Miscanthus has been much talked about in the past year as a strong contender as a feedstock for advanced ethanol. Yet scientists from the University of Illinois are cautioning that not enough is known about the feesdstock’s pros and cons to call it a viable option for ethanol. The potential of miscanthus and switchgrass has been studied extensively by researchers …
Ethanol Gets Iowa Football Fans Pumped Up
Did you know that 60 cents of each gallon of E85 purchased stays in the state of Iowa? I didn’t know that until I participated in the Iowa Corn Fed Game Day pump rally at Riverside, Iowa to get people “pumped up” for the upcoming Iowa State versus Iowa football game. Another way to look at this is for each …
Iowa Corn Fed Game Day Highlights Food and Fuel
Did you know that Iowa is leading the way in both corn production and ethanol production but corn is not only used for ethanol? It is also an ingredient in more than 4,000 products including toothpaste, pizza, tires, drywall, bubblegum and more. The Iowa Corn Growers realized that many people don’t know this so they have developed a consumer promotion …
Ethanol E-Xchange Blog Offers RFA Commentary
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently debuted a new blog on their website that offers commentary from RFA staffers on various topics. The E-Xchange Blog debuted earlier this summer and the staff have proven to be quite prolific in their posting. We are going to start featuring posts from the blog as a regular feature here on Domestic Fuel. Speculators …
The Relationship Between Biomass Harvesting and Soil
As the cellulosic industry gets closer to bringing cellulosic ethanol to market, there have been some concerns regarding how biomass harvesting will affect soil health and yields. These very issues were discussed by Dr. Stuart Birrell a professor at Iowa State University, whom with his team, have been studying soil sustainability as it relates to biomass harvesting. His latest research …
Largest Global Cellulosic Biomass Harvest Underway
The largest global cellulosic biomass harvest in history is underway and already the world is watching. Last week, Project Liberty kicked off their one-year biomass harvest pilot program as an effort to ensure all the correct logistics are in place in time for Project Liberty to go online in early 2012. During the event, I caught up with Scott Weishaar, …
Corn Growers Stress Ethanol Efficiency Gains
Recent studies show the significant efficiencies spurred by growth and development in the ethanol industry, according to the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). “As we see it, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” said NCGA First Vice President Bart Schott. “Ethanol has proven to be an advantageous green alternative to foreign and ecologically precarious sources of petroleum. These …
Iowa Flooding Will Not Significantly Affect Corn Harvest
Last week,USDA announced as part of their August numbers that they believe corn farmers will achieve a record crop again this year. The expectation for harvest is 13.37 billion bushels, a 2 percent increase from the final 2009 harvest numbers. However, the report, that reports a month behind, did not account for the widespread rain and flooding in the state …
USDA Predicts Record Corn Crop
In the latest forecast issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), corn farmers are on track for a record corn crop and yield per acre for this year. The numbers are estimated to surpass the records set in 2009. USDA expects farmers to harvest 13.37 billion bushels, 2 percent larger than in 2009. They are also projecting 165 bushels …
ACE Honors Corn Growers for Ethanol Promotion
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) honored corn growers for their efforts in promoting ethanol at the 23rd Annual Ethanol Conference and Trade Show in Kansas City this week. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and 11 corn grower states were recognized by ACE with the “Paul Dana Marketing Vision Award” for their support in making the BYOEthanol campaign possible. …