Producer
POET LLC
POET LLC (Sioux Falls SD; private; Jeff Broin CEO and founder; ~$10B estimated revenue) is the world's largest corn ethanol producer — operating 34 ethanol biorefineries across the US Midwest producing ~2.7 billion gallons of ethanol/year. POET's ethanol production generates ~7 million tons/year of distillers grains (DDGS — dried distillers grains with solubles) as a coproduct. DDGS contain ~27% crude protein and ~8% fat — making them a valuable energy-protein ingredient for feedlot cattle diets, typically replacing 30-40% of corn in finishing rations while providing high bypass protein. POET's DDGS, sold under the ProGold brand, are purchased by feedlots in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota. The Renewable Fuel Standard's corn ethanol mandate created a massive DDGS supply stream that has reshaped feedlot nutrition — corn ethanol policy directly determines the availability and price of a major feedlot feed ingredient.
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Corn Ethanol Fuel
65%DDGS (Distillers Grains Feed)
25%Corn Oil & CO2
8%Project LIBERTY (Cellulosic Ethanol)
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Did you know2024
POET LLC processes corn simultaneously into four unrelated supply chains: (1) transportation fuel — ethanol blended into E10, E15, and E85 at gas stations, contributing ~10-15% of US gasoline by volume; (2) livestock nutrition — DDGS protein supplement fed to feedlot cattle, with POET's ProGold DDGS replacing 30-40% of corn in finishing rations for the same cattle that produce US beef; (3) biodiesel feedstock — distillers corn oil (DCO) extracted during ethanol processing is sold to biodiesel producers as a low-cost renewable feedstock; and (4) carbonated beverages — CO2 captured from POET's fermentation process is food-grade and sold to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo bottlers for carbonating beverages. The same corn kernel fermented at POET's Sioux Falls-area facilities contributes to the fuel in a Midwestern truck, the protein in the steer that becomes a steak, the diesel in some buses, and the CO2 in the Coke served at the restaurant. A private South Dakota biofuel company sits simultaneously in transportation energy, livestock nutrition, renewable diesel, and beverage carbonation.
POET LLC ↗Origin2023
POET LLC was founded in 1987 as Broin Enterprises in Scotland, South Dakota by Jeff Broin — a farmer's son who saw corn ethanol as a way to diversify South Dakota agriculture and reduce US oil import dependence. Jeff Broin built the first Broin ethanol plant in Scotland SD in 1987, during the early years of federal ethanol support programs. The rebranding from Broin to POET in 2007 coincided with the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which massively expanded the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) corn ethanol mandate. POET's growth from one SD plant to 34 Midwest biorefineries producing 2.7 billion gallons/year tracks almost perfectly with the RFS mandate expansion — federal ethanol policy created POET's scale. POET also led development of cellulosic ethanol (Project LIBERTY in Emmetsburg, Iowa) — corn stover (stalks and leaves) rather than corn kernels — as the next-generation biofuel technology, though cellulosic ethanol remains commercially challenging.
POET LLC ↗