Despite a drought that is lowering the corn crop and causing ethanol plant shutdowns, American Coalition for Ethanol Executive Vice President Brian Jennings thinks the organization’s 25th annual conference last week was the most positive ever. “We’re really encouraged and enthused about how the conference went,” said Jennings. “We know things are tough out there but we ended this conference …
Corn Growers Remain Optimistic
Corn growers remain optimistic about the future, despite this year’s drought-devastated crop. “It could all change tomorrow,” was the theme of National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) CEO Rick Tolman’s talk at the American Coalition for Ethanol conference in Omaha on Friday, just hours after the USDA released a new crop forecast showing a 13% drop in corn production this year …
ACE Gives Sen. Nelson Highest Honor
During its 25th annual conference in Omaha Friday, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) presented U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) with the Merle Anderson Award for his leadership in supporting the renewable fuels industry while serving as Governor and Senator of Nebraska. Nelson established the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition in 1991, helped create the first energy title in a farm bill, …
RFA Puts USDA Crop Report in Context
Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper put together an analysis of today’s USDA crop supply report on the RFA E-xchange Blog to put the report into perspective from both a historical context as well as a global production context, answering calls from some international voices to end global biofuel production. “As expected, this morning’s supply-demand …
Ag Secy Vilsack Stresses Support of RFS
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack demonstrated his strong commitment to the ethanol industry and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by spending over an hour at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference on Friday morning. “This is an industry that is worth supporting,” he told the crowd of about 250 ethanol industry leaders. “Which is why the president is supporting the …
Ethanol Producers: Report Doesn’t Justify RFS Waiver
Today’s USDA crop report shows the nation’s corn crop will be down 13 percent from last year’s numbers. But the country’s ethanol producers say that should not justify any waiving of the Renewable Fuels Standard. Both the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy put out statements this morning right after the report came out, and the RFA says we already …
Herseth-Sandlin Honored with ACE President’s Award
One of several awards given at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference in Omaha on Thursday night was presented by the organization’s president to his daughter. Lars Herseth had the honor of presenting the award to Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, former Congresswoman from the state of South Dakota. She was honored for her dedication to the ethanol industry, both as a …
Part of the Proud History of ACE
Back in 1987, a man by the name of Merle Anderson saw the need for a grassroots organization to support a new use for corn that would help farmers as well as the entire country. His vision became the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and 25 years later, Merle is Chairman Emeritus of the organization he helped to found. “When …
ACE Marks 25 Years of Grassroots Ethanol History
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) president Lars Herseth of South Dakota was pleased to welcome more than 250 ethanol industry representatives to the 25th annual meeting of the grassroots organization, with the theme of “Proud History, Bright Future.” “We know that we have a challenging, though a bright future in front of us,” said Herseth, a livestock producer who strongly …
Kansas Ethanol Producer Blames Drought for Shutdown
A Kansas ethanol producer is blaming the drought for a shutdown coming this fall. Officials with East Kansas Agri-Energy, LLC in Garnett, KS announced they will temporarily suspend production operations beginning October 1st, 2012: The company cited the prolonged drought conditions as having a negative impact on availability of corn and rising feedstock prices as the main reasons for the …