Grilling enthusiasts will find a new product that uses ethanol as an alternative to charcoal or propane on the shelves of many grocery and hardware stores this summer. The FlameDisk® actually utilizes proprietary solidified ethanol and is the first ethanol product to be used exclusively for outdoor grilling, according to manufacturer Sologear, the Wisconsin-based company that invented the product. They …
Colorado’s First Blender Pump Opening a Success
Dan Slinger, general manager of Stratton Equity Co-op, is excited to have the first blender pump in Burlington. Many of the co-op’s members grow corn. “We’re marketing about three million bushels of our members’ corn that’s going into ethanol production,” said Slinger. Steve Scott of the Colorado Corn Growers Association said ethanol has energized the corn business by raising prices …
Corn Growers Say Concerns Not About Ethanol
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is concerned about the company the meat industry is keeping in an “unholy” anti-ethanol alliance with some environmental groups that also have an anti-meat agenda. The alliance, which kicked off a major campaign last week opposing the proposed increase in the allowable level of ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent, includes the American Meat …
Book Review – Enough
As I write this review, I’m sitting on my deck looking out at dozens of acres of avocado, orange and lemon trees. Yesterday, I helped to plant a vegetable garden – the produce being grown for a local restaurant. The irony is that as I am surrounded by abundance here in America, I’m reading about those in other countries who …
DF Cast: Ethanol & Biodiesel Talk of Commodity Classic
Since it was the biggest gathering of the year for corn and soybean growers, it’s only natural that Commodity Classic was also a good place to talk about the state of the ethanol and biodiesel industries, especially when you consider the two grains are still the biggest feedstocks for the biofuels. In this edition, we listen in on the conversation …
Novozymes Achieves Cellulosic Enzyme Breakthrough
Each day, cellulosic gets closer to becoming commercially viable in the marketplace. Two weeks ago, a major hurdle was overcome with the announcement that Novozymes’ enzyme Cellic® CTec2, used for cellulosic ethanol production with feedstocks such as corn stover and corn cobs, is now 50 cents per gallon. I had the opportunity to learn more about this breakthrough when I …
NCERC – Corn Ethanol Still Has Room to Grow
“Some people believe that corn ethanol is an old technology. We believe just the opposite,” said John Caupert, the Director for the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) during an interview with me at Commodity Classic. “We feel the corn ethanol industry is still in its infancy and through technological advancements, there’s much more to learn and prove in corn ethanol …
Corn Grower President Stresses Ethanol Issues
Ethanol issues were in the spotlight when National Corn Growers Association president Darrin Ihnen of South Dakota took the stage at the Commodity Classic general session on Friday. Ihnen talked about the importance of using higher blends of ethanol in the fuel supply. “The EPA is studying the issue and everything they’ve indicated to this date looks very promising,” said …
Ethanol Issues Top Corn Grower Concerns
Ethanol related issues top the list of concerns for members of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) preparing for their annual policy meeting ti be held this week in Anaheim as part of the 2010 Commodity Classic. NCGA president Darrin Ihnen, a corn grower from South Dakota, says among those concerns are the use of indirect land use change in …
Growth Energy Responds to Cornell Paper
The debate rages on regarding ethanol’s greenhouse gas emission reductions (GHGs) as compared to conventional gasoline. Today, Growth Energy came out against two Cornell University professors’ recent paper that criticizes the Environmental Protection Agency’s calculations that grain ethanol boasts a lower GHG than gas. Harry de Gorter and David R. Just, professors of Applied Economics and Management, will have their …