Economic Impacts of the Ethanol Industry in Nebraska

The U.S. Department of Energy data on Nebraska’s ethanol production started in 1985 at 9 million gallons per year. Ten years later in 1995 it was 200 million gallons as shown below. A little over ten years later starting in 2007, the big jump in production was 858 million gallons, and five years later by 2011 it was 2,062 million. The twenty year growth from 1995 to 2014 was approximately tenfold. Since 2007 the effects on Nebraska’s economy and rural areas have been both sustained and substantial. The purpose of this economic study is to estimate for a five year period the value of production and compare that value to major commodity production values in Nebraska. In addition, the study will measure productive capacity, employment, net returns, in-state utilization and out-of- state shipments. The economic impacts are composed of direct and indirect effects associated with output, employment, labor and indirect business taxes