More corn stocks than expected showed up in the latest report out from USDA on Friday, which was a pleasant surprise for the ethanol industry. Despite the fact that corn stocks are reported to be 34% lower than a year ago, it was expected to be much worse, even just a few weeks prior to the Friday Grain Stocks report. …
USDA Studies Yeast and Enzymes for Ethanol Production
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are studying a new yeast that could help make cellulosic ethanol production less expensive and a commercial enzyme that could reduce overall costs linked with producing ethanol from grain. Molecular biologist Zonglin Lewis Liu with ARS’ National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria found a biorefinery yeast that successfully ferments plant sugars from …
Committee Urged to Consider Ethanol Feed Production
With the latest USDA forecast showing tighter grain supplies, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry is holding a hearing Wednesday on the concerns of livestock and poultry producers about feed availability and ethanol is likely to be a target for blame. In advance of the hearing, officials with Growth Energy have sent a letter to the committee …
POET To Sell Antibiotic-Free DDGS
POET had announced that they are now selling antibiotic-free dried distillers grains (DDGS) with solubles. Today, they sell more than 4 million tons of Dakota Gold DDGS to a variety of feed markets. On occasion, fermentation can be disrupted due to things such as a bacterial infections, and an antimicrobial agent can be used to control the contamination. Over the …
Elusieve Process Removes Fiber From Corn
A new way to remove fiber from corn has been discovered by a professor from Mississippi State University (MSU). He calls his process Elusieve and has filed for a patent. The process was invented by Dr. Radhakrishnan Srinivasan of the MSU Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering with some help from University of Illinois professor Dr. Vijay Singh who believe …
Record Corn Crop Forecast as Ethanol Exports Grow
Despite flooding of farm land and delayed planting in many areas, USDA is forecasting a record corn crop for this year. The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate for May represents USDA’s initial assessment of U.S. and world crop supply and demand prospects. The report projects corn production for 2011/12 “at a record 13.5 billion bushels, up 1.1 billion from …
RFA Report Highlights Ethanol Feed Production
The livestock feed generated as a by-product of ethanol production is enough to make 50 billion quarter-pound hamburgers each year, according to a new report from the Renewable Fuels Association. According to the report, America’s ethanol producers supplied nearly 35 million metric tons (mmt) of livestock feed in the 2009/2010 marketing year, which is greater than the total amount of …
Ethanol Production, Ethanol & DDG Exports Remain Steady
Ethanol production for April remains fairly steady with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting daily ethanol production falling slightly to 898,000 barrels per day (b/d) or 37.7 million gallons per day for the week ending April 8, 2011. The four-week average for ethanol production at the time of the report was 904,000 b/d, with the annualized rate equating to 13.85 …
POET Launches Corn Oil Product Called Voila
POET has announced it is now selling corn oil extracted from its ethanol plants for use by the biodiesel industry to produce biodiesel. Known as Voilà, the company’s patent-pending technology was debuted at its plant located in Hudson, South Dakota. POET plans to add the technology to its other plants over the course of the year. Eventually, POET believes its …
USDA to Measure Biodiesel, Ethanol Co-Product Usage
The USDA wants to know how livestock producers are using co-products from biodiesel and ethanol production. This story from Ethanol Producer Magazine says the National Agriculture Statistics Service will be taking comments until March 28, 2011 with plans to release the results by next January: NASS expects to contact 70,000 various livestock and poultry operations in early January to gain …