U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer will be the keynote speaker at the Oct. 15-16 conference, Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts. Secretary Schafer will address public policy challenges for the bioeconomy. Also featured on the program will be Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr. The conference is is a collaboration of Farm Foundation, and USDA’s …
Enterprise Taps Sayre to Head Biofuel Efforts
St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car has named Dr. Richard Sayre, a leading biofuels researcher, to head its Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis. This press release says the company created the Institute in 2007 with a $25 million gift from the company’s founding family, the Taylors… who own Enterprise, National Car Rental and …
Agribusinesses Join Forces for Cellulosic Ethanol
Three global agribusiness giants have teamed up to explore technologies and processes to turn crop residues into feed and bioenergy products. Archer Daniels Midland Company, Deere & Company and Monsanto Company will work together to identify environmentally and economically sustainable methods for the harvest, storage and transport of corn stover that can be used as feed for animals, as biomass …
US and China to Study Sorghum for Ethanol
As athletes were racing for the gold in Beijing last week, representatives from the United States and China were in Texas teaming up in the race to develop new feedstocks for ethanol. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China signed an agreement to collaborate on biofuels research during the …
Louisiana Ethanol Plant Wants Sugar Cane
A Louisiana group wants to buy sugar cane from farmers for an ethanol plant they are constructing from an old sugar mill. Louisiana Green Fuels Group, which purchased a mill that was closed two years ago, met last week with St. James area growers about plans to construct a facility capable of producing 25 million gallons of ethanol annually from …
Cellulosic Ethanol Close to Commercial
Doubts about commercial opportunities for cellulosic ethanol are evaporating: “It is no longer a question of if we are able to produce cellulosic ethanol, but when,” POET CEO Jeff Broin said. Jeff announced POET’s commitment to develop a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Elmersville, Iowa at the Ethanol Conference and Trade Show in Omaha, Nebraska earlier this month. Construction on …
Supporters Sign Up For Ethanol
Hundreds of supporters have been “signing up for ethanol” on a website sponsored by the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council. The website is tied in to an advertising campaign which started running in South Dakota at the beginning of August. The campaign highlights the role of ethanol in increased energy security, economic development and decreased gas prices. The goal for …