You already know ethanol is a renewable fuel source made from corn. That’s what makes it the green energy that’s ready to use today. You also know that up to 10% corn ethanol is already in the gas you’re using now. But, what many people don’t know is that corn ethanol is just one of the ways life in Tennessee is fueled by corn.

3,172 farms growing corn in Tennessee

161M bushels of corn grown annually

$636M value of corn production in the state

46% of Tennessee’s corn is used for ethanol

331M gallons of ethanol are used each year in Tennessee

Corn ethanol saves consumers $1.1B in gasoline annually

Using ethanol results in 1.1M metric tons of avoided CO2 emissions  

How ethanol supports the livestock industry

Ethanol & Livestock

In Tennessee, livestock feed is the number one use of corn, accounting for about half of the corn grown in the state. Since corn farmers raise more corn than livestock alone can use, ethanol production is a viable partner for the remaining corn.

Ethanol by-products also provide a high-quality, economical feed source to the livestock industry in the form of DDGS. 

The U.S. Grains Council states, “Corn distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is a unique feed ingredient that is not only an excellent, abundant, and economical source of energy, protein, and phosphorus in diets for all animals, but it also contains many “value-added” properties that provide additional animal health and environmental benefits.”

For more information about DDG’s and livestock production, check out the User Handbook from the U.S. Grains Council.