Nebraska Ethanol Hits Steady 2 Billion Gallons Amid Corn Boom

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska's ethanol industry posted steady record output of more than 2 billion gallons per year from 2021 to 2023, even as national economies fluctuated, according to a University of Nebraska-Lincoln study released by the Department of Agricultural Economics and Bureau of Business Research. Production hit 2.036 billion gallons in 2021, 2.018 billion in 2022 and 2.008 billion in 2023, rebounding from a COVID-19 dip to 1.847 billion in 2020. The state's 24 to 25 biorefineries, including the pioneer plant in Hastings opened in 1985, consumed 750 million bushels of corn annually -- up to half the state's crop -- while generating 6.4 million tons of distillers grains for livestock feed and 515 million pounds of corn oil.

Adding co-products boosted total industry value to $5.699 billion in 2021, a peak $6.932 billion in 2022 and $6.031 billion in 2023, matching 68% of Nebraska's corn output, 50% of cattle and 169% of soybeans. This cemented ethanol as the state's third-largest ag sector behind only corn and cattle, supporting 1,800 direct jobs at $80,000 average salaries and 7,162 indirect jobs with $1.255 billion in activity in 2022 alone. "Ethanol plants are general economic activity drivers," said Tim Meyer, UNL associate professor of practice. Rural communities from Grant County to the Platte Valley reaped stable, high-paying work and tax revenue.

High corn yields and federal renewable fuel incentives drove the surge, with Nebraska ranking second nationally behind Iowa and first west of the Missouri River. Full capacity stands at 2.3 billion gallons, backed by ample rail from the Corn Belt. In 2025, profits averaged $0.21 per gallon, topping the $0.13 historical norm since 2007, per Nebraska Farm Bureau data. The sector exported most ethanol, injecting cash into local farms and bolstering Nebraska's $6 billion annual economic punch.