Making a living raising cattle isn’t as simple as just buying a herd and turning it out on pasture. Cattle require a specific diet to maintain proper nutrition and weight gain.

Currently the No. 2 producer of ethanol in the U.S., Nebraska has grown from one ethanol plant in 1985 to 25 today. Combined, they have the capacity to produce about 2.3 billion gallons of ethanol. Spread across the state, these plants use more than 700 million bushels of corn each year and produce more than 6 million tons of distillers’ grains.

“We estimate feeding wet or modified distillers’ makes producers between $30 and $50 more per finished animal,” Erickson says. “This is due to better performance and cheaper cost of gain even when priced the same as corn on a dry basis.”

But as ethanol plants shut down or reduce output in the state because of economics and storage, Auten is forced to consider alternatives for his Angus herd that he estimates could push his feed costs up 25% or more.

“Once I’m not able to get wet, or even modified wet, distillers’ grains, I’m going to have to buy high-quality hay to replace the protein needs of my cattle, which comes at a premium price,” says the Ayr, Nebraska, producer.

So far this year, seven plants have idled production and three have slowed output across Nebraska, according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). 

“A 2015 University of Nebraska study showed that the ethanol industry in Nebraska is a $5-billion-per-year industry, so the financial impact on our state is huge as these plants idle and cut production,” says Roger Berry, administrator, Nebraska Ethanol Board.

Across the U.S., there are 202 ethanol plants that have 17.1 billion gallons of total capacity, according to RFA. In a typical year, eight to 10 of those may go offline. 

Since March 1, 2020, 69 plants, with an annual production capacity of nearly 6 billion gallons, have been fully idled. Another 64 facilities have reduced output anywhere from 10% to 50%, which takes another 1.7 billion gallons out of the supply.

“I’ve been involved in the ethanol industry for about 15 years, and I've never seen anything close to this,” says Geoff Cooper, CEO of RFA. “It's really a devastating time for the industry.”

In a normal year – when every plant is running at normal rates – these facilities make about 44 million tons of distillers’ grains annually. With nearly 66% of production either idled or reduced, that adds up to a significant amount of feed lost.