Water efficiency a focus for ethanol, corn producers

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Jay Holzfaster

As part of their ongoing efforts to convince Nebraskans that increased corn and ethanol production is detrimental to the state, critics are focusing more and more on the emotional issue of water.

More specifically, the criticism revolves around the amount of water used to produce corn and ethanol. For example, anti-ethanol groups regularly point out that it takes three gallons of water to produce one gallon of ethanol.

“What the critics often fail to do, however, is put that water use in its proper perspective,” said Jon Holzfaster of Paxton, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board. “They fail to mention that it takes 94 gallons of water to process crude oil into one gallon of gasoline. To produce just one average-sized Sunday newspaper takes 150 gallons of water. To irrigate an acre of a golf course requires more than 680,000 gallons of water each year.

“The point is that every person and every industry in Nebraska—be it for manufacturing, recreation, municipalities or agriculture—uses water in some form,” Holzfaster said.

In the case of ethanol, Holzfaster said the water use efficiency of ethanol plants has greatly improved. “The amount of water used to produce a gallon of ethanol is less than half of what was needed just a decade ago,” he said. “In addition, much of the water used in the ethanol production process is recycled within the plant or treated and released back into the environment, while some remains in the distillers grains co-product, a high-quality livestock feed.”

Like with ethanol plants, technology and know-how are helping corn producers reduce their water usage, according to Holzfaster. “Research is helping develop better tools for farmers that do irrigate to know when – or when not – to irrigate,” he said. “We can monitor soil moisture and plant transpiration and more efficiently apply water only when needed. These new irrigation technologies, combined with advanced hybrids and reduced tillage, are dramatically improving water efficiency and conservation in corn production.”

Holzfaster also noted that, across the U.S., only 14 percent of corn acres use irrigation to supplement rainfall.

Omaha attorney and former U.S. congressman John Cavanaugh said all Nebraskans have a role to play in protecting and using water effectively and efficiently. Cavanaugh, a former trustee of the Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, said as Nebraska’s economy and population grows, water quantity and quality will become even more critical.

“Fortunately, corn growers and ethanol producers have steadily become more efficient in their water use,” Cavanaugh said. “There are also good regulations in place to protect our water resources. In many parts of the state, in fact, no net increase in water usage is allowed. This means new ethanol plants can’t use ‘new’ water – they have to buy water rights from others.”

Cavanaugh said he’s confident that corn and ethanol producers will continue to reduce their water demands in the future. “After all, they are experts in responsibly transforming water into even greater economic successes for Nebraska,” he said.