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The United Soybean Board released a statement today encouraging farmers to use more soy-based biodiesel in their farm equipment.

In a press release, USB points out that biodiesel does a great job of lubricating engines, as well of offering an alternative to petroleum. And the board points out that soybean chyeckoff money has been helping fund biodiesel efforts for years:

“U.S. soybean farmers have enjoyed plenty of success in our industry over the years, and biodiesel has to be one of the most notable feathers in our cap,” says USB Chairman Eric Niemann, a soybean farmer from Nortonville, Kan. “Farmers have been true champions regarding promotion of biodiesel to fuel suppliers and diesel users across the countryside. We helped form the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) which continues to drive biodiesel research, promotion and help pump this fast-growing renewable fuel into the nation’s petroleum infrastructure.”

The National Biodiesel Board says 225 million gallons of biodiesel was used in 2006. Officials say about 50% of all American farmers use biodiesel in their equipment… and they want to see that number to move to ALL farmers.

The board released the information as we approach National Biodiesel Day, March 18th… the birthday of Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine.

The National Biodiesel Board released a fact sheet today that shows how biodiesel is part of the solution to global warming.

The NBB has received the support of some heavy hitters such as U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who says biofuels like biodiesel are part of the answer as Congress takes on climate change policy. U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach named biodiesel in his Congressional testimony and said, “And these technologies will help us to be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us confront the serious challenge of global climate change.”

Plus, some major environmental groups, such as Environmental Defense and the Union of Concerned Scientists, cite biodiesel as having the potential to contribute greatly against climate change.

But the board is using more than celebrity endorsements, giving some facts it has gathered:

* Since growing oilseeds like soybeans to produce the oil takes up carbon dioxide, biodiesel has a closed carbon cycle, dramatically reducing CO2.
* Biodiesel from oilseeds like soybeans provides a 78% life cycle decrease in CO2 emissions when compared to petroleum diesel fuel.
* Biodiesel produced from soybeans grown in the U.S. produces a 3.24 to 1 positive life cycle energy balance, beginning with bare ground and counting all inputs for growing, harvesting, processing and transportation, according to an analysis jointly conducted by the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture.