Ethanol Plants, Continuous Corn Has Potential Impact on State’s Water Resources
There are 115 ethanol refineries online and 86 more under construction. Many of these refineries are in the U.S.’s Midwest/Great Plains states, or the Corn Belt, including Nebraska. According to Suat Irmak, UNL-Extension Water Resources Engineer, in Nebraska there are about nine million acres of irrigated land in 2007. What would happen if a significant number of existing soybean acres are switched to corn. What if all soybeans are taken out of production leaving nine million acres of irrigated corn?
In reality, these scenarios may never happen, but a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension team is working to provide answers about the effect ethanol expansion has on water resources in the state. The price of corn is now about double what it was 15 months ago, so naturally some farmers are switching from traditional corn/soybean rotations to continuous corn farming practice.
Education about this alternative renewable ethanol energy and its impact is key to Nebraska’s future as ethanol production expands in Nebraska and the U.S. Continuous corn and its demand on water use in the state is an important topic as on average corn uses 20 to 35 percent more water than soybeans, depending several factors, including climate and management practices.
In addition, with some farmers making the switch from a traditional soybean/corn rotation to continuous corn, the team will not only address the affect growing more corn has on water resources, but the water ethanol plants use.
New ethanol plants use about three to five gallons of water to produce one gallon of ethanol (Nebraska Center for Energy Science Research). Newer plants also are designed to recycle 80 percent of the water they use. So, they are not drawing fresh water continuously.
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