The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
(from THE HAWKEYE - used with permission) written by RON FIELDS rfields@thehawkeye.com
BIGGSVILLE - For Ray Defenbaugh, the ethanol plant being built outside of West Burlington, Iowa is more than a way to turn a profit.
The western Illinois farmer sees the Big River Resources Cooperative ethanol plant as one step in saving the culture of this part of the Midwest - as well as building bridges with communities that have not always played well together in the past.
"This is a really good community, and it's worth preserving," Defenbaugh said last week at his farm east of Biggsville. "If you can get the capital, if you can get the money back into the community, you can preserve it."
The $57 million ethanol plant, which is designed to process 15 million bushels of corn and produce about 40 million gallons of ethanol each year, is scheduled to begin production in the spring of 2004.
The nearly 600 members of the cooperative, Defenbaugh said, joined up with Big River Resources have more on their minds than turning a profit.
"It's a labor of love because they know what they're doing it for," Defenbaugh said.
The cooperative has reached beyond the traditional boundaries of southeast Iowa and west-central Illinois to pull in help - with investors pitching in from throughout the Midwest and from as far away as California.
"This is breaking down some barriers," said Defenbaugh, who along with Andy Brader of Mediapolis, serves as co-chairman and co-general manager of the cooperative. "They've recognized that it couldn't be in everybody's back yard, and they recognize the benefits."
Defenbaugh said many of the artificial divisions between Illinois and Iowa farmers may have been put to rest because of the teamwork involved in the ethanol plant.
"We've put aside our differences for a common benefit," he said. "That's what's always made America great."
The plant construction is on schedule, Defenbaugh said, noting the temporary cooperative offices in Monmouth, could be moved to the West Burlington, IA facility as soon as mid-summer.
Organizers also are in the process of finalizing the financing for the plant, a move Defenbaugh said could be completed by this week.
The 596 cooperative members will provide about half of the 15 million bushels of corn needed to produce the ethanol - with 14 counties in Iowa and 22 counties in Illinois represented by farmers. The rest of the corn will be purchased on the open market.
The ethanol plant is projected to employ about 40 workers, and Defenbaugh said one of the most important initial employees will be the plant's general manager. After that executive is chosen, a team of marketing and risk management experts will be signed.
That upper tier of management is expected to be on board no later than this fall, Defenbaugh said.
He said that when the original plans for the ethanol plant began, there was no similar plant up and running to compare costs and production.
However, since the project began, there now are three equitable plants operating.
Defenbaugh said the plants have proven to be much more energy efficient than planned, which he said means lower costs for the West Burlington plant.
The cooperative purchased enough ground and constructed the proper infrastructure to double the size of the plant if necessary, Defenbaugh said.
A by-product of the process, dried distillers grains, will be sold back to farmers for use as a livestock feed - a "waste product" that results in about a quarter of the plant's revenue.
Defenbaugh said the DDGs are gaining demand among livestock farmers, noting "right now, we probably won't be able to make enough of it."