Blocked by state air regulators from burning their stubble, the growers disc the hardy straw back into the ground. About 500,000 acres of rice are grown in the Sacramento Valley, producing about 1.5 million tons of of rice straw. Rice growers have hunted for ways to use rice straw since new air-quality rules took effect in 1993. House insulation, woven furniture and scaffolding were among the uses tried. None worked out.
Growers believe they've found the answer in ethanol.
We can get this stuff off the field and at least break even. Collins is among a group of growers who have formed a cooperative to feed the new plant. Ethanol is a familiar product in the Midwest, where factories convert corn starch into about 1.6 billion gallons annually. Illinois, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota are among states with ethanol factories, providing a market for the states' corn growers and a cleaner mix of fuel for states facing EPA air pollution-fighting mandates. A bushel of corn produces about 2.5 gallons of ethanol.