Husky Ethanol Switching to Corn

[melvill]

This from ProFarmer Canada this morning:

Dennis Floate, Senior Communications Advisor for Husky Energy
Inc., said Husky has decided to back away from feed wheat use in its
ethanol plants for the time being. Floate said Husky's ethanol plant in Minnedosa, Manitoba is turning
to corn as an alternative feed stock ingredient. He noted the bulk of
the corn is sourced locally, in line with Husky's original plan to use
locally sourced feed wheat.

Raymond Dyck, Grain Marketing Coordinator for Husky Energy Ltd.,
said Husky is offering $6.00 per bushel for corn for April, May or June
delivery to the Minnedosa plant. That compares to the $7.25 per bushel
offered for wheat delivered to the plant. Dyck said the Minnedosa plant
is currently producing an ethanol blend of 75 per cent corn and 25 per
cent wheat and he anticipates the situation continuing like that for
some time.

"With grain prices shaping up like they are for the fall already as well as for new crop material, it looks like we will be continuing like this into the coming fall and winter."

When asked about Husky's ethanol plant in Lloydminster,
Saskatchewan, Floate said, "We're starting to phase in more and more
corn there as well."

Last summer Charlie and I toured the Husky Lloyd plant. Staff there didn't like making ethanol from wheat. It's harder on equipment and requires importing special, very expensive enzymes from the U.S. They said they'd love to run on straight corn - far fewer headaches for the operators.

[furrowtickler]

New corn varities will be availble within a few years that will be sustainable accross most of western Canada. This may be a viable new crop option. Our farm will be trying 20ac of a new corn varity this spring,should be an interesting experiment.
A demand market should be a good thing, and provide good reurns for those willing to take a risk.

[cchurch]

I would love to see an ethanol plant run without subsidies.

The fact that they can't tells me something.

[northfarmer]

hey churchy, how about the sm5 sectors running without sm.....it is not a direct subsidy, but legally controlling supply is just like a subsidy, the consumers are paying for it at the check out......It is not that i do not support SM5, but i do grow grain and possibly corn in the future....what do your grow?

rising food prices are driven to a much greater extent by profit/marketing and other cost factors rather than the raw material(our output) that goes into them .......go biofuels go...lost in the dedate is that only the starch/oil is used the rest goes for animal protien production..

[dalek]

Ethanol subsidies should end the same day subsidies for the oil industry end. Which includes maybe half of the US military budget, for starters.

[agstar77]

All the corn grown in the U.S. would only supply 6% of their fuel needs. Grain for alcohol is bogus always was, but when governments are desparate to help the Ag industry, it sounded good. They just didn't want to charge consumers directly for subsidies , so now they will make the fuel market boost the ag market. Talk about dumb and dumber, you'd thunk it was a commie government plot.L.O.L. It would make Marx envious. Mandates for alcohol and biofuel are not sustainable and not useful. Until someone comes up with efficient methods to turn waste into fuel it will be a political boondoggle.

[TOM4CWB]

Northfarmer,

VERY GOOD Points.

It is astounding that the single deskers like Agstar77 would kill a major portion of the grain demand... that is driving our grain markets into profitable pricing now... and into the forseeable future.

If this is the vision the Singe Desk has to provide premium prices for 'designated area' growers... we know well what must happen to the CWB 'single desk' and those who think this way.


Thanks again for the good point.

Yesterday in Provost... as Rick Strankman and I brought forward issues... Chairman Ritter and crew said time and again that we had too much wheat... that the CWB was NOT supply management... and this is why the CWB is not providing good pricing opportunities.

This management system enough to drive a person... to drink... or some other solution?

All the Best Northfarmer!

[agstar77]

If Husky was brewing booze for you , it would make more sense!

[furrowtickler]

agstar - what is your take on bio-diesel?

[agstar77]

Specialty market unless you can produce oils from products other than oilseeds. Oilseeds will be much too valuable as food to be used for burning in trucks and tractors. The problem is that, up to now consumers have not been willing to pay the premium for oilseeds as food. Well that is going to change. So T4 fuel production is a short term gain but can't be sustained.