Wheat being touted in western Canada for ethanol

While the United States and the eastern half of our friendly neighbors up north are using corn as the primary feedstock for ethanol and Brazil has been concentrating on sugar cane, the left-half of Canada is considering wheat. The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association hopes that the creation of fuel from wheat will help Canada's wheat farming community make a bit more profit, as corn-based ethanol has done (for good or for bad) for other farmers. Many farmers in Canada only plan to use low-protein wheat or damaged crops which are not suitable as food for the fuel feedstock. Still, the food-or-fuel debate looms large, as some farmers are choosing to plant specific crops tailored to the production of ethanol. Husky Energy Inc. already operates a few ethanol plants in Canada and has plans for more. There are a few issues with using wheat, but nothing that is insurmountable.

[Source: Biofuels Magazine Canada via Automotive.com]