‘May 14 is the plan, or near that day,” Big River Resources CEO Raymond Defenbaugh said of the first grind. “We’re looking forward to cranking her up.”

Meanwhile, Awtrey said much of the time leading up to the first grind will be spent testing equipment and setting up a water building at the site.

“June 1 will probably be when we first start having ethanol go out the door,” Defenbaugh said. “Everything is pretty much on schedule. Any last minute surprises won’t amount to too much of a delay, maybe a day or two.”