Let’s be honest. When most of us stand around a highboy cocktail table at a conference talking coproducts—if the conversation even goes there—we maybe hit on exports, high-protein, corn oil and CO2. It’s coproducts casual. Feedlots, rumen health and growth rates are out of our wheelhouse. And that’s okay. We’re not ranchers or animal nutritionists. That said, it’s critical to not lose sight of how important standard, domestic coproduct use is to our industry—and we haven’t.This issue starts with stories about conventional coproduct use: the colocation of distillers grains and beef cattle production, and the still-important role of condensed distillers solubles (CDS). We wrap up with more progressive ideas about coproduct yield optimization and post-production coproduct enhancement.Our page-14 cover story, “Revolutionizing the Range,” shares the story of Dusty Turner and MasterHand Milling. The Nebraska company has, for a decade, been transforming DDGS into pellets and cubes for both feedyard and grazing operations. Like other trailblazers in this business, Turner is an entrepreneur and a risk taker. He’s experienced the ups and downs of the ethanol and cattle businesses—many have—but he’s still passionate about where the two industries intersect. It’s been a long journey, but MHM now has a network of about 60 dealers across nine states. Its future looks solid.If rumen health isn’t the subject of cocktail gatherings, neither is CDS, which may be the least celebrated coproduct of ethanol production. CDS is, however, an important feed ingredient, both as a component of DDGS and apart from it. As we report in “Thick with Nutrients,” on page 22, despite the fact that CDS has been in continuous production for decades, it has a low profile because it typically doesn’t reach the market as a stand-alone coproduct, but mixed in with distillers grains. However, a select number of U.S. plants do sell CDS straight up. Our story revisits SweetPro, longtime maker of CDS-laden lick tubs. SweetPro has been using CDS for years, and experts say the use of liquid supplements is now growing because they are more widely available, affordable to transport, and easy to mix.In “Getting the Drop on DCO Yield,” on page 28, we look at how Fluid Quip Technologies is giving ethanol producers another practical way to maximize DCO output with thermal pretreatment. Overdrive, FQT’s latest DCO optimization platform, is designed to boost DCO yield with a “heat-and-hold” system that treats syrup before it enters the centrifuge for oil extraction. They say it’s a “bulletproof” setup that can increase yield by 10-20%.Finally, we come full circle to beef cattle in our closing feature, “Paired for Production,” on page 34. We share the story of the historic colocation of Reeve Agri Energy and Reeve Cattle Co. in southwest Kansas. The Reeve family has owned the land where the biorefinery and feedlot sit for more than a century, and the ethanol plant is one of the oldest operating facilities of its kind in the nation. The story is a shining example of a business that has leveraged the efficiency of onsite distillers grains consumption for more than four decades, and counting.Enjoy the read.Author: Tom Bryan&nbsp; President and Editor

2024-03-06 - Finding Opportunities Where Industries Intersect (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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The latest issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine focuses on feed and coproducts, including DDGS pelleting, condensed distillers solubles, and distillers corn oil.

Finding Opportunities Where Industries Intersect

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