STEAMBOAT ROCK - Iowa's burgeoning ethanol industry is fueling the growth of regional trucking firms.

And the best part, officials with both industries say, is it will only get better.

The state's ethanol industry has exploded in the past few years. Currently, 21 ethanol plants are producing 1.1 billion gallons of the corn-based fuel, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. By the end of the year, that amount will grow by at least 600 million gallons, if not double, due to the number of plants under construction or expanding.

Tractor-trailers feed corn to hungry ethanol plants and haul away fuel and distillers grains. Every day, hundreds of grain trucks and tankers bring thousands of bushels of corn to plants and leave with millions of gallons of what ag economists like to call value-added products.

Ethanol plants need truckers to keep them running at capacity, especially with ethanol prices at an all-time high due to demand. Haulers consider plants a steady source of income that wasn't there years ago.

Dwight Schuneman, a farmer and semitrailer owner near Steamboat Rock, often hauls corn to nearby Pine Lake Corn Processors and takes distillers grains out.

"It's a great supplemental income, since we don't raise livestock," Schuneman said of hiring out his big rig.

Before Pine Lake opened last year, many of his loads went to Cedar Rapids or destinations much farther away. Now the truck stays closer to home. Customers still have to pay the minimum charge, and he can haul more loads in a day while burning less diesel fuel, which isn't exactly cheap these days, Schuneman said.

Dwight farms with his son, Jason, who does most of the driving.

"It's a real good deal: short hauls that pay good," Dwight continued.

Corn is usually purchased from local farmers, so most is hauled by truck and wagons. Shipping ethanol by rail is the preferred method due to economies of scale, producers said, but trains aren't always available. Pine Lake doesn't have an active track on its property, but is working on it.

Until then truck is the only way to haul things in and out.

Close to 70 semitrailers and tankers bring in 40,000 to 50,000 bushels of corn each day to the plant and haul away 70,000 gallons of ethanol and 178 tons of distillers grains. About 80 percent of the distillers grains is hauled to regional livestock producers and feed mills, while the rest is taken to Ackley and re-loaded onto rail cars and shipped to large dairies and cattle feedlots.

"It's a constant stream of trucks," said Larry Meints, president of Pine Lake Corn Processors.

Solar Transport of West Des Moines exclusively hauls ethanol for Pine Lake. Tanker trucks capable of carrying 8,000 gallons take 75 percent of the daily output to the rail spur in Ackley and the rest to regional buyers. A rail tanker holds 3.5 times as much as a truck, officials said.

The fuel transportation company was founded in 1964 with one truck. Now it hauls 450 shipments per day. One of out every 10 is ethanol.

Jamie Laine, director of business development for Solar, said ethanol is a big part of its growth. It serves more than 20 plants on a daily basis.

"It was an opportunity to increase capacity in rural markets (where ethanol plants tend to be located) and provide job opportunities in those areas," Laine said.

For example, if the volume warrants, Solar will dedicate one or more trucks to a plant and hire drivers who live nearby, creating new jobs.

"It's been a great thing for the trucking industry," he said.

Supporters say ethanol is truly value-added since it refines a commodity it into a more expensive product, spurring economic growth.

Methyl tertiary butyl ether is being phased out as a fuel additive due to health concerns, and ethanol is tabbed as its replacement. By next month, the Energy Department estimates, an extra 130,000 barrels per day of ethanol will be needed.

"We've always talked about how ethanol is an engine for local economies," said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.

Contact Matthew Wilde at (319) 291-1579 or matt.wilde@wcfcourier.com.