Extracting More from Each Bushel: Corn in Fuel & Feed Use

by Krista Swanson (National Corn Growers Association) ... The ethanol industry has made significant gains in efficiency to extract more products and value out of each bushel of corn. Considering roughly one-third of U.S. corn is used for ethanol, such efficiency improvements are particularly impactful.

The Renewable Fuels Association notes an average bushel of corn processed by a dry mill ethanol biorefinery produces 2.9 gallons of denatured fuel ethanol, 14.5 pounds of distillers grains animal feed at 10% moisture, 0.9 pounds of distillers corn oil, and 16 pounds of captured biogenic carbon dioxide.

An increase in ethanol production involves a corresponding increase in production of valuable ethanol co-products. One of those co-products is distillers dried grains with solubles, a nutrient-rich feed ingredient that is both an energy and protein supplement. They are rich in the protein, fat, minerals, yeast, and vitamins that livestock need, making them a very popular feed ingredient for cattle, swine, and poultry. Other co-products like corn gluten feed, corn gluten meal, and distillers corn oil may all be used in animal feed or other industrial applications.

USDA reported domestic production of 37.0 million tons (81.6 billion pounds) of distillers grains, 8.8 million tons (19.4 billion pounds) of corn gluten feed, and 2.4 million tons (5.3 billion pounds) of corn gluten meal for the 2023/4 marketing year. These values have been relatively flat over the past decade, coinciding with a relatively flat level of ethanol production in that time.

Together, these 106.3 billion pounds of co-product production represent 34.5% of the total pounds of feedstock (largely corn, plus sorghum) used for ethanol production. The output of these major co-products, relative to the feedstock input, has been virtually constant over the past decade.

The extraction of products and value doesn’t stop there. Using the RFA conversion, an estimated 2.2 million tons of distillers corn oil was produced. Additionally, RFA reports 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide were produced and could be used for dry ice production, bottling, food processing, and more.

Remarkable growth in corn yields has boosted corn productivity in the United States over the past century. While corn production has risen, the land used to grow corn has not. United States farmers planted an estimated 98.7 million acres of corn in 2025, the highest total acreage since 1935.

Despite the highest record in nine decades, it falls short of the more than 100 million acres of corn farmers planted a century ago. In the past decade from 2016 to 2025, U.S. corn production is over six times the amount produced from 1916 to 2025, on fewer average acres.

Looking ahead, productivity gains are expected to continue to support growing production without increasing land area. For example, with the 90 million harvested acres expected for 2025 and the USDA long-term trend yield pattern, the U.S. could produce 18 billion bushels of corn in 2035, a 1.2 billion bushel increase over 2025 production.

The potential approval of higher ethanol blends creates new opportunities to increase corn demand in biofuel production. Based on current motor gasoline usage, a 5% increase in the national average blend rate would use 2.4 billion more bushels of corn per year for domestic ethanol.

In a real-world scenario, the full-scale adoption of E15 would not be entirely all new demand for corn but would impact other domestic usage and export dynamics. In a recent joint study conducted by NCGA and RFA, The Economic Impact of Permanently Allowing Year-Round Sales of E15, the economists from both associations developed a set of balance sheet assumptions for full adoption of E15. For those assumptions, we estimated corn for other domestic uses would decline 130 million bushels and exports would decline 850 million bushels resulting in a net use increase of 1.4 billion bushels at full implementation.

Without any changes in acres from 2025, corn productivity gains alone could provide over 500 million additional bushels annually by 2030 and 1.4 billion more bushels annually by 2035. In other words, yield-driven productivity gains could meet additional corn demand as the ethanol and fuel retail industries expand to E15.

Increased production of distillers grains is beneficial for livestock producers. Research has shown feeding distillers grains in combination with corn provides improved feed conversions, lower finishing costs, and reduced reliance on supplemental protein sources compared to a diet without distillers grains.

The possibility of increasing corn use in ethanol has historically triggered feed price and availability concerns for the livestock sector. Instead of framing ethanol expansion as an added threat to “fuel vs feed” concerns, greater efficiency in producing co-products and ongoing improvements in corn yields together support a “fuel and feed” opportunity.

[i] McDermott, R. L., MacDonald, J. C., & Erickson, G. E. (2026). Summary of the value of distillers grains plus solubles for feedlot cattle. Nebraska Beef Cattle Report, 2026, 34–35.