Ethanol Production Slumps as Stocks Swell

Jan 07, 2022

By John Perkins

Ethanol production moved modestly lower last week as stocks hit a more than twenty-week high.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production averaged 1.048 million barrels a day, down 11,000 on the week, but up 113,000 on the year.

Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development says margins did decline and ended the year well below the highs, but stayed above the cost of production.

The Renewable Fuels Association says the volume of gasoline supplied to the market was the lowest since February and net inputs by refiners and blenders hit a 45-week low, indicating slower consumer demand.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.