Pacific Ethanol, Inc. has announced the purchase and installment plans for a new 5 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power system at its Madera, California biorefinery that produces ethanol, wet distiller grains and corn oil. The solar plant will be located adjacent to the Pacific Ethanol industrial facility, which currently sits on 137 acres in Madera County, California. The 5 …
GROWMARK Excited for What’s “Next”
The 2016 GROWMARK Annual Meeting and Agribusiness Symposium was held this week in Chicago, Illinois. This year’s event theme was “Next,” with a focus centered on the innovations and ideas that will lead the future of agriculture and ensure its success. Jim Spradlin, CEO of GROWMARK, sat down for an interview during the Annual Meeting. He discussed the company’s vision …
GROWMARK Talks Ethanol Tax Credits
The upcoming Presidential election, and the potential changes to funding and regulation that the changing administration may bring, is a concern for many within the agriculture industry, and it was a major talking point during the 2016 GROWMARK Annual Meeting & Agribusiness Symposium. Chuck Spencer, Executive Director for Government Affairs at GROWMARK, is using the upcoming elections as an opportunity …
Cattle Producer Talks DDGs at #ACE2016
The growth of the ethanol industry and the use of dried distillers grains (DDGs), a co-product of ethanol production, as livestock feed have both harnessed significant controversy and skepticism from livestock producers through the years, and the use of distillers grains as livestock feed was a major topic of discussion at this year’s American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Conference, held …
$3.50 May Be New ‘Corn Norm’
The impact of corn prices varies between producers in different divisions of agriculture, with some producers benefiting from higher prices, and some benefiting from lower prices. Many factors seem to demonstrate that the new long-term “normal” for corn prices may be $3.50 per bushel, and Cody Heller, CEO of Central Wisconsin Ag Services (CWAS), has offered his insight into the …
NFU Adds Voice to Displeasure Over RFS Report
The National Farmers Union (NFU) is the latest to voice its displeasure over a new report critical of the Renewable Fuel Standard. This news release from the group says the recommendations made in the “10-Year Review of the Renewable Fuels Standard: Impacts to the Environment, The Economy, and Advanced Biofuels Development,” by the University of Tennessee that calls for dismantling …
Biodiesel & Bioheat Forum
The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council is conducting a first ever event today in Mankato, MN. The event, “Biodiesel 2015 & Beyond: A Biodiesel/Bioheat Forum,” brings together biodiesel industry market developers, researchers and a number of representatives of east coast oil heat and fuel companies. The open forum is providing an educational look at what’s going on in the …
MN Soy Helps Bring Bioheat Awareness to Midwest
Bill Zurn is a farmer from Minnesota who grows soybeans, corns and sugar beets. Last fall he had a chance to go out to the bioheat tour in New York City where they explained why they use Bioheat, a biodiesel blended oil commonly used for heating homes and buildings in the northeast. He said the port authority is also a …
Time to Learn More about Biodiesel & Bioheat
Next week I’ll be attending the Biodiesel and Bioheat Forum, sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. Want to join me? Get registered now. Home heating oil and biodiesel leaders will discuss a biodiesel blend with significant environmental and economic benefits and the role Minnesota soybean farmers can play in meeting the demand of this market. “The Midwest …
MN Soy Growers to Hold Biodiesel & Bioheat Forum
It’s a hot August, but the folks in Minnesota are well aware the winter chill is not that far away. That’s why the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) is holding a Biodiesel and Bioheat forum Aug. 19 in Mankato to talk about how the green fuel can help keep you warm when the winter winds return (and make …