@@scottwilliamtoombs You are correct. I could go on for pages on all the things about ethanol that are less wonderful but this isn't the place. I fully believe that Laura and Grant have only the best intentions and I'm very jealous of their life compared to my war zone life in Kalifornia.
Great video! You and Grant are doing great work. There will always be trolls no matter the content. Don't ever worry about opening a can of worms or should that be "corn". 😁 Say it from the heart and never waiver to appease the few trolls.
There are a lot older ethanol plants in eastern USA , they are called moonshine stills 😁 Thanks for showing and telling us what is going on where you dump the corn.
That’s what you call a small batch ethanol plant. It has to be sampled during processing, usually by tasting small samples ( it’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it) for correct ethanol percentage.
Many thanks to Chief for allowing the tour at all, and to Grant and yourself for presenting it, particularly during harvest. As an aside, Waffle is usually described as a polydactyl cat.
Thanks Grant for explaining the Carbon Cycle that is corn growing. The yellow "batteries" you are growing are very helpful. Trust Laura to find Chief's cat! ☺
A molecular sieve is what it sounds like. You can engineer certain minerals (e.g. zeolites) to have precise sized spaces in their structure. They have one that's tuned to grab water and reject ethanol - it removes the last bit of water (distillation can only reach 95% (190 US proof))
Brings back memories of my plastic processing days, we used a molecular sieve to grab water molecules out of the air before we heated it up and used it to dry the plastic before melting. Talk about air conditioning - we required the dew point of the air to be 40 degrees below zero!
43 year cooperative,now retired employee. Truly one of the top-agriculture CZcams channels out there. I enjoy the videos so much. I learn a lot from you and Grant. The tour was very informative. Looking forward to many more videos. Best of luck with your harvest, and God bless.
The co2 or carbon in petroleum was previously in the air. The plants of the time captured it same as your corn and then as it was buried by geologic processes to eventually be processed into methane, oil, and coal. Our efforts to make ethanol are just a short cut in the carbon cycle. Thanks love your feed. Keep the episodes coming.
Thanks for clarifying that. By our use of fossil fuels, we are recycling the carbon that was in the air millions of years ago, which had been many times higher than it is today. If the CO2 in the air were to drop below 200 ppm, which is where it was heading not too long ago, plants would be in dire straits. CO2 is essential for life on earth, it is not a pollutant.
Laura, you and Grand gave a great explanation of the corn growing cycle and how it is then used for Ethanol production! Thanks for taking time to spend with our team and being an amazing partner!
This is an OUTSTANDING video! The explanation that Grant provides is fascinating! I realize there is a lot of controversy over ethanol, but Grant made his explanation easy to understand and very Informative. You kids do an excellent job of opening our eyes to the work AND rewards of farm life. Kudos to both of you!! And thanks to Chief for the informative tour!
Thank you Laura and Grant for explaining and showing us how it works from dirt to my tank. Much appreciated keep it up! Love the videos you both make for us
Yes, the tour was very interesting! I disagree with the whole corn into fuel thing though. Ethanol takes lots of fossil-fuel, chemicals, etc, to make and transport, so it's not even good for the environment overall. And ethanol fuel when it absorbs water from humidity in the air can also *ruin* small engines.
@@FLPhotoCatcher Yeah, and I noticed that Grant skipped right over the fact that while plants absorb the CO2 from ethanol-powered engines, they also absorb the CO2 from gasoline-powered engines. He makes a clear implication that Ethanol good/gasoline bad. If I recall correctly, you have to have gasoline to mix with ethanol - which I am pretty sure they mix either at the gas stations, or in the holding tanks at the refinery. As far as I know, 85% ethanol is as high as that percentage can go; at least at the current time.
@@FLPhotoCatcher I run a fuel injected pickup truck engine on e-85 for many years. Today the truck is 20 years old and still on the road with the original engine without any overhauls. The fuel pump lasted around 180,000 miles. ( Well beyond its designed life expectancy). I now have a second truck and it has run on E 85 for 46,000 miles and still going strong.
@@Rusty1220 Sure, cars and trucks can be ok with 15% ethanol or e-85. But I was talking about small engines. Specifically rubber seals and some synthetic materials in those small engines. But also, left over winter, water can collect on the bottom of the steel fuel tanks or other steel parts and rust them.
Thanks for the awesome tour of the ethanol plant! When you mentioned, "look at all the electric motors", it brought back memories of my career at General Electric, working in the Motor Division. I worked a few years in purchasing/inventory control, but ended my career in sales/customer service. I sold both horizontal & vertical electric motors to customers all across the country, until GE sold the motor business in the 1990's. By the way, you & Grant look great in those hard hats!😊❤
Somewhere in your future Laura is a school teacher. You started to slip into the role in this video! And I mean that as the greatest compliment, you have the natural skillset. Thanks for the hard work cranking out these videos all the while slaving over a hot farm!
Grant teaches us more in about 4 minutes than my school ever did. I knew photosynthesis. The tour was awesome thanks chief for letting the best tour guides in Nebraska in for us to tag along.
Love ya'lls videos how many gallons of diesel, propane or gasoline is used to produce corn a year this is the part of "Green" that marketing always leaves out.
Laura your voice is so much deeper when you don’t have to yell. You were in the office. I like the heavy equipment voice Laura. Takes effort! Grant. Fantastic add ons. Your a lucky man.
Thanks for another great video Laura and Grant. It was interesting and enjoyable. Thanks for showing us the Chiefs corn plant operation. It was interesting and produces a lot of gasoline for our vehicles. Thanks again for the tour. It was interesting and involves a lot of scientific processes at which I do not understand. But oh well it works. Thanks to Laura and Grant for the tour and Chiefs. You all take care and be safe. Thanks. The Iowa Farm Boy. Steve.
CO2 Cycle, so true Grant! Thank you for the plant tour and internal process details Laura. Chief was really nice to provide the tour; I luv the plant cat, which I assume is cats! Just smart in my book. My Dad always had well cared for Shop Cats. And, I've always done the same. They are members of our family whom we luv and care for. Please thank Chief. Everything I've read about Chief is really interesting, good ideas in unique product areas.
Thank you for sharing the concept of the corn field as a solar panel, and the ear as the battery, using carbon to grow and store energy. Taken one step further, plants and animals from thousands/millions of years ago, absorbed carbon and solar energy as they grew, then they ended up in the earth to decompose into densely packed energy that we use today through the consumption of fossil fuels. It's all, literally, solar energy... and some carbon.
You are 100 % right. I like all the fuels, natural gas, oil, and coal. Yet I also use E 85 because it helps keep the money in the heartland of the United States. I also drive Electric car because I am a retired coal miner and the electric is produced from our local coal mine. One ton of coal will power a car for roughly 8,000 miles. One ton of coal would be 3 ft solid cube square of volume.
Laura and Grant, Always enjoyed your videos but you've really stepped them up to a new and more sophisticated level with these last two. Really great work! (And thanks to Chief for offering the tour.)
What a great conceptualization, Grant. You paint perfect picture of the cycle! Laura, Grant and Chief, thank you very much for the tour. Very interesting. ❤
Grant did a good job of explaining the carbon cycle, also what was not talked about is that corn is mostly startch and a not good for long term feed for cattle, the fermentation process uses the starch for making fuel and leaves high protein mash that good feed so the corn is still used for feed
Ok, great video. Educational. Especially grants lesson on corn and ethanol. My question is why use corn( aka food source) for fuel and not for food usuage??
Well, there haven't been any corn subsidy checks for a couple years, which is nice. But the biggest lobby for the farm subsidies is the bankers. The subsidies increase the cost of production, which means that farmers have to borrow more money, and they also mean the loans are more likely to be repaid. It's a win-win-win, for the bankers.
Now, that brought back memories of my days of working in Chemical plants. I retired after 32 years from Dow Chemical in Freeport, Texas. Now, you should do the business side of running a farm, not using your numbers of course. I think young people coming up would find this real-world information interesting.
Laura I live near a ethenol plant here in Ontario Canada. Now that you had a tour I do not need to take one. I really enjoy watching your flogs Thankyou
Part of my last paying job before I officially retired from working for a living, I was a fuel hauler for one of the if not the largest truck stop industries in North America. A good part of that hauling was the hauling of ethanol to various gasoline distributors around the country. Ethanol is not that popular amongst the automobile making industry due to the corrosive effects of ethanol fuel. They probably didn't mention that on your tour. The gasoline engine had to be re-engineered in order to negate the effects of the ethanol combustion within those engines. The "Green Energy Policy" has really impacted the entire fossil fuel refining process. I honestly am not convinced that it will ever take over the fossil fuel industry. Diesel fuel is still way more efficient as a fuel for maritime shipping, Over the road trucking industry, agricultural farm equipment, etc.
I've been following this channel for a number of months subscribed and it's really growing on me, as it's so interesting, light hearted and fun. Good job Laura and hubby.
I learned the HARD way...to capitalize on farming and ranching is hard as it gets. (Lost my ass over and over again). Then I see young people doing the research and the leg work to make it happen and then to capitalize on capitalizing gives me HOPE for the future. I am amazed at the new generation! Thank Laura and Grant!
Im much more thankful for diesel though. All my vehicles are diesel. My boat, chainsaws , quads, lawnmower etc. are, however , all run on non ethanol gas as it doesnt destroy any of the rubber internals and does not cause them to run hotter as ethanol fuel does. I wont get into the political side of it (we already have enough of that today) Wouldnt mind me some corn 'shine' tho!
Hi Laura. I was out in Nebraska last month chasing trains on the Union Pacific Railroad and I am so amazed at the amount of corn that is grown. After seeing your video, I can understand why. Thanks to you and Grant and ALL of the farmers for what you do. This Connecticut Yankee greatly appreciates it. Hope to be back out there next October.
Seeing that ethanol plant brought back many memories for me. For 10 years I drove a hopper bottom and that was one of the products we hauled. I remember when ethanol first hit the market there was ethanol plants springing up at several places in Ohio. These plants got a government subsidy to operate. That subsidy only lasted for a short time and the plants were supposed to be able to run themselves. The product that I hauled was called DDG(dried distillers grain) which was a feed supplement used in producing chicken and cattle feed. Most of the plants that were built during this time shut down when the government handout was over. Go figure. I know I hated hauling that stuff because during the hot summer months it would set up in the hopper and was a bear to unload. In fact the very last load I hauled for that company was DDG. Thanks for showing us the plant and giving us a insight to your business.
Hearing about ethanol is so cool. Watching you give the tour and explain everything is awesome. You have beautiful eyes as well. Thank you for your explanation of ethanol and giving us all a tour.
Hi Laura and Grant! Love your videos! So cool with the ethanol plant tour. Keep up the great work! Just curious, what affect, if any, does it have on your channel, if I skip the commercials? If it has a negative effect, I will most certainly watch them all. Love you guys!!
You might also know a "molecular sieve" as a reverse osmosis system. This is where you put liquid under pressure into a plastic sleeve. The sleeve is a giant spring, I guess is the best way to describe it. The pressure difference from inside the plastic sleeve to outside the plastic sleeve causes the sleeve to expand, opening uniformly sized holes on the molecular scale. So, by adjusting the pressure, you are adjusting which molecules are allowed to pass through the membrane. For your under sink RO systems, a single membrane is typically enough. The water that passes through the membrane comes out one pipe, and the remaining water with all the impurities passes down the middle, through a regulator, and is discharged as waste. For the ethanol plant, the water is the waste product, as well as anything left over from the fermentation process. So, this would need one step which allows anything the size or smaller than ethanol to pass through the membrane. Then, anything smaller than the ethanol gets filtered out on the second stage. So, this is where the water is removed to give you pure ethanol. This same process can be done at home with the off the shelf RO cartridges, You just have to adjust the input pressure and output regulators so the holes in the membrane open to the correct size. One really cool thing about an RO filter is that by dropping the output regulation and pressure in the middle, the membrane shrinks back to its natural state, which is an impenetrable tube. As such, anything that was filtered out and stuck will get forced back into the middle of the tube to be carried away. For your under the counter RO systems, you can here this under normal operating conditions as a click or a thud. The output regulator has a system built in it to periodically and automatically drop the pressure in the middle of the tube when a set amount of water has been discharged as waste. TLDR: the molecular sieve is just an industrial sized version of the second to last stage of the 5 stage drinking water filter under your sink.
Hi again. Was watching the weather channel. Bad weather headed your way Wednesday and Thursday. High winds with Rain and snow. Stay safe on them narrow roads .
Loved the tour! That's awesome, and I've always wanted to learn more about ethanol production! I've been involved in agriculture changes for many years. The soybeans are so diverse in the byproducts that can be produced also! I just LOVE your channel, Laura, and Grant! So, VERY educational ❤ Thanks so much for helping everyone learn! "Well done, good and faithful servants!"👏👏💯💖🙏🙏🤠🇺🇲
Great job explaining the ethanol plant and the commercial use of corn. Good job explaining the plant cycle in relation to carbon. Nice video to watch and very interesting.
Yeah, I've had thoughts on ethanol ever since the days of "gasohol," back in the early '70s. And yes, I was around then. It was, if I remember, 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline - which was further made up of who knows how many additives, including lead, which was finally phased out in this country in 1996. Ethanol produces less energy than gasoline. It gets poorer fuel mileage than gasoline, and one of the major drawbacks, besides not being good for the environment, is that it attracts moisture. Okay for transportation and heavy equipment; not so good for passenger cars, and even worse for small engines. And, they plan on raising the amount of ethanol in the gasoline. Currently, most ethanol blend is E10, or 10% ethanol. You can find E85. In the future, that will probably be the standard blend. Not to worry, though; states like California are banning small engine-powered equipment. Ever wonder why? Somebody somewhere is making a lot of money, and while it looks to be job security for farmers, it's not good for people and for the environment.
I drove a truck on E-85 for many years. The truck is now 20 years old and still on the road every day. Still the original engine with no overhauls ever performed. Yes ethanol attracts some water but gasoline produces waters when it explodes within the cylinder. The hydrogen in the gasoline combines with the oxygen from the air thereby producing steam water. That is why you can see steam from gasoline engines on cold mornings.
Thanks for this video. Most people don't know (or even care) about how important it is for us to recognize the effects of the carbon cycle is in our day-to-day lives. I have been subscribed since day one and I have to tell you, as a former dairy farmer in New England, your efforts to inform your subscribers of the importance of agricultural efforts throughout this great nation should never be diminished or marginalized.
Thanks for the tour of the ethanol plant. It has really expanded and changed over the years. Many years ago when it was first constructed, I was friends with the construction manager. When the plant first went online, they made small souvenir bottles with the first run or alcohol. I used to have one of those bottles, but it has gotten lost over the years.
We must make every effort to be energy independent that includes drilling for oil in our own country. Every effort should be made to reach this goal its a matter of national security.
I realized after I clicked on your video that I did not pay attention to the title. Just proves that you and Grant always produce a good video so who cares what the title is!!
@@davemccracken3457 It would be better if it was all used for feed, human and animal feed. We could export more grain and help the trade imbalance. And too many engines are being ruined by ethanol fuel, leading to more expense for American families. I don't like being negative, but these facts are actually known. I did like the plant tour. 🙂
180 bushels of corn, a good producing acre, provides enough oxygen to provide 131 people with their oxygen needs for a year. Keep growing, We need to breathe. Thanks you two. I have about
would like to see the stats on ethanol corn vs sweet corn profits for farmers, pretty sure the ethanol wins out considerably, along with the gov grants, crop insurance, etc,, the farmers that feed us, get left out of the fringe benefits, all that acreage for ethanol, just doesnt seem right
Sweet corn contracts are much more profitable per acre. But the contracts are quite limited. There's only so much canned sweet corn that the stores can sell.
On the other side you have the lowering of the water table from the corn belt. The upcoming issue is water. The Columbia River does not get the water it used to. Every city along the way takes a sip'. They will get to the point when they do not allow unregulated access to water. Ethanol uses way too much water to grow the corn. Ethanol absorbs water over time and will disable any thing that uses gas and has had it sitting for more than a year.
Another excellent video. You should explore the benefits of growing the hemp plant (because there are so many) and possibly adding a certain percentage to your yearly farming.
Great video, good explanation of the process. I found Grant's explanation of the corn's life cycle fascinating, never had any idea it worked like that!
I would like to thank you for this very good comment. You both are doing a very good job, keep going, so it's always fun to watch you. Greetings from Germany.
I don't know if I missed it or not but the waist where does that go? Can it be used as compost or hog feed or something like that or does it go to a dump?
Interesting tour, and a good explanation of the distillation process. Unfortunately ethanol production is a net loss as far as energy output for use as a fuel additive. It takes more energy to produce than what you get out of it. Ethanol blended fuels burn less efficiently, and therefore you get less fuel economy per gallon. It is also destructive/corrosive to small engines and older engines in cars that are more affordable to many people. The only way it became ubiquitous in the US was through government mandates in past farm bills. Apparently those mandates are gone, but we are still forced to buy E10 blended fuel at the pump. The only way to get non-ethanol fuel is to pay nearly a dollar more per gallon for pure gas premium, which is not always available. My old truck used to get 25-27 MPG. Now I am lucky to see 22, and the exhaust stinks. The alcohol/gasoline blend separates in a couple of months so if my truck sits for awhile, it runs poorly. The ethanol also absorbs moisture so I end up with water globs in my fuel tanks. Stop the silliness of required ethanol blends. Give the consumer a reasonable choice.
I know people are going to have a lot of opinions about this video! Please be respectful in the comments. Thank you!
@@scottwilliamtoombs You are correct. I could go on for pages on all the things about ethanol that are less wonderful but this isn't the place. I fully believe that Laura and Grant have only the best intentions and I'm very jealous of their life compared to my war zone life in Kalifornia.
@@michaellindsey1543Is that spelling of California some right wing nonsense?
Great video! You and Grant are doing great work. There will always be trolls no matter the content. Don't ever worry about opening a can of worms or should that be "corn". 😁
Say it from the heart and never waiver to appease the few trolls.
@@hammerdick82the only nonsense is what the left has done to California actually……
It’s just sad Laura,when you have to make such a statement for people to be civil…people need to pray to do better, don’t be so negative.
That was the most succinct explanation of corn plant biology and ethanol I've ever heard. Wow
Yea he really did a great job explaining that to a non farming dummy like me that i can i could eastly understand it . Great job Grant .
We do the same process here in KY. We just store it for at least 4 years in charred white oak barrels.
😂 Yesss! 🥃
Cool
Expensive fuel.
It tastes a lot better that way!!!
Is bourbon Made from corn yeah?
Grant's talk of the cyclical nature of corn and CO2 was really well explained. Thank you for that insight!
Interesting Tour. So Ethanol is essentially Moonshine on an Industrial Scale.....
Close too it add yeast and sugar and you would have moonshine
Yeah, but it gets denatured before it leaves the plant.
I was going to make the same comment! 😂 Interesting though.
Many thanks to Chief for allowing the tour at all, and to Grant thanks for taking us on the tour !
Grant did awesome on the breakdown, from a farmer from Vermont that doesn't grow for grain
There are a lot older ethanol plants in eastern USA , they are called moonshine stills 😁 Thanks for showing and telling us what is going on where you dump the corn.
That’s what you call a small batch ethanol plant. It has to be sampled during processing, usually by tasting small samples ( it’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it) for correct ethanol percentage.
Lmao
Thanks Laura for the tour. Very,very interesting ! Thanks again. GOD BLESS you both !!!!!!❤❤❤❤
Many thanks to Chief for allowing the tour at all, and to Grant and yourself for presenting it, particularly during harvest.
As an aside, Waffle is usually described as a polydactyl cat.
Thanks Grant for explaining the Carbon Cycle that is corn growing. The yellow "batteries" you are growing are very helpful. Trust Laura to find Chief's cat! ☺
A molecular sieve is what it sounds like. You can engineer certain minerals (e.g. zeolites) to have precise sized spaces in their structure. They have one that's tuned to grab water and reject ethanol - it removes the last bit of water (distillation can only reach 95% (190 US proof))
That's a similar idea to the artificial kidney that's used in my haemodialysis, yes?
yes
An oxygen concentrator also uses a molecular sieve to provide oxygen for breathing, and high temperature processes like glass blowing and welding.
Brings back memories of my plastic processing days, we used a molecular sieve to grab water molecules out of the air before we heated it up and used it to dry the plastic before melting. Talk about air conditioning - we required the dew point of the air to be 40 degrees below zero!
What happens to the soupy corn being loaded onto the semi?
Thank you CHIEF for allowing the tour... thanx Laura..
A simple "Thank you" is not enough, but that is all that I have.
43 year cooperative,now retired employee. Truly one of the top-agriculture CZcams channels out there. I enjoy the videos so much. I learn a lot from you and Grant. The tour was very informative. Looking forward to many more videos. Best of luck with your harvest, and God bless.
The co2 or carbon in petroleum was previously in the air. The plants of the time captured it same as your corn and then as it was buried by geologic processes to eventually be processed into methane, oil, and coal. Our efforts to make ethanol are just a short cut in the carbon cycle. Thanks love your feed. Keep the episodes coming.
The Law of Conservation of Energy.
Thanks for clarifying that. By our use of fossil fuels, we are recycling the carbon that was in the air millions of years ago, which had been many times higher than it is today. If the CO2 in the air were to drop below 200 ppm, which is where it was heading not too long ago, plants would be in dire straits. CO2 is essential for life on earth, it is not a pollutant.
Thanks for getting us a peek, Laura and Grant. The process is more technical, but less complicated, than I thought it was. Plus, Waffles is cute. 🤠👍
Laura, you and Grand gave a great explanation of the corn growing cycle and how it is then used for Ethanol production! Thanks for taking time to spend with our team and being an amazing partner!
This is an OUTSTANDING video! The explanation that Grant provides is fascinating! I realize there is a lot of controversy over ethanol, but Grant made his explanation easy to understand and very Informative. You kids do an excellent job of opening our eyes to the work AND rewards of farm life. Kudos to both of you!! And thanks to Chief for the informative tour!
I agree. Outstanding video.
Such a clear, concise and interesting presentation. Thanks y'all!
It's always best when people get the opportunity to gain a better understanding. This video did just that. Thank you. Great job!
During the off season, see if you can get a tour of the Lactic acid plant by Blair. See them turn corn into plastic.
Thank you Laura and Grant for explaining and showing us how it works from dirt to my tank. Much appreciated keep it up! Love the videos you both make for us
That was well done and well explained… I learned something cool today… 👍😎.
Yes, the tour was very interesting!
I disagree with the whole corn into fuel thing though. Ethanol takes lots of fossil-fuel, chemicals, etc, to make and transport, so it's not even good for the environment overall. And ethanol fuel when it absorbs water from humidity in the air can also *ruin* small engines.
@@FLPhotoCatcher Yeah, and I noticed that Grant skipped right over the fact that while plants absorb the CO2 from ethanol-powered engines, they also absorb the CO2 from gasoline-powered engines. He makes a clear implication that Ethanol good/gasoline bad.
If I recall correctly, you have to have gasoline to mix with ethanol - which I am pretty sure they mix either at the gas stations, or in the holding tanks at the refinery. As far as I know, 85% ethanol is as high as that percentage can go; at least at the current time.
@@FLPhotoCatcher
I run a fuel injected pickup truck engine on e-85 for many years. Today the truck is 20 years old and still on the road with the original engine without any overhauls.
The fuel pump lasted around 180,000 miles. ( Well beyond its designed life expectancy).
I now have a second truck and it has run on E 85 for 46,000 miles and still going strong.
@@Rusty1220 Sure, cars and trucks can be ok with 15% ethanol or e-85. But I was talking about small engines. Specifically rubber seals and some synthetic materials in those small engines. But also, left over winter, water can collect on the bottom of the steel fuel tanks or other steel parts and rust them.
You did such a good job of explaining the process Laura.
Teaching the greater world beyond Nebraska all about farming is one of the best things about your channel. Thanks for doing that.
Thanks for the awesome tour of the ethanol plant! When you mentioned, "look at all the electric motors", it brought back memories of my career at General Electric, working in the Motor Division. I worked a few years in purchasing/inventory control, but ended my career in sales/customer service. I sold both horizontal & vertical electric motors to customers all across the country, until GE sold the motor business in the 1990's. By the way, you & Grant look great in those hard hats!😊❤
Somewhere in your future Laura is a school teacher. You started to slip into the role in this video! And I mean that as the greatest compliment, you have the natural skillset. Thanks for the hard work cranking out these videos all the while slaving over a hot farm!
Grant teaches us more in about 4 minutes than my school ever did. I knew photosynthesis. The tour was awesome thanks chief for letting the best tour guides in Nebraska in for us to tag along.
For me as a german guy I did not understand every word you said, so I had to look up some of them. But it was very interesting. Thanks
Professor Grant great job on your explanation of the corn growing process. You could easily be a teacher.
Love ya'lls videos how many gallons of diesel, propane or gasoline is used to produce corn a year this is the part of "Green" that marketing always leaves out.
Very interesting, Grant did a good job also, explaining some plant science. Thank You!
Laura your voice is so much deeper when you don’t have to yell. You were in the office. I like the heavy equipment voice Laura. Takes effort!
Grant. Fantastic add ons. Your a lucky man.
Thanks for another great video Laura and Grant. It was interesting and enjoyable.
Thanks for showing us the Chiefs corn plant operation. It was interesting and produces a lot of gasoline for our vehicles. Thanks again for the tour. It was interesting and involves a lot of scientific processes at which I do not understand. But oh well it works.
Thanks to Laura and Grant for the tour and Chiefs.
You all take care and be safe. Thanks. The Iowa Farm Boy. Steve.
Run all your tractors, combines, trucks and the ethanol plant on ethanol.
CO2 Cycle, so true Grant! Thank you for the plant tour and internal process details Laura. Chief was really nice to provide the tour; I luv the plant cat, which I assume is cats! Just smart in my book. My Dad always had well cared for Shop Cats. And, I've always done the same. They are members of our family whom we luv and care for. Please thank Chief. Everything I've read about Chief is really interesting, good ideas in unique product areas.
Excellent commentary and explanation Grant starting around 5:30.
Thank you for sharing the concept of the corn field as a solar panel, and the ear as the battery, using carbon to grow and store energy.
Taken one step further, plants and animals from thousands/millions of years ago, absorbed carbon and solar energy as they grew, then they ended up in the earth to decompose into densely packed energy that we use today through the consumption of fossil fuels.
It's all, literally, solar energy... and some carbon.
You are 100 % right. I like all the fuels, natural gas, oil, and coal. Yet I also use E 85 because it helps keep the money in the heartland of the United States.
I also drive Electric car because I am a retired coal miner and the electric is produced from our local coal mine. One ton of coal will power a car for roughly 8,000 miles. One ton of coal would be 3 ft solid cube square of volume.
That’s industrialized moonshine! Pretty cool plant, thanks for the tour during harvest.
Laura and Grant, Always enjoyed your videos but you've really stepped them up to a new and more sophisticated level with these last two. Really great work! (And thanks to Chief for offering the tour.)
What a great conceptualization, Grant. You paint perfect picture of the cycle! Laura, Grant and Chief, thank you very much for the tour. Very interesting. ❤
10k! you got this!🎉
Grant did a good job of explaining the carbon cycle, also what was not talked about is that corn is mostly startch and a not good for long term feed for cattle, the fermentation process uses the starch for making fuel and leaves high protein mash that good feed so the corn is still used for feed
Ok, great video. Educational. Especially grants lesson on corn and ethanol. My question is why use corn( aka food source) for fuel and not for food usuage??
Exactly 💯%
Because corn is the #1 subsided crop in the USA. It would be interesting to see a video on why the USA spends so much money on corn subsides.
Well, there haven't been any corn subsidy checks for a couple years, which is nice. But the biggest lobby for the farm subsidies is the bankers. The subsidies increase the cost of production, which means that farmers have to borrow more money, and they also mean the loans are more likely to be repaid. It's a win-win-win, for the bankers.
Now, that brought back memories of my days of working in Chemical plants. I retired after 32 years from Dow Chemical in Freeport, Texas. Now, you should do the business side of running a farm, not using your numbers of course. I think young people coming up would find this real-world information interesting.
You look great in a hard hat, Laura!! 😊Thanks for sharing this with us! So interesting! You are so close to your goal! 500k
Wow, thank Laura and Grant. That is some large processing plant, so much work to make fuel, it can't be cheap.
Love from Mike. ❤
Laura
I live near a ethenol plant here in Ontario Canada.
Now that you had a tour I do not need to take one.
I really enjoy watching your flogs Thankyou
Part of my last paying job before I officially retired from working for a living, I was a fuel hauler for one of the if not the largest truck stop industries in North America. A good part of that hauling was the hauling of ethanol to various gasoline distributors around the country. Ethanol is not that popular amongst the automobile making industry due to the corrosive effects of ethanol fuel. They probably didn't mention that on your tour. The gasoline engine had to be re-engineered in order to negate the effects of the ethanol combustion within those engines. The "Green Energy Policy" has really impacted the entire fossil fuel refining process. I honestly am not convinced that it will ever take over the fossil fuel industry. Diesel fuel is still way more efficient as a fuel for maritime shipping, Over the road trucking industry, agricultural farm equipment, etc.
I think the end goal is we will be walking everywhere we go in our smart cities eating bugs and we will be happy.
I've been following this channel for a number of months subscribed and it's really growing on me, as it's so interesting, light hearted and fun. Good job Laura and hubby.
I learned the HARD way...to capitalize on farming and ranching is hard as it gets. (Lost my ass over and over again). Then I see young people doing the research and the leg work to make it happen and then to capitalize on capitalizing gives me HOPE for the future. I am amazed at the new generation! Thank Laura and Grant!
Thank you for the behind the scenes tour of the factory. My wife and I really enjoy your videos.
Im much more thankful for diesel though. All my vehicles are diesel. My boat, chainsaws , quads, lawnmower etc. are, however , all run on non ethanol gas as it doesnt destroy any of the rubber internals and does not cause them to run hotter as ethanol fuel does. I wont get into the political side of it (we already have enough of that today) Wouldnt mind me some corn 'shine' tho!
Hi Laura. I was out in Nebraska last month chasing trains on the Union Pacific Railroad and I am so amazed at the amount of corn that is grown. After seeing your video, I can understand why. Thanks to you and Grant and ALL of the farmers for what you do. This Connecticut Yankee greatly appreciates it. Hope to be back out there next October.
10k to go!
Seeing that ethanol plant brought back many memories for me. For 10 years I drove a hopper bottom and that was one of the products we hauled. I remember when ethanol first hit the market there was ethanol plants springing up at several places in Ohio. These plants got a government subsidy to operate. That subsidy only lasted for a short time and the plants were supposed to be able to run themselves. The product that I hauled was called DDG(dried distillers grain) which was a feed supplement used in producing chicken and cattle feed. Most of the plants that were built during this time shut down when the government handout was over. Go figure. I know I hated hauling that stuff because during the hot summer months it would set up in the hopper and was a bear to unload. In fact the very last load I hauled for that company was DDG. Thanks for showing us the plant and giving us a insight to your business.
Really interesting video and explaining the corn as batteries and crop as a solar farm is genius - love it ! 👍👍
Hearing about ethanol is so cool. Watching you give the tour and explain everything is awesome. You have beautiful eyes as well. Thank you for your explanation of ethanol and giving us all a tour.
Hi Laura and Grant! Love your videos! So cool with the ethanol plant tour. Keep up the great work! Just curious, what affect, if any, does it have on your channel, if I skip the commercials? If it has a negative effect, I will most certainly watch them all. Love you guys!!
No negative effect!
You might also know a "molecular sieve" as a reverse osmosis system. This is where you put liquid under pressure into a plastic sleeve. The sleeve is a giant spring, I guess is the best way to describe it. The pressure difference from inside the plastic sleeve to outside the plastic sleeve causes the sleeve to expand, opening uniformly sized holes on the molecular scale. So, by adjusting the pressure, you are adjusting which molecules are allowed to pass through the membrane. For your under sink RO systems, a single membrane is typically enough. The water that passes through the membrane comes out one pipe, and the remaining water with all the impurities passes down the middle, through a regulator, and is discharged as waste. For the ethanol plant, the water is the waste product, as well as anything left over from the fermentation process. So, this would need one step which allows anything the size or smaller than ethanol to pass through the membrane. Then, anything smaller than the ethanol gets filtered out on the second stage. So, this is where the water is removed to give you pure ethanol. This same process can be done at home with the off the shelf RO cartridges, You just have to adjust the input pressure and output regulators so the holes in the membrane open to the correct size. One really cool thing about an RO filter is that by dropping the output regulation and pressure in the middle, the membrane shrinks back to its natural state, which is an impenetrable tube. As such, anything that was filtered out and stuck will get forced back into the middle of the tube to be carried away. For your under the counter RO systems, you can here this under normal operating conditions as a click or a thud. The output regulator has a system built in it to periodically and automatically drop the pressure in the middle of the tube when a set amount of water has been discharged as waste.
TLDR: the molecular sieve is just an industrial sized version of the second to last stage of the 5 stage drinking water filter under your sink.
Hi again. Was watching the weather channel. Bad weather headed your way Wednesday and Thursday. High winds with
Rain and snow. Stay safe on them narrow roads .
Loved the tour! That's awesome, and I've always wanted to learn more about ethanol production!
I've been involved in agriculture changes for many years. The soybeans are so diverse in the byproducts that can be produced also!
I just LOVE your channel, Laura, and Grant!
So, VERY educational ❤
Thanks so much for helping everyone learn! "Well done, good and faithful servants!"👏👏💯💖🙏🙏🤠🇺🇲
Great job explaining the ethanol plant and the commercial use of corn.
Good job explaining the plant cycle in relation to carbon.
Nice video to watch and very interesting.
Yeah, I've had thoughts on ethanol ever since the days of "gasohol," back in the early '70s. And yes, I was around then. It was, if I remember, 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline - which was further made up of who knows how many additives, including lead, which was finally phased out in this country in 1996.
Ethanol produces less energy than gasoline. It gets poorer fuel mileage than gasoline, and one of the major drawbacks, besides not being good for the environment, is that it attracts moisture. Okay for transportation and heavy equipment; not so good for passenger cars, and even worse for small engines.
And, they plan on raising the amount of ethanol in the gasoline. Currently, most ethanol blend is E10, or 10% ethanol. You can find E85. In the future, that will probably be the standard blend.
Not to worry, though; states like California are banning small engine-powered equipment. Ever wonder why?
Somebody somewhere is making a lot of money, and while it looks to be job security for farmers, it's not good for people and for the environment.
I drove a truck on E-85 for many years. The truck is now 20 years old and still on the road every day. Still the original engine with no overhauls ever performed.
Yes ethanol attracts some water but gasoline produces waters when it explodes within the cylinder. The hydrogen in the gasoline combines with the oxygen from the air thereby producing steam water. That is why you can see steam from gasoline engines on cold mornings.
But should only run E85 in fuel injected engines.
Grant's part was outstanding in the video ,Thank-you
Thanks for this video. Most people don't know (or even care) about how important it is for us to recognize the effects of the carbon cycle is in our day-to-day lives. I have been subscribed since day one and I have to tell you, as a former dairy farmer in New England, your efforts to inform your subscribers of the importance of agricultural efforts throughout this great nation should never be diminished or marginalized.
Thank you for the tour! Grant's explanation of the corn to energy cycle was great!
That was awesome! Thanks guys! Look forward to the next one. Be safe.
Thanks for the tour of the ethanol plant. It has really expanded and changed over the years. Many years ago when it was first constructed, I was friends with the construction manager. When the plant first went online, they made small souvenir bottles with the first run or alcohol. I used to have one of those bottles, but it has gotten lost over the years.
We must make every effort to be energy independent that includes drilling for oil in our own country. Every effort should be made to reach this goal its a matter of national security.
I Really enjoyed learning how ethanol is made
Good Job...!!!
Cool tour. That plant is essentially just a distillery the same as one that makes moonshine or any other distilled liquor.
I realized after I clicked on your video that I did not pay attention to the title. Just proves that you and Grant always produce a good video so who cares what the title is!!
Thanks very much for the tour. Thanks to Chief for allowing it.
I'm curious about the waste byproduct that they ship out. What is it used for? Is it good for animal feed? Or is it just discarded?
Animal feed it's great for cattle 😊
It's good to know that the corn is providing both ethanol and animal feed. An efficient use of the crop.
@@davemccracken3457 It would be better if it was all used for feed, human and animal feed. We could export more grain and help the trade imbalance.
And too many engines are being ruined by ethanol fuel, leading to more expense for American families. I don't like being negative, but these facts are actually known.
I did like the plant tour. 🙂
Good job guys for explaining how the cycle of corn works from the ground to the tank.
Well....to be honest there are many cons with ethanol production. But I still admire what you farmers do and wish you the best.
Nice to see how it looks and works.
After the harvest, a longer tour would be nice.
Grant good that you explain the carbon cycle.
Cat has extra toes
he's a polydactyl kitty
It's from the ethanol fumes it's breathing
@@biglouie9547 no its not
As an ex boiler operator I appreciated the tour of the plant, thank-you
180 bushels of corn, a good producing acre, provides enough oxygen to provide 131 people with their oxygen needs for a year. Keep growing, We need to breathe. Thanks you two. I have about
now I know where that yellow folder that your dad bought a few videos ago comes from, it reminds me of Laura wow so that's cool
would like to see the stats on ethanol corn vs sweet corn profits for farmers, pretty sure the ethanol wins out considerably, along with the gov grants, crop insurance, etc,, the farmers that feed us, get left out of the fringe benefits, all that acreage for ethanol, just doesnt seem right
Sweet corn contracts are much more profitable per acre. But the contracts are quite limited. There's only so much canned sweet corn that the stores can sell.
Loved grants explanation. And as a cat lover thanks for showing him. He was adorable
On the other side you have the lowering of the water table from the corn belt. The upcoming issue is water. The Columbia River does not get the water it used to. Every city along the way takes a sip'. They will get to the point when they do not allow unregulated access to water. Ethanol uses way too much water to grow the corn. Ethanol absorbs water over time and will disable any thing that uses gas and has had it sitting for more than a year.
Blah, blah, blah blah
Most plain gasoline goes bad after sitting for a year!!! it's not just ethanol.
LOVED the tour and Grants Science lesson!!😂😂😂
Another excellent video. You should explore the benefits of growing the hemp plant (because there are so many) and possibly adding a certain percentage to your yearly farming.
If they raised hemp and made a video about it, they could make a very interesting thumbnail. 😆
Great video, good explanation of the process. I found Grant's explanation of the corn's life cycle fascinating, never had any idea it worked like that!
Grant - your explanation on the carbon cycle of ethanol completely changed my opinion on ethanol from bad to ok.
I would like to thank you for this very good comment. You both are doing a very good job, keep going, so it's always fun to watch you. Greetings from Germany.
Excellent vlog, Laura and Grant. You explained it well. Too bad our school’s don’t teach it as well as you did.
Wow! It's very fascinating on everything that corn crops can produce.
Thank you Grant for that explanation at the end! I'm 43 years old and I learned alot, thank you!!
I don't know if I missed it or not but the waist where does that go? Can it be used as compost or hog feed or something like that or does it go to a dump?
Animal food!
Animal feed, nothing goes to waste
I absolutely love, how Grant explained that. Perfect. Thanks you guys
Woohoo!
Interesting tour, and a good explanation of the distillation process. Unfortunately ethanol production is a net loss as far as energy output for use as a fuel additive.
It takes more energy to produce than what you get out of it. Ethanol blended fuels burn less efficiently, and therefore you get less fuel economy per gallon. It is also destructive/corrosive to small engines and older engines in cars that are more affordable to many people. The only way it became ubiquitous in the US was through government mandates in past farm bills. Apparently those mandates are gone, but we are still forced to buy E10 blended fuel at the pump. The only way to get non-ethanol fuel is to pay nearly a dollar more per gallon for pure gas premium, which is not always available.
My old truck used to get 25-27 MPG. Now I am lucky to see 22, and the exhaust stinks. The alcohol/gasoline blend separates in a couple of months so if my truck sits for awhile, it runs poorly. The ethanol also absorbs moisture so I end up with water globs in my fuel tanks.
Stop the silliness of required ethanol blends. Give the consumer a reasonable choice.
Always been welfare for farmers.
its great i just wish ethanol didnt ruin small engines so easy.
Nascar runs on ethanol bub
right and those cars dont get stored with fuel in them UNLIKE what im talking about. engines stored with ethanol fuel get ruined.@@TomRowan777
I am a farmer in Australia and I love Grant's explanation of the CO2 cycle. It would be good if all city people would listen to this.