The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is meeting this week in Omaha, Nebraska to celebrate the people, ingenuity and advancements of the ethanol industry. ACE Executive Vice President Brian Jennings talked about the success of the industry, despite the roadblocks that have come up over the past decade since passage of the first Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “In the face …
Winning Potential for Bioheat in Northeast
Minnesota State Representative Clark Johnson was one of many people participating in this week’s Biodiesel & Bioheat Forum held in Mankato, MN. He serves on the Agriculture Committee and is very interested in biodiesel. He likes the idea of using biodiesel for Bioheat because “there are lots of winners,” like farmers, producers and the environment. And he likes winning. He …
Perry Urges Return to “Constitutional Country”
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry’s main message on the soapbox yesterday at the Iowa State Fair was to get America back to a constitutional country. Citing the 10th amendment, he stressed that power and decision making needs to go back to the state and to the people, as intended by our founding fathers. Power needs to be taken away from …
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 …
Prez Candidates Tell ‘Bootstraps’ Stories
I’ve hit on a few common themes in recent posts after hearing more than a dozen soapbox speeches at the Iowa State Fair. Another one: how the presidential candidates’ parents succeeded with nothing to make life better for their children and the children pulling themselves up by their “bootstraps” to become successful. These stories were no different when Florida Senator …
Ethanol Industry Asks Walker to Clarify RFS Stance
America’s Renewable Future (ARF) is asking Governor Walker to clarify his position on the Renewable Fuel Standard after his remarks at the Iowa State Fair on the Des Moines Register Soapbox. Walker called for ethanol mandates to be phased out; yet acknowledge that the industry created around the RFS must stay in place. Click here to read about his speech. …
Republican Candidates: ‘We Can Fix America’
The battle cry of the presidential Republican candidates is to fix America through debt elimination, military strength and cooperation. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham took the stage during the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox and spoke to thousands of people at the Iowa State Fair. While the crowd is supposed to …
Santorum, Sanders Miss Energy Boat, Chafee Pro Hydro
There are a lot of candidates vying to be the next president of the United States floating around the Iowa State Fair, but for being in Iowa, many are missing the boat on two very important issues to the state – energy and agriculture. This weekend, presidential candidates Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator of Pennsylvania (Republican); Lincoln Chafee, former Governor …
Republicans Carson, Pataki on the Soapbox
Republican presidential hopefuls Dr. Ben Carson and former New York Governor George Pataki took the Des Moines Register Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair this weekend with a common message of reducing America’s debt. Dr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, focused much of his remarks on personal stories yet engaged the crowd with lessons learned. For example, he said, “The person …
Jeb Bush Kicks off Fair Speech on Energy
Republican Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida and presidential hopeful, kicked off his time on the Presidential Soapbox promoting his support of renewable energy and agriculture. Florida has a huge agriculture community and is home to one of the first advanced cellulosic facilities, Ineos Bio located in Vera Beach, that began production in May of 2013. The plant uses wood, …