GROWMARK has two reasons to celebrate this year – the International Year of the Cooperative and GROWMARK’s 85th anniversary. “The cooperative obviously has evolved a lot over those 85 years,” says Dan Kelley, Illinois farmer and president of the GROWMARK Board of Directors. “Energy is still a main part of GROWMARK’s product distribution. Nearly half of our sales continue to …
DF Cast: What’s in the Farm Bill for Biofuels?
The U.S. Senate has passed its version of the Farm Bill… or as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack likes to call it by its more proper name, Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, because of its all-encompassing nature (he even “fines” people in his office $1 for every time they give the shortened, less encompassing name)… and it …
Peterson Skeptical of Cellulosic Ethanol
The ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee has doubts about whether cellulosic ethanol will ever be commercially viable. “I just don’t think that cellulosic will ever be commercialized,” Congressman Collin Peterson said during an interview with Domestic Fuel reporter Chuck Zimmerman after he talked to members of the American Seed Trade Association meeting in Washington Wednesday. “And it’s become …
Importance of Fuel Quality Management
Maintaining the quality of fuel stored commercially or on the farm has a lot to do with making sure the storage equipment is keeping the fuel clean and dry. That’s why GROWMARK’s energy division stresses good storage tank maintenance to farmers. “Engine manufacturers as far back as the 1930s said the number one thing to do with all fuel is …
Ethanol Industry Prepares for E15 Sales
With the approval by EPA of the first retailers to sell 15% ethanol blends, the industry is gearing up for imminent sales of the new blend level, possibly this week. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about how the final, final hurdle to E15 sales was overcome and what …
Iowa Leads the Way in Renewable Fuel Growth
According to a new study by Cardo ENTRIX, the “renewable fuels industry has grown spectacularly over the past decade and Iowa has been a major participant and beneficiary.” This is no surprise as Iowa leads the way in biodiesel and ethanol production. To learn about some of the key highlights of the study, I spoke with Brad Albin, VP of …
Iowa Gov. Brandstad Declares Iowa Ethanol Day
June 15, 2012 was a big day for the renewable fuels industry in Iowa. It was the 34th anniversary of the first gallon of commercial E10 being sold, the 10th Anniversary of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) and E15 is ready to go in Iowa following a federal EPA announcement that the final regulatory hurdles had been cleared. I …
The Future for Corn Stover in Biofuels
The future of using corn stover for advanced biofuels was one of the discussion topics at last week’s Corn Utilization Technology Conference in Indianapolis. Nathan Mosier with the Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering at Purdue University, told the conference that the corn refining industry has done a great job of using the corn kernel to create various value-added products. …
Producers Discuss Life After VEETC at the 2012 FEW
The general session panel was a highlight for many Monday morning at the 28th Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop. Tom Bryan, Vice President BBI International, served as the moderator for the group with panelists Mark Marquis, President and General Manager Marquis Energy Inc., Ray Defenbaugh, President and CEO Big River Resources, Randy Doyal, CEO Al-Corn Clean Fuels and Walt Wendland, …
Growth Energy Launches Flex Fuel Finder at 2012 FEW
Right after Growth Energy launched a new website featuring a Flex Fuel Finder application, I got to chat with Tom Buis, Growth Energy CEO, and Jeff Broin, Growth Energy Board Member and CEO of POET. They each expressed the positive impact RFS has had on the ethanol industry and the importance of keeping it implemented. Along that line they discussed …