Wisconsin's other entry into the renewable fuels industry, a small-scale ethanol plant In western Sauk County, is an innovative attempt to integrate fuel production with the operation of a Family farm. In a unique twist, the size of the plant was matched to the Feed requirements of the 500 head of cattle at the farm, which will eat the wet mash byproduct from the distillation process. Project officials expect the 1,000-gallon per day plant to begin operating before the end of the year.

This ethanol plant is a joint project between John Oliver, the farm owner, and California-based Farm Technologies, USA, which owns the rights to use this particular production process. Farm Technology, USA, intends to construct several more of these facilities in corn-producing regions at a cost of about $550,000 apiece. Oliver's ethanol operation is the first of this type involving Farm Technology, USA.

Here's how it will work. Right now, the 500 steers and heifers at Oliver's cattle farm eat corn and a variety of other grains fresh from the delivery truck. When the ethanol plant begins operating, the same amount of corn will be delivered first to the ethanol plant, where it will be ground, fermented and distilled into fuel-grade ethanol. The finished fuel will be tank and then transported to a terminal near Madison. The solid byproduct of this process, called wet corn distillers grains, will be fed on site to the cattle as part of their total mixed ration. The cattle will also drink the water used in the distillation process, which contains dissolved solids that have nutritional value. No solid or liquid wastes are produced with this integrated approach.

"From our standpoint we entered this for lower-cost feed for our cattle, Oliver said. "Ethanol is actually the byproduct for us in this venture."

With each bushel of corn yielding two-and-a-half gallons of ethanol, about 400 bushels will be required each day to achieve production targets. The corn will be purchased primarily from local growers, Oliver said.

This joint venture represents the culmination of many years of research and development by RENEW Vice President Vern Ader, who views an integrated farm-scale approach as inherently more efficient than the large-scale approach typified by grain giant Archer-Daniels-Midland. With funding from Wisconsin's Renewable Energy Assistance Program, Ader performed the initial feasibility study for an integrated farm-sized ethanol plant. Ader's research indicated that cost savings achieved by avoiding the need to transport the distillers grains, which must be dried before shipment, can more than offset the economies of scale associated with ADM's plants, which produce several million gallons a year. Later, as a consultant for Farm Technology, Ader scoured the Wisconsin countryside looking for a large cattle operator, and in the process, recruited Oliver to be his joint venture partner.

Ader and Oliver also have plans to co-ferment corn with whey, a byproduct of the cheese-making process. Though whey has fermentable sugars, it has been treated traditionally as a waste product. By replacing process water with whey, the amount of ethanol per bushel of corn is projected to rise from 2.6 gallons/bushel to 3.3 gallons/bushel. If the Department of Administration agrees to underwrite part of the costs of this process, co-fermentation with whey could begin in late 1997.

Ader's study also considered the installation of an anaerobic digester as part of the integrated production process. An anaerobic digester would convert cow manure into methane for use in the distillation process, and replace the propane that will be used initially. Digesters also eliminate manure odors and reduces nutrient runoff, benefits which neighbors of cattle farms are likely to appreciate. The study concluded that an anaerobic digester would be cost effective component for larger cattle farms.

If all goes well after the first year or two of operations, Oliver and Farm Technology, USA, will install an anaerobic digester/manure management system on the premises. Such a system would close the final loop in this process, enhancing an already efficient and largely self-sustaining process while eliminating pathways for waste and pollution.

Though Wisconsin ranks eighth in the nation in corn production, none of the 30 million gallons of the fuel grade ethanol that Wisconsin businesses and residences consumed last year was produced in the state. The Sauk County ethanol project represents an auspicious and innovative step in the development of a sustainable renewable fuels industry in Wisconsin.