Presenting his new “cornucopia biorefinery” model to produce food, fertilizer and fuel from corn, SynGest, Inc. CEO Jack Oswald led attendees in chants of “Till Baby Till” as he delivered the keynote address at the 2010 International Biomass Conference in Minneapolis last week. “Our integrated biorefinery model will put an end to the ‘food versus fuel’ debate,” Oswald said. “Now …
Ethanol Industry Pleased with Corn Outlook
There is plenty of corn in the latest reports out from USDA this week, which is good news for the ethanol industry. In the first official estimate of the 2010/11 crop, USDA is projecting corn production to beat last year by 260 million bushels and total 13.4 billion. “Based on the rapid pace of 2010 planting as reported in Crop …
Corn Utilization Conference to Feature Ethanol Issues
Indirect land use change and DDGs quality are just two of the ethanol-related topics that will be featured at the 2010 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference scheduled for June 7-9 in Atlanta. Geoff Cooper with the Renewable Fuels Association is chair of the “Maximizing DDG Quality” technical session. “We are coming off of a very late, wet harvest that presented …
President’s Ethanol Speech Lacks Substance
Ethanol producers and corn farmers who were hoping for President Obama to make a strong show of support for the ethanol industry when he appeared at a POET plant in Missouri on Wednesday were probably a little disappointed. Yes, he made the appearance and said that “renewable, homegrown fuels are a key part of our strategy for a clean energy …
Grilling with Ethanol
Grilling enthusiasts will find a new product that uses ethanol as an alternative to charcoal or propane on the shelves of many grocery and hardware stores this summer. The FlameDisk® actually utilizes proprietary solidified ethanol and is the first ethanol product to be used exclusively for outdoor grilling, according to manufacturer Sologear, the Wisconsin-based company that invented the product. They …
Colorado’s First Blender Pump Opening a Success
Dan Slinger, general manager of Stratton Equity Co-op, is excited to have the first blender pump in Burlington. Many of the co-op’s members grow corn. “We’re marketing about three million bushels of our members’ corn that’s going into ethanol production,” said Slinger. Steve Scott of the Colorado Corn Growers Association said ethanol has energized the corn business by raising prices …
Corn Growers Say Concerns Not About Ethanol
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is concerned about the company the meat industry is keeping in an “unholy” anti-ethanol alliance with some environmental groups that also have an anti-meat agenda. The alliance, which kicked off a major campaign last week opposing the proposed increase in the allowable level of ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent, includes the American Meat …
Book Review – Enough
As I write this review, I’m sitting on my deck looking out at dozens of acres of avocado, orange and lemon trees. Yesterday, I helped to plant a vegetable garden – the produce being grown for a local restaurant. The irony is that as I am surrounded by abundance here in America, I’m reading about those in other countries who …
DF Cast: Ethanol & Biodiesel Talk of Commodity Classic
Since it was the biggest gathering of the year for corn and soybean growers, it’s only natural that Commodity Classic was also a good place to talk about the state of the ethanol and biodiesel industries, especially when you consider the two grains are still the biggest feedstocks for the biofuels. In this edition, we listen in on the conversation …