Ethanol Blog

Cattle producers who were devastated by the loss of cattle from the recent blizzard have one good tool to help them recover: the availability of local wet distillers grains, according to an article by the Mankato Free Press (http://bit.ly/…).

Although the exact number is still unknown, the unexpected blizzard on Oct. 4 resulted in losses estimated somewhere between 20,000 and 150,000 cattle of the state's 6 million head of cattle, stated the article. With as much as five feet of snow in some areas, ranchers are just now able to get to some remote areas where cattle died.

However, the cattle business in the Dakotas and southwest and western Minnesota is on an upswing with new herds and expansions.

One of the reasons for the upswing, and certainly will help producers to rebuild herds affected by the blizzard is the availability of WDG. Wet distillers grains are much cheaper than dried, since ethanol plant don't have to expend energy costs to dry them. However, the wet product is much heavier and is not cost effective to haul long distance.

The availability gives producers in South Dakota an advantage when rebuilding herds and rebounding from the overwhelming losses.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@telventdtn.com.

© Copyright 2013 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.