How many football fields worth of corn did we use everyday last week to produce the surge in ethanol production? We're gonna need a bigger stadium...

Saw this and of course had to do some calculating.  You know how much hatin' I do on ethanol.

U.S. ethanol output surges to record high as gasoline costs rise (HT: Big Picture Agriculture)

U.S. ethanol production increased for the sixth week in a row to a record high, government data showed on Wednesday, as rising gasoline prices helped boost demand for the grain-based biofuel. 

Ethanol production surged 28,000 barrels per day, or about 3 percent, to an average of 972,000 bpd in the week ending June 13, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Production surpassed the previous record of 963,000 bpd reached in the last week of 2011.

A "barrel" as a measure is 42 gallons. If production increased by 28,000 barrels that is 1,176,00 gallons of ethanol.

One bushel of corn (about 56 pounds) makes approx 2.8 gallons of ethanol.  It we divide 2.8 into 1,176,000 we get 420,000 bushels of corn needed for the extra DAILY production.

In 2013 the average yield on an acre of land used for growing corn was 158 bushels.

If we divide 420,000 by 158 we get 2,658 additional acres needed every day to support that "surge" in demand. Not the SAME 2,658 acres but additional 2,658 acres.

A football field is 1.33 acres.  Divide 2,658 by 1.33.

Last week we used the equivalent of 1,998 football fields for the extra 28,000 barrels of ethanol--EVERY.DAY.