John Deere Risk Protection has introduced the industry’s first-ever Ethanol Policy by providing coverage to corn producers who have delivery contracts for the purpose of ethanol production. The policy was officially introduced at the end of January and Deere has been talking with growers at events during the last month, including the Farm Machinery Show and last week’s Commodity Classic. …
Ag Secretary on RFS
Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer has only been on the job officially for about a month but he has been busy making the rounds of farm meetings. During his appearance at the 2008 Commodity Classic on Friday, Schafer expressed great optimism for agriculture – record prices, record farm income, record exports and the blending of energy and agriculture. During a …
Biofuels Focus at Classic
The 2008 Commodity Classic is getting underway here in Nashville at the Opryland. Farm Bill and biofuels are the main topics of discussion at this meeting of corn, soybean and wheat growers. Today is mainly commodity group delegate meetings and tours for those not involved in the business sessions. Activities really get rolling Thursday afternoon with the opening of the …
Classic Commodity Conference
The 2008 Commodity Classic kicks off this week in Nashville at the Opryland. Biofuels will be in the spotlight throughout the conference and the yet-to-be-completed Farm Bill will likely be a major topic of conversation as new agriculture secretary Ed Schafer will address the crowd on Friday during the general session. Saturday night’s entertainment at the Grand Ole Opry featuring …
Outlook Puts Biofuels in Focus
Biofuels had a seat on the plenary panel entitled, “Getting It Right: Responding to Market Forces” at USDA’s 2008 Outlook Forum last week. Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen noted that while ethanol is “not a silver bullet” for all of America’s energy, economic and environmental issues, but “biofuels are absolutely a part of addressing each of them to some …
POET Funds ISU Research
POET is helping to fund research at Iowa State University into starch for ethanol production in the hopes of finding starches to further improve the efficiency of POET’s patent-pending BPX™ process. BPX is a raw starch hydrolysis that converts starch to sugar and then ferments to ethanol without the use of heat. It is utilized in 20 of POET’s 22 …
LifeLine to Supply Indy Fuel
LifeLine Foods of St. Joseph, Missouri will join forces with the IndyCar® Series for the 2008 season as the official supplier of the 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol used in all IndyCar Series cars. LifeLine Foods is a unique company that uses corn to produce food and fuel. One portion of the kernel is processed and marketed to the food industry …
Promoting Biofuels in Indiana
Indiana corn and soybean growers are helping to promote biofuels awareness in their state in a number of ways. For one, the corn growers have partnered with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) on a billboard and radio campaign in major Indiana cities aimed at informing consumers that all automakers approve the use of 10 percent ethanol-enriched fuel. The …
Ethanol Boosts Bottom Line for Farmers
According to a Reuters poll done this week U.S. farmers overwhelmingly said they have benefited from the demand for corn to produce ethanol, with 71 percent of those surveyed saying the renewable fuel has helped boost their bottom line. The poll also showed that 90 percent of those farmers said they would not reduce their corn plantings this year because …
Biofuels Demand Driving Corn & Soybean Price Spikes
Corn and soybean prices have gone to record levels as producers struggle to keep up with food and biofuel demands. Bloomberg.com says a new U.S. government report prompted traders to push soybean prices to a record of about $13 a bushel while corn prices hit an 11-year high of $4.95 a bushel: The world soybean harvest will fall 6.5 percent …