America’s corn belt bristles at US$8bil lifeline on industry woes

Losing ground: Farmers harvest a corn field near Salem, South Dakota. Although the United States is by far the world’s biggest grower of the staple grain, two of its key markets are at risk of shrinking. — AFP

CHICAGO: When executives in 2021 announced plans to build the largest carbon capture-and-storage (CCS) project in the world beneath the heart of the US grain belt, they thought the pitch was a compelling one.

The venture, which soon gained the backing of energy billionaire Harold Hamm, would catch, transport and trap emissions from ethanol plants in the upper Midwest, allowing the corn industry to compete in lucrative new markets like low-carbon jet fuel.