Could corn grown by Christian County farmers someday fuel jet planes crisscrossing the United States and beyond?
It’s possible, and Kentucky’s new commissioner of agriculture wants that kind innovation to become an option soon.
“We’ve got to be on the forefront of this and be ready and prepared,” Commissioner Jonathan Shell told a Hopkinsville audience Tuesday morning at the annual Salute to Agriculture.
Exploring the use of ethanol to produce sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is part of Shell’s emphasis on “agriculture as economic development.” He said he’s looking a possible incentives that he’ll ask the General Assembly to consider.
Noting Hopkinsville’s asset of an ethanol plant that’s been operating here for several years to produce fuel for automobiles, Shell said Kentucky needs to look now for new markets — especially if electric vehicles begin to replace gas-powered cars.
The local ethanol plant, Commonwealth Agri-Energy, is farmer-owned and operates as a subsidiary of Hopkinsville Elevator. It produces ethanol from corn grown in Christian and surrounding counties.
“I don’t want to wait 10 years from now and look behind and say, ‘Man, I wish we had done it,’” Shell said of new innovations in aviation fuel.
The first commercial production facility that will convert ethanol into SAF opened early this year in Soperton, Georgia. LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines Fuel Facility will produce 9 million gallons of SAF and 1 million gallons of renewable diesel in its first year, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report.
Airlines and President Biden’s administration back ambitious plans to replace fossil fuels with ethanol-based SAF — and the president has predicted that in the next 20 years “farmers are going to provide 95 percent of all the sustainable airline fuel.” But the shift also raises concerns about the amount of groundwater that will be used to produce more corn in the U.S.
Ethanol as aviation fuel was one topic in Shell’s wide-ranging keynote address prior to local farming awards being presented in front of a packed house at the Silo Event Center.
Shell, a Republican and former state representative from Garrard County, was elected ag commissioner in November. He raises cattle and grows flowers, corn and pumpkins with his father. He joked that innovation hasn’t found its way into his 30-acre pumpkin patch, where his four children are among the pickers.
Touting his appreciation for Christian County as one of Kentucky’s best farming regions, Shell said he hired a local man, Crofton native Mark Bowling as his chief of staff.
Tuesday’s program also included the presentation of three award given annually in Christian County.
Brandon Hunt, a fourth generation grain farmer, was named Farmer of the Year. A 2007 graduate of Murray State University, he farms approximately 1,100 acres and employs several workers. The presenters noted that Hunt often hosts students and adult leadership groups on his farm to help educate local residents about farming.
Hunt’s wife, Crystal, and his children, Case and Ella, were present for his recognition. His father, Steve Hunt, and grandfather, Wayne Hunt, were also in the audience.
The Friend of Agriculture Award was presented to Ben Westerfield, grain manager at Hopkinsville Elevator.
Wheat Tech Agronomy received the Agri-Business of the Year Award.
Christian County is historically among the state’s top producers of cash crops and more recently ranks high for dairy cattle operations. The county ranked first in Kentucky for winter wheat, second for grain corn, and fourth for soybeans and milk cows, according to the National Agriculture Statistics Service’s Kentucky Annual Bulletin in 2021.
The Christian County Agri-Business Association and the Chamber of Commerce host the annual Salute to Agriculture.
The program included the presentation of seven $1,000 scholarships to local students. The scholarships are given in memory of the late Troy Goode, who taught agriculture at Hopkinsville High School and was an FFA advisor.
A live auction for a country ham basket raised $31,000 at the conclusion of the program. The winning bidders were H&R Agri-Power, Hutson Inc. and Farm Credit Services. The money raised will support local 4-H and FFA programming.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
