The Environmental Protection Agency’s peer review of the renewable fuel standards lifecycle analysis released today is being characterized by corn and ethanol industry groups as biased, bizarre and puzzling. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says the EPA “stacked the deck against biofuels in its process to “peer review” the agency’s indirect land use change analysis (ILUC) conducted for the Renewable …
Don’t Miss the Corn Ethanol Land Use Conference
It’s not too late to get your early bird discount when you register by August 4th for the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Ethanol Land Use Conference. This two-day event will be held in St. Louis on August 25-26 and will discuss the land use and climate impacts of corn ethanol. Registrants can participate in a myriad of topical sessions …
USDA Reduces Forecast for Corn Ethanol Use
The U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered the forecast for corn expected to be used for ethanol this marketing year in the latest report out on Friday. Corn for ethanol use in 2008-2009 was lowered by 100 million bushels in USDA’s July World Agricultural Supply and Demand report, to 3.65 billion – which is still up more than 600 million bushels …
EPA Official Wrong on Ethanol and Biodiesel Yields
A YouTube video of EPA official Margo Oge testifying before a House panel in May reveals her providing radically incorrect information about the amount of corn and soybeans it takes to make biofuels. The blunder occurred when Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) asked Ms. Oge, who is responsible for regulating all emissions within the United States, about the indirect land use …
Plenty of Corn for Ethanol
Many are surprised by theUSDA’s planted acreage report out this morning that estimates the second largest corn crop since 1946 at 87.0 million acres, up 1 percent from last year. USDA grains analyst Jerry Norton says the number was much higher than the trade was expecting. “It’s a big number,” Norton says, especially considering the planting delays in Illinois and …
Corn Ethanol Land Use Conference Planned
The National Corn Growers Association is planning a conference in August to focus on land use and climate impacts of corn-based ethanol. The conference will feature sessions on topics such as land use change, nitrous oxide, new technologies and their effect on greenhouse gas emissions, domestic and international yields, satellite data and land conversion greenhouse gas emission factors, defining renewable …
Will Biofuels Cause Water Apartheid?
Biofuels has been compared with fossil fuels, blamed for worldwide starvation, linked to CO2 increases and decreases, and born the brunt of scrutiny for rainforest destruction (aka land use). However, until now, biofuels have yet to receive a real beating on water use. Well, that day may be on the horizon with the release of the new Rice University study, “The …
Iowa Corn Indy 250 Celebrates Homegrown Ethanol
Even though the Indy Car Series races this year are sponsored by the Brazilian ethanol industry, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 will still feature homegrown fuel. The race will be held June 21 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa and sponsored once again by Pioneer Hi-Bred and the Iowa Corn Growers Association. According to Craig Floss, CEO of the …
EPA Hears Concerns at RFS Hearing
Numerous biofuels representatives testified at a day-long hearing Tuesday in Washington DC on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rulemaking for the Renewable Fuels Standard. National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) testified that corn growers have serious concerns about assumptions in the proposed rule regarding indirect land use changes. Ethanol Committee Chairman Steve Ruh says EPA has failed to take into account …
Bright IDEA Could Help Ethanol and Hog Producers
A bright IDEA from Novus International could help both hog producers and the ethanol industry. IDEA stands for “Immobilized Digestive Enzyme Assay” which Dr. Brad Lawrence with Novus says helps measure the digestibility of lysine and other amino acids in dried distillers grains (DDGS), the livestock feed by-product of ethanol production. “Distillers is one of the few ingredients that we …