Highwater Ethanol Hosts Students From Sleepy Eye High School

Lamberton, April 24 - Fourteen students from Sleepy Eye High School's Crops 101 class visited Highwater Ethanol on April 23 to get a better understanding of the ethanol production process.

"We were happy to welcome students from Sleepy Eye High School at our facility. These educational tours provide us with the chance to demonstrate how we convert local corn crops into clean, renewable energy and valuable co-products - a process that not only supports the growth of our rural economy, but also helps reduce carbon emissions, lower fuel prices, and decrease our dependence on foreign energy sources," said Brian Kletscher, CEO of Highwater Ethanol.

During the tour, the students learned about the various stages of ethanol production such as incoming grain grading and handling, fermentation, grain storage, ethanol storage and shipment, as well as dried distillers grains with solubles production and shipment.

Paul Hendrickx, Agriculture teacher and FFA adviser at Sleepy Eye High School, accompanied his students, grades 9 - 12, for the tour.

"I hope the students now understand that corn has more than just the use of animal feed and that there are entire industries focused on utilizing it for other needs. Although we live in an agriculturally-based area, not many of the students in this class are familiar with how the industry works. Being able to take them out of the classroom to show them how this product is created and used gives them so much more knowledge that they would have been missing out on otherwise," he said.

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