This means that many Minnesota corn growers sell a percentage of their corn to a nearby farmer-owned corn processing plant. By selling their corn to a plant, the farmers have the opportunity to share in the profit of value-added products. It is estimated that this cooperative effort increases the price of each bushel of corn by up to 40 cents for investors. The plants also aid in the economic growth of their communities by creating new jobs. Right now, perhaps the best-known product of these plants is ethanol.
Ethanol is an alcohol fuel derived from corn.
When ethanol is blended with gasoline, it reduces the amount of pollution from tailpipe emissions. In fact, in order to reduce air pollution, the State of Minnesota now requires that almost all gasoline sold in the state contain an oxygenate, such as ethanol. To date, there are 13 corn-processing plants in Minnesota that produce ethanol. In 1997, Minnesota produced 178.7 million gallons of ethanol. The ethanol industry has also created about 5,000 jobs in Minnesota.