Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, along with Iowa House Representative Chuck Holz of Le Mars, toured the Plymouth Energy ethanol production facility on Friday.
(Merrill) — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey is anxiously awaiting for the U-S Senate to vote on his confirmation. Northey has been nominated by President Trump to be the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation
with the U-S Department of Agriculture, but Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and now Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, are holding up the voting process. The reason for the Senators to delay Northey’s confirmation vote is based on President Trump’s actions with ethanol and other renewable fuels. While Northey is waiting on the final Senate confirmation vote, he is still performing his duties as the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. On Friday, Northey was in northwest Iowa, and visited a water quality project near Sioux City, toured the Plymouth Energy ethanol production facilities near Merrill, and visited with Dordt College Agriculture
officials at Sioux Center. As for when the U-S Senate will finally vote on Northey’s confirmation, the Spirit Lake, Iowa, farmer says he is watching the news reports like the rest of us.
Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, (left) and Iowa House Representative Chuck Holz listen to Plymouth Energy officials explain their ethanol processing business.
Northey says he wants to continue with his 99-county tour and listen to Iowans.
He says when he speaks to farmers about this year’s harvest, he is hearing reports of better than expected corn yields.
Plymouth Energy officials inform Agriculture Secretary Northey that the Merrill ethanol facility employs 39 people, and is capable of producing 58 million gallons of ethanol each year. Plymouth Energy buys corn from within a 60 mile radius of Merrill and ships out Distilled Dried Grains, a by-product of corn ethanol, used for animal feed, to an area of about a 100 mile radius of Merrill.
On Monday, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will issue it’s latest crop progress report. Northey says farmers have been busy harvesting the crops since rains in early October pushed back the pace by about two weeks.
Northey says ethanol production facilities, like the one he toured on Friday, are important to Iowa’s economy.
Plymouth Energy’s Bunker Contains More Than A Million Bushels Of Corn.
Northey met with Dordt College Agriculture officials for lunch in Sioux Center. The Dordt College group consisted of Provost Eric Forseth, Ron Vos, and Duane Bajema. Northey learned of a new Agriculture Stewardship Center now beginning construction located on the north side of Sioux Center. The gathering discussed water quality projects being implemented by the four-year Christian faith college, and about the number of students attending Dordt College for its agricultural curriculum. Northey was told that Dordt alumni, along with the power of word-of- mouth advertising is responsible for 30 percent of the college students, presently attending Dordt College’s agriculture program. Dordt, much like their public university counterparts, Iowa State and South Dakota State, have more job opportunities available through the agriculture programs than what they have graduating seniors. Dordt College Provost Eric Forseth informed the Iowa Agriculture Secretary that Dordt College is attracting students from not just the immediate tri-state area of Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota, but in fact many students are traveling hundreds, if not thousands of miles to attend Dordt College.
Secretary Northey, center, is standing with Dordt College Provost, Eric Forseth (right) and Duane Bajema, Dordt College Agriculture Professor (left).
After visiting Woodbury, Plymouth and Sioux counties, Northey had scheduled stops in both Lyon and Osceola counties for this afternoon and evening.
NEVADA, Iowa (AP) – DowDuPont has announced it’s seeking a buyer for its 30-million gallon, $225 million cellulosic ethanol plant in central Iowa. DowDuPont has shuttered operations at the Nevada, Iowa, plant and cut 90 workers. The move is part of DowDuPont’s announcement Thursday it will cut its global workforce by 5-7 percent and shutter some buildings. The cellulosic ethanol plant, which opened in 2015, is considered the
next generation in renewable fuel production. It uses corncobs, husks and stalks to produce the biofuel. A skeleton crew will maintain the plant until a new buyer is found. DowDuPont says the operation no longer fits its strategic plan. Iowa has two other large cellulosic ethanol plants. One is in Emmetsburg
and the other is in Galva.
Speaking from a Merrill ethanol plant on Friday, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey says he still believes there is a viable future for cellulosic ethanol made from cornstalks and corn cobs.
