Here’s what the hood of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 official pace car looks like. It’s proudly displaying the Pioneer logo as the presenting sponsor. Todd says the relationship with the Iowa Corn Growers in sponsoring the Iowa Corn Indy 250 has been very beneficial. As he puts it, “It’s a great event for the state of Iowa. It’s great …
Danica Patrick Says Ethanol Is Great
After practice runs for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 Indy Car driver Danica Patrick held a press conference. I asked her for a comment on having Iowa corn growers supporting this race again and what she thinks about racing with ethanol. She said, “I think that we’re in definitely in an age where everybody is doing what they can to …
Iowa Corn Growers Going Green With Indy
The Iowa Corn Growers are going green this weekend at the Iowa Corn Indy 250. In fact, there will be lots of green shirts out here at Iowa Speedway. Here are some of the leadership team that was on hand this morning to talk with the media. I spoke first with Iowa Corn Promotion Board Chair, Dick Gallagher. Dick is …
Pre-Promotion For Iowa Corn Indy 250
It’s time for the running of the fifth Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer Hi-Bred. One of our drivers will be Marco Andretti. Marco is seen here on a break from practice laps today out at Iowa Speedway. Yesterday he was signing autographs at the Urbandale Kum & Go. The Kum & Go chain has been a proponent of …
Genencor Releases Next Gen Cellulosic Enzyme
Genencor has announced its next generation cellulosic ethanol enzyme, Accellerase TRIO. The enzyme will help biofuel producers more cost-effectively produce cellulosic ethanol from a wide-range of renewable feedstocks including switchgrass, wheat straw, corn stover and municipal waste. In essence, this enzyme improves the effectiveness of converting biomass into sugars, one of the critical steps in the production process. Accellerase TRIO …
Biofuels Benchmarking Annual Report Released
Christianson & Associates, a CPA and consulting firm for the ethanol, biodiesel and renewable energy industry, today released its 2nd Annual Biofuels Benchmarking Report. The report found several key findings: profitably increased for the industry on average 8 cents; equity to asset ratio increased more than 10 percent; and working capital improvements enabled plants to decrease long-term debt by an …
USDA Announces Miscanthus Biomass Projects
Giant miscanthus will soon be grown for biomass energy in Missouri and three other states. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) today announced the establishment of two Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in Missouri that will produce the dedicated energy crop miscanthus to be used for heat, power, liquid biofuels, and bio-based products. “We are …
Ethanol Faces Double Attack in Senate
The ethanol industry is facing a double pronged attack in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) went to the floor last night with an amendment to eliminate the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) immediately, while at the same time Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is proposing to eliminate funding of ethanol infrastructure. “It is a two-pronged attack, it is …
Chicagoland Speedway President Talks Ethanol
The President of Chicagoland Speedway is Scott Paddock. He manages a beautiful racing facility. This is a bird’s eye view of the track before the NASCAR STP 300 race. I spoke with Scott who says they’re celebrating their tenth anniversary. We talked about the fact that we were about to see the inaugural STP 300 race as well as the …
7th Annual Biofuels Financial Conference Around the Corner
Despite high oil prices, the financial future of the ethanol industry could be a challenge due to high corn prices, fluctuating energy prices and uncertainty of the future of ethanol policies such as the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC). To learn more about managing plant risk and to foster the environment for the biofuels industry to better work together, …