CHECKOFF INVESTMENT
J.R. Roesner, who farms in parts of Dubois, Pike, Spencer and Warrick counties, works with his brother, B.J. Roesner, to replace a nozzle on a Case sprayer earlier this spring.
Southern Indiana corn farmer a strong advocate for ethanol BY REGAN HERR
J
.R. Roesner said his background is unconventional. Upon his Purdue University graduation in 2000, with a degree in mechanical engineering in hand, Roesner was on the way to accept his first job when his dad called and asked him to come back to the family farm. He has been a Hoosier farmer ever since. Roesner currently farms with his brother, William, on their sixth-generation farm near Holland, Ind., where they grow corn, soybeans and wheat in and around Dubois County. Approximately 50 percent of the corn produced on Roesner’s farm is food grade. The other 50 percent goes to ethanol production, which is something Roesner is passionate about. Ethanol is a renewable, domestically produced fuel. It can be used in low level blends like, E10 or E15, or it can be
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INDIANA CORN & SOYBEAN POST
used in higher blends like E85 for flex-fuel vehicles. Ethanol is typically less expensive at the pump, increases fuel efficiency and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ethanol production is big business, not just in the United States, but also in Indiana. Roughly 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is refined into ethanol and in 2019, ethanol production accounted for more than 68,600 direct jobs across the country. For the Hoosier State, in 2019, 47 percent of our corn crop was refined into ethanol making Indiana the fifth-largest, ethanol-producing state and boasts 14 ethanol bio-refining facilities.
Promoting ethanol Roesner was first elected to the Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC) in 2016. He took an immediate interest in
