Benson, Oct 10 - Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) hosted 11 students from Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School today for a brief tour of the plant’s operations.

During their visit, the students toured various stages of the ethanol production process such as incoming grain grading, grain handling, fermentation, grain storage, dried distillers grain production and storage and shipment.

“We appreciate the students from Belgrade-Brooten-Elrose taking time to come learn about ethanol production at CVEC. We take pride in our production process, various co-products and many ways in which our industry strengthens rural economies.”

“In addition to highlighting career paths, it’s also important for us to share with students the vital role our industry plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, prices at the pump and our reliance on foreign oil,” said Chad Friese, CEO of CVEC. 

The students that visited CVEC were from the school’s small gas engines class. All the students were from grades 10 to 12. 

The tour was organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Bio-Fuels). CVEC is a member of MN Bio-Fuels. 

“My hope is that our rural ag students gained an appreciation for the many uses of corn they raise on their home farms and learned more about the many percentages of ethanol available at local gas stations around the state,” said Gary Rodgers, agriculture teacher at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School.