Also noted in the report was that in the process of converting 423 million bushels of corn into ethanol, the industry also produced 3.6 million tons of dried distiller's grains (DDGs) and 198 million pounds of corn oil.

DDGs are a high-protein animal feed and the USDA estimates that one ton of DDGs could effectively replace 1.22 tons of animal feed comprising of corn and soybean meal.

Indeed, ABF Economics states that the 3.6 million tons of DDGs produced by Minnesota's ethanol industry last year was sufficient to meet the annual feed requirements of over 2.7 million beef and dairy cattle.

Alternatively, the report said, the volume of DDGs produced in Minnesota could meet the annual feed requirements of the entire inventory of cattle and calves in the state.

In addition to DDGs, the ethanol industry also produced 198 million pounds of corn oil which is used to produce biodiesel or as an animal feed ingredient or as an intermediary for industrial products.

In fact, ABF Economics said, if all the corn oil was used for biodiesel, a total of 26 million gallons of biodiesel would have been produced, which is more than 40 percent of annual volume produced by Minnesota's biodiesel plants.