Exports of U.S. ethanol hit a nearly three-year high, while shipments of dried distillers grains (DDGS) slipped in November of 2014. In a piece from Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Senior Vice President Geoff Cooper, the biggest share of the 90.9 million gallons of ethanol, a 15 percent increase from just a month earlier, went to India and a couple of …
China Approves Imports of Biotech Corn
Syngenta announced today that it has received approval for the Agrisure Viptera® trait (event MIR162) from China’s regulatory authorities, formally granting import approval. The approval covers corn grain and processing byproducts, such as dried distillers grains (DDGs), for food and feed use. The Agrisure Viptera® trait is a key component of Syngenta’s insect control solutions, offering growers protection against the …
China May Reopen Market for U.S. DDGs
News out this week that Chinese officials committed to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack that the ban on imports of U.S. distillers grains (DDGs) containing the MIR 162 trait will be dropped is being met with optimism by the ethanol industry. “While we are still awaiting the official regulatory announcement from China regarding the approval of this policy, it is welcome news …
RFA Submits Comments on Animal Feed Rule
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday on the supplemental rulemaking proposal outlining best practices for the regulation of animal food under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The act outlines regulations for animal feed, which includes the ethanol co-product dried distillers grain. RFA submitted comments earlier this year following the initial …
Export Exchange Tours Build Relationships
Many of the international teams visiting the United States last week for the 2014 Export Exchange also participated in tours before and after the event to see ethanol plants and farms across the Midwest. Badger State Ethanol in Wisconsin had the honor of hosting a team of buyers from the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The KSA/Jordan team included …
RFA Promoting Distillers Feed at Export Exchange
The 2014 Export Exchange is continuing today in Seattle, Washington with representatives from more than 50 different countries in attendance to learn more about DDGS, the distillers feed product produced by U.S. ethanol plants. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is co-sponsor of the event with the U.S. Grains Council and RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen says it’s because we …
AMRC Looks at Ethanol Plant Profitability Projections
Don Hofstrand, retired agriculture extension economist with the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AMRC) located at Iowa State University, has recently published projections for ethanol plant profitability over the next several years. When the ethanol boom really took off, Hofstrand noted that most farmers purchased shares in ethanol plants as a way to hedge against low corn prices. So AMRC began …
Colombia has Potential as Distillers Grains Market
Exports of U.S.corn to Colombia have soared this year, thanks to bigger crops, lower prices, and a favorable free trade agreement. The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) also sees great potential for increasing exports of the ethanol co-product and livestock feed distillers grains (DDGS). “We currently see about 90,000 metric tons of distillers grains moving into Colombia,” says USGC Director of …
Export Opportunities for Ethanol and DDGs
U.S. exports of ethanol totaled 59.9 million gallons (mg) in June, up 13% from the seven-month low in May, according to a Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) analysis of government data, and the opportunities are expanding. That was the topic for the last session at the American Coalition for Ethanol conference this week in Minneapolis and one of the speakers was …
Students Present Research at Ethanol Conference
Several University of Minnesota students are giving the ethanol industry a preview of their cutting-edge research in biofuels, biochemicals and bioproducts during the 27th Annual Ethanol Conference in Minneapolis. One such student is Sahana Ramanna who is a PhD student who is working on improving the pre-treatment technologies used for biomass, specifically Aspen. Ramanna explained that one of the most …