is the use of closed tubular photobioreactors (PBR). The heat requirement for a given system is a major concern since the best algae growth rates are obtained between 25-30 °C, depending on the specific strain. A procedure to determine temperature influence on algal growth rates was developed for a lab-scale PBR system using the species Chlorella. A maximum growth rate of 1.44 doublings per day at 29 °C (optimal temperature) was determined. In addition, …

Ethanol And Food Prices - Preliminary Assessment, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Food prices in the U.S. rose dramatically in 2007 and early 2008. Given the integration of the world markets for foodstuffs, prices increased around the world as well, leading to riots in a number of countries in early 2008. The popular press has tended to attribute these food price increases to demand for corn by the ethanol industry. Grain prices are one determinant of food prices, but they constitute less than 5% of food costs in the U.S.(a higher percentage elsewhere.) This paper focuses on the likely relationship between ethanol and food prices, ignoring the potential role of other important …

Grain Ethanol - Why Consider Food For Fuel?, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Current U.S. energy policy encourages additional ethanol production through a combination of subsidies and mandates. Grain ethanol production converts a potential food into fuel. Concerns have been expressed that this drives up the price of food, and could contributed to world hunger problems. Other objections to grain ethanol have been raised: it might not reduce greenhouse gases much if at all; intensified cropping could deteriorate environmental resources, and it might increase smog in cities. Why, then, do proponents favor increased grain ethanol production? It is possible that it will educe greenhouse gas emissions; it can reduce petroleum imports, it can …

Alcohol Fuel: Looking Back And Looking Ahead, Thomas L. Dobbs

Economics Commentator

No abstract provided.

Economic Considerations For Potential Fuel Alcohol Producers Or Investors, Thomas L. Dobbs

Economics Commentator

No abstract provided.

The Potential For Alcohol Fuel Production, Thomas L. Dobbs

Economics Commentator

No abstract provided.