Farmer-owned ethanol plant provides jobs
The Mid-Missouri Energy ethanol plant sits along a highway in Saline County surrounded by productive crop fields. On a fall day, trucks come and go to the facility as farmers gradually harvest the fields on the horizon.
Chris Wilson, the plant’s general manager, says while ethanol is the “primary product,” the facility also produces dried distillers grains for livestock feed, corn oil and carbon dioxide.
“We’re always looking for ways to diversify,” he says.
Mid-Missouri Energy opened in 2005 with a 40 million gallon annual production capacity and has since expanded that to 60 million gallons. The plant is owned by area farmers who have invested in the facility.
“We’re owned by approximately 800 farmers in the local community,” Wilson says.
The facility’s board determines when to issue payments to the farmer-owners, and Wilson says it has been a good investment for them.
“We’ve been very successful,” he says. “It’s been a great investment for our members. The ethanol industry, No. 1 we’ve got a great product to market. There’s a lot of optimism still for the future of ethanol. It’s going to be very competitive.”
Of course, the ethanol industry has seen its ups and downs since Mid-Missouri Energy opened in 2005. Wilson has been the general manager since 2004, when the plant was still in its construction phase, and he has seen the wide range of industry conditions.
He remembers the “ethanol boom” from 2005 to 2007 when a lot of ethanol plants were built, and then came the 2008 economic downturn. Then 2012 brought a severe drought and plants shut down production for a while. But by 2014, it was a “record year” with good production and profits.
“We’re a commodity business, and it’s educated me in of the realities in the commodity world,” Wilson says. “We have years where there are excellent margins and there are years when it’s a really tough environment. A critical component of any ethanol plant is risk management.”
He says the plant has tried to focus on stability, to expand cautiously, and to have some reserves for when bad years arrive. After they paid off the debt from their initial plant construction costs, Wilson says they have made the decision not to take on additional debt.
Mid-Missouri Energy employs about 40 people, which Wilson says is good for the local community and economy. He says he appreciates getting to work with those employees to help support the ethanol industry and local farmers.
Naming his favorite thing about what he does, Wilson says, “Working with the employees, (and) just the challenge of navigating the ever-changing landscape in the energy world.”
He says energy security is a major topic in the world right now, and he appreciates getting to produce a local, renewable fuel, while financially benefitting local farmers both as people who own the grain facility and people who grow corn.
“I think ethanol’s got a great story to tell,” Wilson says. “It’s been an exciting time in our industry.”
