Wisconsin will use CARES Act funding to assist ethanol plants

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Wisconsin will use CARES Act funding to assist ethanol plants

Wisconsin’s Governor is directing federal coronavirus relief dollars to the state’s nine ethanol producers.  Tony Evers says 3.25 million dollars from the CARES Act will help offset some of the losses experienced by the industry earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Ag Secretary Designee Randy Romanski says, “COVID-19 caused some disruptions to the ethanol supply chain earlier this year, and our state’s ethanol industry suffered some significant losses because of that.”

Romanski says one of the things ethanol producers make is carbon dioxide or Co2, which is used to make dry ice. “The Pfizer (COVID) vaccine, in particular, is required to be stored at super cold temperatures that require a lot of dry ice. Dry ice is a key component for a lot of other things too including making sure that cultures for the cheese industry are kept at the appropriate temperature.”

Governor Evers did not indicate if the CARES funding would be divided into nine equal 361-thousand-dollar payments in his Wednesday announcement. 

Erik Huschitt from Badger State Ethanol is the President of the Wisconsin Biofuels Association.  He says they are proud of how ethanol plants have adjusted to keep running during COVID-19 and these grants will be extremely helpful.

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