May is Renewable Fuels Month, and it is the perfect time to reflect on the journey of the ethanol industry and its roots in farming communities.
Todd Brown, Chairman of Dakota Ethanol, recently shared a story with Ag News Wire about how South Dakota’s corn growers were instrumental in the creation of the state’s first large-scale ethanol plant in 1999.
“The ethanol industry was just becoming new. There were a few private plants, but when I look back, the South Dakota corn growers were so all in and so dedicated, and when you think about it, we were going to be the first plant and we were going to be a 40 million gallon brewing plant and so it was going to take $15-20 million worth of equity. That hadn’t been done. It definitely hadn’t been done in South Dakota, and so the South Dakota corn growers were very instrumental and they did a lot of things that really tipped the scale,” he explained.
Today, Dakota ethanol produces 100 million gallons of eco-friendly ethanol annually, sourced from 33 million bushels of locally grown corn.
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A man accused of orchestrating a nationwide cattle investment fraud scheme has been arrested in California after being on the FBI’s wanted list.
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ASFMRA’s Craig Thompson shares insights for American farmers who are navigating farmland markets amid agricultural uncertainty.
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OHFB President Bill Patterson shares an update from Washington on the group’s policy priorities and the issues shaping agriculture ahead of the 2026 planting season.
March 11, 2026 03:34 PM
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Ben Kurtzman with American Farmland Trust discusses the growing pressure on farmland and ranchland and the steps being taken to help conserve farms and ranches across the country ,as unrest in the Middle East adds more obstacles for producers.
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Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Kansas congressman Dan Glickman joined RFD News to share his outlook on agricultural policy, bipartisan cooperation, and the challenges facing farmers today.
March 11, 2026 11:24 AM
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