Distillers Grains and Livestock are Important to Ethanol Energy and Greenhouse Gas Balance

Authors

Virgil R. Bremer, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Adam J. Liska, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Haishun Yang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Daniel T. Walters, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Galen E. Erickson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Terry J. Klopfenstein, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Richard K. Koelsch, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Kenneth G. Cassman, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2010

Comments

Published in 2009 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report (Lincoln, NE: December, 2008). Copyright © 2008 The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.

Abstract

A life cycle assessment of the impact of distillers grains plus solubles (DGS) on mitigation of energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions comparing corn ethanol to gasoline demonstrates the importanceof feeding wet DGS (WDGS) to feedlot cattle to optimize the environmental benefit of ethanol production relative to gasoline. Ethanol produced in Nebraska has a superior environmentalimpact compared to ethanol produced in Iowa or Texas.