USDA received testimony Tuesday at a public consultation on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and biofuel feedstocks urging federal agencies to embrace book-and-claim supply chain management approaches to decouple CSA carbon credits. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said in his testimony that innovative supply chain management solutions are needed to fully realize the benefits of CSA practices in the …
U.S. House Moves Against EV Mandate
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday under a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution EPA’s controversial tailpipe emissions standards focused on mandating electric vehicles by 215 to 191, with eight Democrats joining 207 Republicans in support. The resolution was brought by Representative John James (R-MI). “I’ve always said, if you want an EV, get an EV. But allowing the Biden-Harris …
SAF Information Act Introduced in House
U.S. Representatives Mike Flood (R-NE) and Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA), last week introduced legislation that would require more reporting of data about Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Information Act would direct the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to include regular reporting of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on their weekly and monthly reports, consistent with other fuel …
USDA Forecasting Record Corn and Soybean Yields
The latest Crop Production report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is forecasting record corn and soybean yields this year, with higher total production for soybeans and slightly lower for corn. Corn production is expected to be down 1% from last year at 15.1 billion bushels while soybean production is forecast to be 10% higher than 2023 at a …
Fluid Quip Commissions Largest MSC™ Protein System
Fluid Quip Technologies (FQT) has completed the world’s largest MSC™ System to date at Tharaldson Ethanol in Casselton, North Dakota. This is the 12th system installed which is designed to expand the production of corn fermented protein, a high-quality protein ingredient in animal feed. “Our MSC™ Technology is critical to not only creating a high-quality protein ingredient for pet food, …
Verbio Starts Ethanol Production at Iowa Plant
Verbio officially began commercial production this week of corn-based ethanol at its biorefinery facility in Nevada, Iowa. The plant is a subsidiary of Germany-based Verbio SE and is the first industrial-scale biorefinery in North America to couple renewable natural gas and ethanol production. Verbio has installed a total capacity to produce 60 million gallons of corn-based ethanol per year and …
Corn Grower Testifies on Farm Financial Conditions
The president of the Minnesota Corn Growers told the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday that farmers in her state and across the country need the support of a reauthorized and strengthened farm bill. “Unless conditions change, I believe we’re heading into a perfect storm, a storm that I don’t think will be fully appreciated until early next year when farmers try …
Agency Seeks Tech to Lower Emissions for Ethanol
The Energy Department is looking for ways to cut the carbon intensity of ethanol production in half by lowering use of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer on crops, and they are putting up $36 million to develop the technologies to do that. DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced the funding in the effort to lower nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by …
RFA CEO: Lark Changes Tune on Land Use Change
Blog post by Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO In early 2022, University of Wisconsin researcher Tyler Lark published a study claiming that U.S. farmers had converted several million acres of pristine grassland and other “seminatural areas” to cropland in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard and growth in ethanol production. The study was accompanied by a well-funded, …
Corn Growers File CAFE Standards Challenge
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) joined the Texas Corn Producers Association (TCPA) and other groups in filing another lawsuit last week, this one challenging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard for model year 2027-2032 passenger cars and light-duty trucks. The CAFE rule mandates stringent new standards that appear designed to phase out liquid fuel-powered …