Badger State Ethanol in Monroe, Wisconsin had the honor of hosting the 2014 Foreign Agricultural Attaché Tour this week. The group is part of the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service and is made up of 26 representatives from more than a dozen countries including Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, France, Angola, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Philippines, New Zealand, Nigeria, Ghana, United …
Cellulosic Making Progress Despite Uncertainty
Advanced and cellulosic biofuels producers continue to press the administration for certainty in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to continue making investments for future expansion. “Today we’re at the start, like oil was 160 years ago, or corn ethanol was four years ago, said Steve Hartig with POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels during a teleconference organized by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) …
Administration Offers New Renewable Initiatives
As USDA announced the investment $68 million in 540 new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide today, the White House offered new administrative actions to advance solar deployment and promote energy efficiency. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made the USDA announcement while in North Carolina to highlight USDA’s investments in rural renewable energy projects being funded through USDA Rural …
Iowa RFA Ad Challenges Biden on RFS
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) took out a full page ad in today’s Des Moines Register to ask Vice President Joe Biden to set the record straight on reports that he may have intervened to reverse the Obama Administration’s previous support for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). With the headline “Say it ain’t so, Joe” the ad questions the …
DuPont Chooses Murex to Market Cellulosic Ethanol
DuPont Industrial Biosciences (DuPont) has selected Murex LLC to market the cellulosic ethanol produced from its 30-million-gallon-per-year plant in Nevada, Iowa. Upon completion, the facility will be the largest cellulosic ethanol plant in the world. “Murex is a leading marketer in today’s ethanol market. Its team understands domestic and international ethanol dynamics and can hit the ground running to drive …
Senate Committee Considers Energy Tax Reform
The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing today on Reforming America’s Outdated Energy Tax Code, led by chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR). “It’s past time to replace today’s crazy quilt of more than 40 energy tax incentives with a modern, technology-neutral approach,” said Wyden at the start of the hearing, adding that the disparity in how the tax code treats energy …
Big Corn Crop Getting Bigger
USDA has increased its estimate of the corn crop again this month, building on already forecast record highs. Corn production is forecast at 14.4 billion bushels, up 3 percent from both the August forecast and from 2013 and yields are expected to average 171.7 bushels per acre, almost 13 bushels an acre higher than last year. “It will be the …
Dueling RFS Ads Have Same Tune
President Obama needs to overrule this misguided proposal from the EPA before it is too late and these new technologies move overseas. The fate of America’s advanced biofuel industry, along with the President’s clean energy legacy, are resting on his decision. Fuels America USA Today print ad “Tell President Obama, stop playing politics – fix the RFS.” American Petroleum Institute …
Iowa E85 Sales Strong
Iowa motorists purchased over 2.9 million gallons of E85 in the second quarter of 2014, the second most sales in any second quarter on record, and a more than 200,000 gallon increase over the first quarter of 2014, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA). “Two strong quarters of E85 sales are now in the books, and Iowa is …
Ethanol Report on Corn and Food Prices
In this edition of the Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Senior Vice President Geoff Cooper talks about how corn prices have fallen but food prices continue to rise, and how that shows the “food versus fuel” argument is false. A new report from RFA compares corn prices to the price of dairy products, pork products, beef products, and poultry …