The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) held its annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska this week and during the event, members elected new Officers of the Board of Directors. The new Chairman of the RFA Board of Directors is Neill McKinstray, President of the Ethanol Division, The Andersons, Inc. as Chairman of the RFA Board of Directors. McKinstray previously served as the Vice …
Gevo To Refine Biobutanol Plant
In May of 2012, Gevo, Inc. announced the start-up of its bio-isobutanol plant in Luverne, Minnesota. Since then, the company says it has both produced and shipped commercial quality product in railcars for customers. One thing the company has learned is what works well and what needs to be tweaked. So the company has switched the plant to ethanol production …
Butamax Patent Portfolio Expands
Butamax Advanced Biofuels has been granted another patent 8,273,558 (‘558 patent). The company is focused on developing commercial technology for the production of biobutanol, with a focus on the fuel market. One aspect the company has been working on is capitalizing on sugar conversion via the enzymes paired with yeast. Yeast only expresses certain enzymes in small compartments of a cell …
States Battle Over ‘Food Before Fuel’
According to an analysis by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), “food before fuel” is a fight between states. After reviewing eight waiver requests from governors submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a common argument was farmers in other states have to provide their states’ livestock industries corn. The waivers request a halt, or lowering, of the amount of …
Iowa E15 Sales Strong
E15 sales in Iowa are proving to be strong right out of the pump. This may be a poor metaphor, but the good news is that Linn Co-op Oil Company, the first retailer to officially sell E15 in Iowa, has seen sales soar to more than 30 percent of the day’s sales after an open house event on Friday, September …
Presidential Candidates Support RFS
Both President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney say they support maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard in answers to an American Farm Bureau Federation questionnaire on agricultural issues. “Our rural communities, farmers, and ranchers can increase our energy independence and boost the transition to a clean energy economy,” Obama responded to a question about energy security and agriculture. “U.S. …
Vilsack Frustrated by No Farm Bill
Congress left town last week without even considering a new farm bill in the House, leaving the current bill to expire at the end of this month. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said they would deal with a farm bill after the election because he did not believe there were 218 votes to pass either an extension or new legislation. …
Global Corn Crop to Break Records
According to a recent World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, global farmers will harvest the second largest corn crop on record in 2012. In response to the news, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) criticized Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Senior Counsellor, Carmel Cahill for making unsubstantiated comments blaming biofuel mandates for increasing the cost of …
New Grain Council Launched
A new Grain Council has been launched by AgGateway, a non-profit association comprised of agribusiness organizations with the goal expanding electronic business within the ag industry. The Grain Council will identify, develop and implement standards and guidelines to bring eBusiness efficiencies to grain, oilseed and renewable-fuel companies. “This marks an important expansion in the agriculture industry’s eBusiness efforts,” said AgGateway …
Kansas E15 Stations Increases to 7
There are now seven retail stations in Kansas that offer E15 (15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline). Several of the new stations are located in Olathe, Kansas, the first in a major metropolitan area. More stations are expected to open in the state within the next few weeks. The new E15 stations are: 397 S. Parker St. (Intersection of …