Farmer and Nebraska Ethanol Board member Scott McPheeters joined a diverse panel of agricultural producers at the recent Bayer AgVocacy Forum in Orlando, prior to Commodity Classic. McPheeters shared the stage with California specialty crop producer Don Cameron, Terranova Ranch; South Carolina cotton and diversified crop farmer Jeff Wilson, Cotton Hills Farm; and Michelle Erickson-Jones, aka BigSkyFarmHer on Twitter, a …
New RFA Report Summarizes 2018 Ethanol Export Statistics
On the heels of new government data this week confirming record U.S. ethanol exports in 2018, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has released a 10-page report summarizing 2018 ethanol export and import data and highlighting key facts and trends related to global ethanol trade. RFA’s new report is the go-to source for all the key facts and figures regarding U.S. …
Diverse Coalition Submits Soil Health Comments
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) joined agricultural and environmental groups in submitting comments on soil health this week. The Soil Health Demonstration Trial will provide economic assistance to assist willing farmers participating in the project to assess baseline soil carbon conditions, adopt conservation practices to improve soil carbon sequestration, and measure the resulting soil carbon improvements. “We look forward …
Ethanol Report from Commodity Classic
Whether or not EPA can get to the finish line with a rule allowing year round sales of E15 before June 1 was a major topic of discussion last week, from hearings on Capitol Hill to the stage of the Commodity Classic in Orlando. First, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told the House Agriculture Committee that the rule would not be …
Luke Perry’s Ties to Farming and Biodiesel
Luke Perry is being eulogized for many reasons upon his sudden passing this week at the age of 52, but not so much about his rural background and his support of biodiesel. Back in 2006, Luke Perry showed up at the National Biodiesel Conference in San Diego sporting an FFA jacket with his name on it and talked about the …
USDA Secretary Clarifies E15 Comments
Two days before he appeared at the Commodity Classic last week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told the House Agriculture Committee that rules allowing the use of E15 year round “probably will not be out for the driving season,” but he says newly confirmed EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has “figured out” how to get it done by June 1. Perdue says …
Secretary Sonny Shines at Commodity Classic
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited the 2019 Commodity Classic Friday and addressed most of the major issues being discussed at the big annual meeting of corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum farmers. Perdue talked about the farm economy, farm bill implementation, ethanol, and a lot about trade. He also addressed many of the same issues during a press conference with the …
Ethanol Analyst: Long Term Market Outlook is Strong
Although record ethanol production and political trade wars have presented challenges for the U.S. ethanol industry in recent months, an ethanol analyst speaking to participants at the National Ethanol Conference said the long term future for the industry looks strong. “The good news – and this really transcends politics – is that all over the world, there is more and …
Bioleap, Inc. Supports Ethanol Industry
The 2019 National Ethanol Conference had a new golf tournament sponsor in Bioleap, Inc. CEO Wayne Mitchell said the full-service engineering company is currently focused on reducing the carbon footprint and energy use of ethanol plants, making them more efficient and helping them to be lower cost producers. Mitchell sees a strong future for the ethanol industry. “The ethanol industry …
Perdue Doubts E15 Rule will be Ready by Summer
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue appeared before the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday to update members on the current state of the farm economy and what USDA is doing about it. Among the many topics Secretary Perdue addressed was whether EPA would get a rule allowing the year-round use of E15 ethanol-blended fuel in time for the summer driving season. …