The second session here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference was on risk and uncertainty. Jim Larson, University of Tennessee, talked about farmers risk in growing switchgrass as a biomass feedstock for fuel production. He says that this is a commodity that will come into play looking forward. His research shows that it’s risky for farmers because it’s …
Having a Positive Impact on Rural Communities
One of our speakers here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference brought the discussion down to the farm level. John Miranowski, Iowa State University, spoke about the impact of biofuels on the rural economy and the farm structure. He says that their numbers indicate that increasing biofuels production will have a positive impact on rural communities and farm …
Need To Increase Agricultural Productivity
Like the first speaker on our program today here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference, our second speaker, David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley, says we need to increase agricultural productivity. His talk was on the distributional effects of biofeuls and he had two conclusions. The first one is that biofuels make some people better off and some …
Ethanol and Corn Price Link Not Long Term
The first speaker here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference is Michael Wetzstein, University of Georgia. His talk deals with two issues. One is on price volatility and the other is on food and fuel. Michael says that gas price volatility can be avoided with fuel diversification by blending renewable fuels with fossil fuels. That’s what his research …
Making a Transition To a Bio Economy
The Farm Foundation conference, “Transition To A Bio Economy, Risk, Infrastructure and Industry Evolution” is underway here in Berkeley, CA. Getting us started was Farm Foundation Vice President, Steve Halbrook. This conference, which is focusing on biofuels, is part of a series, of which this is part 3. The Transition to a Bioeconomy series is designed to assess the impacts …
Iowa Corn Growers Optimistic
At the Iowa Speedway yesterday, the Iowa Corn Growers Association held an outdoor press conference. They used it to help educate media about corn usage by placing banners on the side of a grain trailer showing the relative percentages of corn used for different purposes like livestock feed and ethanol. I did a short interview with Gary Edwards, ICGA board …
Ethanol and Dan Wheldon Win in Iowa
This year’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 is over and as usual, ethanol won. Actually, Dan Wheldon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing won the race. He’s seen here holding up the trophy which is a replica gas pump. The Team Ethanol car ran as high as 3rd place but according to driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay, they lost a gamble on fuel strategy. He …
Ethanol Starts The Iowa Indy
The Iowa Corn Indy 250 is underway here at Iowa Speedway and the weather is perfect. Team Ethanol started at position 17 but driver Ryan Hunter-Reay made a bold move and jumped to 7th almost immediately and has been holding there by mid race. I’ll post more at the end of the race which, depending on cautions, won’t be long. …
Ryan is the One
The qualifying session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 got rained out last night so unfortunately that means the drivers will start according to their points standing. That was a blow to Team Ethanol. The car was performing very well and would likely have had a much better starting position. Ryan Hunter-Reay, who spoke at the EPIC member reception last …
Ethanol Car Pits During Practice
The Ethanol Car wound up practice in the top 10 with a combined (2 sessions) lap speed of 183.114. Ryan Hunter-Reay, the driver got in 166 practice laps and is ready to go for tomorrow’s race. To get a sense of what it’s like in the pits, at least in practice, I shot some video during this morning’s session. Iowa …