News

Corn for ethanol use down in April

Corn for ethanol use dropped dramatically in April as the spread of COVID-19 restricted travel and limited demand.

The USDA says 244.983 million bushels of corn were consumed for fuel alcohol production, a drop of 40% from March and 44% from April 2019, also impacting the production of distillers dried grains with solubles, a key component of some feed rations. DDGS production was 1,013,914 tons, a decrease of 38% from the previous month and 45% below a year ago.

Corn for beverage alcohol consumption was up on the month and the year, but total corn use declined because of the plummet in ethanol demand.

The USDA’s next corn for ethanol use estimate is out June 11th.