USDA: Corn use for ethanol up in December

Source: By Erin Voegele, Ethanol Producer Magazine • Posted: Tuesday, February 6, 2018

The USDA has released the February edition of its Grain Crushings and Co-Products Production report, announcing corn use for fuel alcohol production reached 487 million bushels in December, up 2 percent from November and up 3 percent when compared to December 2016. Corn consumed in December for dry milling fuel production and wet milling fuel production was 90.2 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.

Total corn consumed for alcohol and other uses reached 538 million bushels in December, up 2 percent from November and 2 percent from December 2016.

Sorghum consumed for fuel ethanol fell to 2.295 million hundredweight (cwt) (128,520 tons) in December, down from 2.867 million cwt in November and 5.422 million cwt in December 2016.

At dry mills, condensed distillers solubles production fell to 124,098 tons, down from 133,892 tons in November and 138,747 tons in December 2016. Corn oil production reached 174,106 tons, down from 175,219 tons in November, but up from 143,942 tons in December 2016. Distillers dried grains production reached 442,427 tons, up from 430,224 tons in November, but down slightly from 442,824 tons in December 2016. Distillers dried grains with solubles production fell to 1.97 million tons, down from approximately 2 million tons in November and 2.1 million tons in December 2016. Distillers wet grains production increased to 1.43 million tons, up from 1.38 million tons in November and nearly consistent with the nearly 1.43 million tons produced in December 2016. Modified distillers wet grains production increased to 511,669 tons, up from 476,566 tons in November and 434,498 tons in December 2016.

At wet mills, corn germ meal production reached 71,732 tons, down from 95,999 tons in November, but up from 63,600 tons in December 2016. Corn gluten feed production reached 318,694 tons in December, up from 311,957 tons in November, but down from 349,226 tons in December 2016. Corn gluten meal production increased to 91,092 tons in December, up from 90,366 tons in November and 89,092 tons in November. Wet corn gluten feed production reached 309,765 tons, up from 303,209 tons in November, but down slightly from 317,759 tons in December 2016.

At wet and dry mills, carbon dioxide captured reached 205,326 tons, down from 207,728 tons in November, but up from 201,315 tons in December 2016.

The full report can be downloaded from the USDA website.

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