Benson, April 4 - Twenty students from Ridgewater College toured Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) on March 31 to learn about renewable fuel production.

During the tour, the students learned about incoming grain grading, grain handling, fermentation, grain storage, dried distillers grain production and storage, ethanol storage and shipment.

“We’re always happy to host students from Ridgewater College. Our goal is for students to walk away with not only a better understanding of the production process and of our various co-products, but also a better appreciation for the many ways our industry benefits the environment, rural economies, prices at the pump and energy independence,” said Chad Friese, CEO at CVEC. 

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

The students that participated in the tour were from the college’s animal nutrition class. They were accompanied by Ridgewater College agriculture instructor, Kari Slinden.

“Animal nutrition students from Ridgewater College in Willmar learned about the ethanol producing process by touring CVEC in Benson. Many students feed DDGS to their livestock or use other ethanol by-products. We discuss DDGS in class, so students enjoyed being able to understand the process by seeing it first-hand,” she said.

The tour on March 31 was the fourth time Slinden has brought her class to learn about ethanol production at CVEC over the past five years. She previously brought her students to tour CVEC in April 2022, February 2020, March 2019 and April 2018.