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Farmer investment in a proposed ethanol plant could represent the first new generation cooperative in the state – meaning that producers could invest in the plant up front and by doing so have partial ownership of the ethanol plant and deliver corn to it.

According to Mike Pullins, Ohio Farm Bureau vice president for business services, Northwest Ethanol has proposed a 50 million-gallon per year ethanol facility in Defiance County. Qualified investors, as determined by the Security and Exchange Commission, have been learning about the investment opportunity through Heartland Agdeavor and Northwest Ethanol Development.

Pullins said Heartland’s goal is to raise $1 million from producers toward the $30 million in equity needed to build the plant. "This is the first time many farmers have considered investing off the farm," Pullins said. "But with this new project being ethanol, many farmers have a reasonable understanding and a positive feeling about ethanol, so that helped us in terms of participants, plus right now, ethanol is doing very well," he said.

According to Ohio State University, the overall economic impact of such a plant in Ohio would range from $100 to $130 million per year.

Heartland Agdeavor is an alliance of agricultural producers that identifies and develops opportunities for growers to earn added profits from the manufacturing and processing of their farm commodities.

OFBF strongly supports ethanol as an environmentally friendly, renewable farm-based alternative to imported energy sources. Farm Bureau also believes that farmers should seek opportunities to enhance their incomes through ownership of businesses which add value to farm commodities. Because of these two policies, OFBF believes this investment opportunity merits consideration by potential accredited farmer-investors.

For additional information about Heartland Agdeavor, visit www.heartlandagdeavor.com or contact Larry Thompson, Heartland Agdeavor executive director, at 614-246-8287.