New Holland Agriculture announced a major new national “blue is back” advertising campaign at the 2012 Commodity Classic last week and stressed the blue tractor company’s support for homegrown fuel. New Holland North American VP Abe Hughes says they believe that more acreage will be planted this year than anytime in recent history and part of the reason is ethanol. …
RFS May Top Farm Bill in Importance to Corn Growers
Maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) may be more important to corn growers than a new farm bill. “If you took a poll of our members, and we may well do that at our Commodity Classic next week, I would say that they view the RFS as more important than the farm bill,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Vice …
Ethanol Conference Panel Includes Opposition
Scott Faber has never been known for his love of ethanol. In fact, Faber could be called the “architect of the food versus fuel campaign,” as he engineered much of the opposition to ethanol as lobbyist for the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Now he has joined the Environmental Working Group, an organization which also tends to position itself on the opposite …
Pioneer Studies Residue Removal for Cellulosic Ethanol
DuPont businesses Pioneer Hi-Bred and DuPont Industrial Biosciences are collaborating with Iowa State University in performing studies on residue to establish best practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, with an eye toward its use in cellulosic ethanol production in the near future. Agronomic benefits of residue removal include preventing stand establishment concerns in the following crop and avoiding nitrogen tie-up …
Corn Grower Ethanol Committee Explores Future
The Ethanol Committee of the National Corn Growers Association met in Kansas City this past week week to consider the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. “The market for ethanol has grown exponentially over the past decade, thus utilizing an abundance of corn to meet the already-present need for a renewable, domestic biofuel,” said Chad Willis, a Minnesota corn grower …
Indiana Ethanol Industry Eager to Expand
Leaders in the ethanol industry got together last week in Indianapolis to discuss the future of the industry in Indiana. Steve Pittman, Director of the Indiana Ethanol Producers Association and General Manager of POET-Portland, is especially excited about the future of the cellulosic ethanol industry. “We see corn ethanol still stay as the basis of what we do and then …
Synergies of Livestock and Ethanol
There is a lot made about tensions between the ethanol and livestock industries but the distillers grains co-product of ethanol production is providing significant benefits for animal producers even as ethanol has helped prop up corn prices. A great discussion at the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit featured corn and cattle organizations on the same panel talking about the …
Reaction to State of the Union
Reaction to President Obama’s call for an “all-of-the-above energy strategy” in Tuesday’s State of the Union address was met with applause by many renewable energy interests, who at the same time hope his words will be backed with actions. “We applaud the President’s announcement that he is going to push for homemade, U.S.-energy after 40 years of being addicted to …
American Ethanol Gears Up for 2012 NASCAR Season
American Ethanol is gearing up for the 2012 NASCAR season with a renewed commitment to the sport that spotlights racing on 15% ethanol fuel. During the NASCAR Preview fan event in Charlotte, N.C. this weekend, American Ethanol announced that it will continue relationships with Richard Childress Racing and RAB Racing for the 2012 season. This is the second year for …
USDA Announces Support for Advanced Biofuel Plant
An advanced biofuels project in Iowa is being offered support from the federal government for a plant to make fuel from waste material. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a conditional commitment for a $25 million guaranteed loan under the Biorefinery Assistance Program for Fiberight to build a biorefinery in Blairstown, Iowa. The loan will be used to construct …