At the 2007 Fuel Ethanol Workshop in St. Louis on Wednesday, the nation’s largest dry-mill ethanol producer announced the successful production of cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs. At a press conference, POET CEO Jeff Broin said, “Along with corn fiber, cobs will be the primary feedstock we will use to make cellulosic ethanol at our proudction facillity in Iowa. For …
More Than Just a FEW
Just a few ethanol industry pioneers were present at the first Fuel Ethanol Workshop in St. Louis some 23 years ago. This week, attendees at the 2007 FEW filled the floor of the America’s Center arena, numbering more than 5200, with over 700 exhibitors filling the expo hall. “How many in this audience were here at that very first one?” …
Ron Fagen Enjoying The Race
One of the founders of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and Team Ethanol is Ron Fagen, Fagen, Inc. Ron’s here (lower left) in the EPIC hospitality tent watching today’s race. I spoke to Ron when we were in one of our caution periods and things kind of quieted down. He really likes how the relationship with the Indy Racing …
RFA’s Dinneen on Stage in Iowa
Just prior to the Iowa Corn Indy 250, presented by Ethanol I ran into Bob Dinneen, the CEO/President of the Renewable Fuels Association. He was one of the industry dignitaries on the stage just before driver introductions. I interviewed Bob and he says this whole ethanol showcase event has been wonderfully done. Here’s my interview with Bob: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-dinneen.mp3] Iowa Corn …
Iowa Race Day Press Conference
Welcome to race day here at the Iowa Speedway as we near the start of the Iowa Corn Indy 250. To get things started we had a press conference titled, “Ethanol: Fueling Our Future” which was coordinated by the Iowa Corn Growers Association. On hand were Iowa’s state senators, Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin, seen here getting interviewed afterward. Also …
EPIC Executive Director Happy
I think the logo for the Iowa Indy Corn 250, presented by Ethanol is very nice. It really looks good on the lawn in between the track and the pits here at Iowa Speedway. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is very involved in the promotion of this race, working very closely with organizations like the Iowa Corn Growers Association …
Jeff Simmons in Practice
It’s practice time here at the Iowa Speedway for the IndyCars. Here’s Jeff Simmons leaving the pits for the first session which was delayed this morning due to some foggy weather problems. Jeff had a great first practice session with the second fastest lap. They’re just now finishing up the second session. Jeff is having a pretty good year so …
Iowa Corn Growers Proud of Their IRL Involvement
Tim Recker is an Iowa corn grower and the president-elect of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. He says that corn growers are very proud of their work to bring the inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 to reality. I interviewed Tim after he and other ICGA leaders unveiled the trophy for this weekend’s race. He says that the Iowa corn growers …
Casey’s Pumps Discount Gas
One of the ethanol pump promotions coordinated by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council this week was held at Casey’s General Store in Newton, IA just down the road from the Iowa Speedway. The manager of the store is Shawn Retman pictured here on the right. Shawn says she’s really proud of her company for taking part in the effort …
Lack of Funding for Biofuels Research Concerns Ag Secretary
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is disappointed with the 2007 Farm Bill he sees developing in the House Agriculture Committee for a number of reasons. One of them is lack of funding for cellulosic ethanol research. Johanns says the farm bill proposal put forth by the administration boosted cellulosic ethanol research funding by $1.6 billion and had over $2 billion in …