At their annual meeting last week in Chicago, the GROWMARK system reported record sales of $8.5 billion for 2010-2011, with the 2nd highest net income ever at $182 million.. Chairman of the board Dan Kelley, an Illinois grain farmer, says it has been a very good year for GROWMARK and agriculture in general. “Agriculture has been one of the stellar …
6th Process Optimization Seminar Nears Sell Out
Back by popular demand, the 6th Process Optimization Seminar will take place on September 28-29, 2011 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To date, more than 120 ethanol plants have participated and 300 plus people have been trained. I was able to speak with Tom Slunecka, the VP of Marketing for Phibro Ethanol Performance Group this morning, one of the founders of the …
Biofuels USA Opens on I-70 in Missouri
The red, white and blue God Bless America Biofuels USA banner has been waving at motorists on I-70 in Missouri for several weeks now. On Friday, the new biodiesel station at exit 175 in New Florence held its official grand opening, offering a variety of home grown choices for diesel vehicle drivers. “We have ten pumps, three different flavors of …
Ethanol and Motorcycles Mix it Up
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) proved once again this year that ethanol and motorcycles do mix well together. This edition of “The Ethanol Report” features the 71st Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally held August 8-14 in Sturgis, SD. RFA Director of Market Development Robert White and his father Jere White, Executive Director of the Kansas Corn Growers, talk about the importance …
Navy, Energy and USDA Partner for Advanced Biofuels
The Obama Administration today announced a partnership between the private sector and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Navy to produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. President Obama made the announcement during a stop in Iowa, at the same time the three department secretaries held a telephone conference call with the press. …
Wrapping Things Up At Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
The 2011 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is over and that means a lot of bikers went home more aware of ethanol and hopefully better informed about how it performs in their bikes and what it does for our economy. To get a wrap up on how it went for the ethanol promotion sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association I spoke with …
Long Ride To Sturgis
Riding all the way to Sturgis, SD from Richmond, Virginia was Doug Brandmahl. He was one of the participants I spoke with during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Doug says he’s been to Sturgis before and it’s worth all the pain in his butt to get there. He says he hadn’t thought much about ethanol before since it’s blended in all …
Understanding Ethanol Production at Sturgis
As Sturgis winds down I thought I’d share a comment from one of the attendees. He was wearing a Dekalb cap so I figured he might just know something about corn and perhaps ethanol. Joe Randall is from Missouri and was in the crowd that gathered to get some t-shirts. He says his son is on the family farm and …
Bikers From Australia See Need For Alternative Fuel
Bikers come a long way to go to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Probably none came any further than these folks from Queensland, Australia. They got some nice t-shirts from the on-location ethanol team. I asked them what they thought of using renewable fuels like ethanol. The answer, “I guess we’re really going to have to do something about an alternative …
Kansas Corn Helping at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
The ethanol team got a helping hand this week at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally from Jere White, Executive Director, Kansas Corn Growers Association. Here he is handing out promotional t-shirts. I sat down with him to get his thoughts on this promotional opportunity. Jere says the audience is a little different than might have been considered in the past but …