Minneapolis, November 8 – Fourteen high school students from Sibley High School visited Heartland Corn Products in Winthrop yesterday to get a better understanding of clean renewable fuel production.

The students, from grades 10 to 12, toured the various processes of ethanol production at Heartland Corn Products which produces 113 million gallons of ethanol a year.

“This is the third time Sibley East High School has visited our facility over the past few years to see first-hand how Minnesota renewable energy is produced,” said Scott Blumhoefer, vice-president at Heartland Corn Products.

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

The tour was organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Biofuels), a non-profit trade organization that represents the ethanol industry in Minnesota.  Heartland Corn Products is a member of MN Biofuels.

Heartland Corn Products was founded in 1992 as a farmer-owned cooperative with approximately 900 owners and is one of the largest plants in Minnesota.

“These tours teach students how ethanol reduces harmful greenhouse gas emissions, lowers prices at the pump and drives the economy in rural America,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of MN Biofuels.

Stephanie Brandt, agriculture teacher with Sibley East High School, accompanied her class during yesterday’s tour. She had previously toured the plant with her students in the fall of 2017.

“Students now understand the technologies that go into ethanol production,” said Brandt.