To meet expected capacity, Exol members will deliver up to 50 percent more corn to the plant this fall than they had expected.

Thursday, April 19, 2001

To meet expected capacity, Exol members will deliver up to 50 percent more corn to the plant this fall than they had expected.

Members have already purchased 3.127 million new shares in the coop to meet the proposed needs of the plant expansion, but board members estimate they will need over two million more bushels of corn to meet the plant’s projected operating capacity.

Nearly 300 Exol members voted Wednesday to modify their uniform marketing agreement to allow producers to increase their commitment to 1.5 bushels per share. Board members anticipate using about 1.3 bushels per share, or 18 million bushels, to run the plant at capacity.

The original plant was designed to process 13 million gallons of ethanol but actually produced 19.1 million last year, said board President Gary Pestorious. The expansion is designed to produce around 40 million gallons, but could produce as many as 50 million, requiring more corn, he said.

Production will gradually increase this fall as systems are completed, he said.

Members can deliver less than their total commitment without penalty, but will only be paid for the bushels they deliver to the plant, Pestorious said. Farmers who choose not to sign the amended agreement will be limited to a bushel per share.

Local farmers own more than 12 million shares in the Exol Agri-Resource ethanol cooperative, which began production in 1999.