ASHTONâWhen it shut down its Ashton plant and furloughed workers there last spring, POET Biorefining was facing unprecedented uncertainty, but the future is bright after more than a year of doing business in the pandemic.
When the plant was put on idle, it employed 36 people, making it a âkey employerâ in the area according to Stephanie Neppl, director of the Osceola County Economic Development Commission. Since restarting production in August, the POET plant south of Ashton has hired back workers who had not found a position elsewhere.
âThe job openings countywide are substantial, and many businesses want to add more jobs and shifts,â Neppl said. âFinding people who are able and want to work and fill our positions is a big challenge â it was pre-COVID and our unemployment rate is back under 3 percent.â
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serkanozalp/ThinkstockPhotos Nebraska farmer Anne Meis will chair the board; new members hail from Culvers, McDonald s and Native American Agriculture Fund.
Mar 02, 2021
Three women have joined the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action board. New board members include Julie Fussner from Culver’s Franchising System, LLC, who was also appointed to USFRA’s Executive Committee; Janie Simms Hipp from the Native American Agriculture Fund; and Hope Bentley from McDonald’s.
U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action (USFRA), formerly the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, represents farmer- and rancher-led organizations as well as other leaders throughout the agriculture sector with a shared vision of co-creating sustainable food systems.
iStock: photosbyjim Higher corn prices are roiling the U.S. ethanol industry, but the full impact of the corn price spike might not be felt for weeks. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently estimated that about two dozen of the 200 ethanol plants in the U.S. are idled and another two dozen have reduced their production rates. Additionally, Scott Richman, chief economist for the RFA, noted, “The corn market started moving higher a month ago and has spiked over the past couple of days.” With the higher prices of corn and the worsening impact of the pandemic on fuel consumption, ethanol plant margins turned negative in early December, he said, and had recently started to return to break-even levels when the most recent corn price spike hit. “This latest move in the corn rally will likely have a negative impact on margins,” he stated.