As China announced a suspension of its ethanol mandate last week, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney said he remains bullish on expanding exports for the fuel, despite the trade challenges. “Ethanol is one of the most needed products around the world, but for some doggoned reasons, continues to be held out,” said McKinney, …
SD Farmer Provides Input for Clean Fuels Policy Paper
South Dakota farmer Ron Alverson believes in the future of corn ethanol as a low carbon fuel and that accurate carbon accounting is key to a successful and fair Clean Fuels Policy for the Midwest. Alverson, who is past president of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and the SD Corn Growers, was a chief contributor to an ACE white …
Ethanol Report on Badger State Billion Gallons
When Badger State Ethanol (BSE) began production in 2002 with a nameplate capacity of 40 million gallons per year, it would have taken them 25 years to hit a billion gallons – but they did it in 18, and with a current capacity of 85 million gallons a year they will celebrate the next billion in less than 12 years. …
Ethanol Report on 2019
No one in the ethanol industry will be sorry to see 2019 in the rear view mirror. To say it has been a rough year would be an understatement. Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper says it was one of the worst years – if not the worst – the industry has seen in its relatively short history. …
Ethanol Industry Disappointed with EPA Final Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule today that establishes required renewable volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for 2020 that is basically the same as the proposed rule that industry stakeholders say still falls short. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says the rule fails to deliver on President Trump’s commitment to restore …
Ethanol Industry Mourns Loss of Randy Ives
The ethanol industry lost a pioneer and a great friend this week as Randy Ives, 63, of Omaha, Nebraska has passed away after a courageous battle with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Ives was a U.S. Grains Council (USGC) delegate and a key figure in the development of distiller’s dried grain with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol market …
Corn Growers Seek Action on Ethanol and USMCA
Leaders of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and state corn organizations held a news conference Wednesday morning to urge the Trump Administration and members of Congress to finish the job on outstanding trade and ethanol issues important to corn farmers. The past year has presented a perfect storm of challenges for America’s corn farmers. While there have been positive …
Analyst Caps Ethanol Demand at 15 Billion Gallons
The most popular session at the annual ASTA CSS & Seed Expo is always the agricultural economy update by Dan Basse, AgResource Company, and this year was no exception as he opened the general session for the seventh year. Basse offered his insights on this year’s yields, impact of African Swine Fever in China, the ABU countries (Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine), …
RFA Urges EPA to “Just Follow the Law”
The comment period on EPA’s supplemental proposal for 2020 renewable volume obligations ended on Friday, and the Renewable Fuels Association’s message in comments submitted was simple when it comes to implementing blending obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard: Just follow the law RFA’s comments highlight the fact that the Clean Air Act requires EPA to “ensure” that the RFS volumes …
E85 Flex Fuel Wrangler is Off-Road Ready
The Renewable Fuels Association/Hauk Designs Flex Fuel E85 Jeep Wranger is complete and designer Kenny Hauk is pretty proud of the monster machine that can run on up to 85 percent ethanol. “What I’ve learned is that E85 has incredible performance potential,” said Hauk. “You can have incredible horsepower gains, an engine that runs much cooler than normal and has …