The saying used to be “knee-high by the Fourth of July.” Today, agricultural advances mean most corn crops are chest- or head-high by the Fourth of July. And, if you are lucky, you may even have been able to find some sweet corn at the local farmers’ market for your Independence Day barbeque.

As rows of corn are growing all across our great state right now, it is nothing short of awe-inspiring to consider the impact all of those kernels will make. Property taxes from the seed bed alone fund the local school, fire district, county fair board, natural resources district, and others. The inputs needed to raise the crop most often come from a local cooperative or ag supplier, who provides jobs for local families and needed products and services for the farmers. Once harvested, the crop may be utilized directly as feed for livestock, sold to a grain company to be resold or exported, or it may be made into ethanol.

While we consistently talk about the unarguable strength of agriculture in Nebraska, there is one product of Nebraska agriculture that pulls together crop production, manufacturing, livestock, and transportation. In 2021, approximately 31% of Nebraska’s corn crop was utilized in ethanol plants. Nebraska ranks as the nation’s second largest ethanol producer. The state’s 24 ethanol plants have a total production capacity of more than 2 billion gallons annually. Combined, these plants use more than 750 million bushels of corn per year and produce more than 6 million tons of distillers grains, a high protein livestock feed. The distillers grains are fed, either wet or dry, to beef cattle, dairy cattle, and even fish. Additionally, oil from the process may also be used as livestock feed or further processed and refined to be made into biodiesel.

A new opportunity coming soon to ethanol plants and some landowners across various parts of Nebraska is carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). The federal government is offering a significant tax incentive to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and the symbiosis of ethanol production and the geology beneath Nebraska and surrounding states may reap immense rewards, both economically and ecologically. Additionally, the ethanol produced from plants who participate in a CCS program will be even more competitive in markets with low carbon fuel standards such as California and Oregon.

One cannot deny that ethanol production is a catalyst of symbiosis within Nebraska’s economy. In addition to helping keep stronger prices for corn, ethanol production provides good jobs, contributes to both the food and fuel supply, and importantly, diminishes our reliance on foreign oil. Ethanol, made from Nebraska corn, has become a critical component of Nebraska agriculture.

The past two years, the Nebraska Legislature has supported the ethanol industry through legislation. LB595 made the ethanol industry equal to other manufacturers in the state for sales taxes assessed on inputs essential to the process. Additionally, LB650 created the opportunity to geologically sequester carbon in Nebraska. LB596 was amended into LB1261 and passed this year, creating a tax incentive for retailers to sell more higher blends of ethanol. As your Senator and a life-long farmer, I am eager to continue supporting Nebraska’s agricultural industries and look for more opportunities to keep Nebraska and its products competitive in the domestic and global marketplace.

Constituents can reach Senator Mike Jacobson at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. Our door is always open!