MGP Ingredients Inc. and Bunge North America are considering jointly building an ethanol plant in the Atchison, KS area, according to a Kansas City Business Journal report. In a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Atchison-based MGP Ingredients said the companies have made no decisions to proceed beyond the investigatory stage. In other Bunge news this week, the …

Groundbreaking in SD
Aberdeen Energy and Glacial Lakes Energy broke ground Thursday on a state-of-the-art 100 million gallon ethanol biorefinery near Mina, South Dakota. To produce the 100 million gallons of ethanol and 288,000 tons of distillers grains annually, Aberdeen Energy will consume 36 million bushels of corn. Equity for the new facility was raised entirely from South Dakotans during a three-day equity …
O2 Diesel Helping the Environment
For every student that rides an 02 Diesel bus in Spearfish, SD, the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one tree in Custer State Park which was devastated by a forest fire. At a celebration this week marking the start of the Spearfish school system using buses powered by the O2 Diesel blend of ethanol and biodiesel (see previous post), Kevin …
Imus on Ethanol in the Morning
Nationally-syndicated radio show host Don Imus will soon be extolling the virtues of ethanol on “Imus in the Morning,” according to officials with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). Imus was named one of Time Magazine’s 25 Most Influential in America in 1997 and his morning radio program remains one of the nation’s mostly popular, especially on the East …
Ethanol-Powered Tractor Research
The Saskatchewan Research Council has reportedly modified a 7110 Deutz tractor to operate on 100% hydrated ethanol. According to a news release, “SRC has been conducting research and development in the area of natural gas vehicles since 1985 and continues to explore the feasibility of using hydrogen and ethanol as alternative fuels,” Saskatchewan Research Council Minister Eric Cline said. The …
Riding the O2 Diesel School Bus
Students in Spearfish, SD will be breathing easier this school year now that Spearfish Public Schools in South Dakota and Dakota Trailways have announced that all district school buses will now be running on O2 Diesel™, a new, cleaner-burning fuel blend of ethanol-diesel. The first of these newly converted buses was unveiled at a news conference at West Elementary School …
New Broin R&D Man
Broin Companies has hired Dr. Mark Stowers as the Vice President of Research and Development. Stowers will join Broin Companies from MBI International in Lansing, Mich., where he has served as the President and CEO since 2001. MBI International is a leading firm focused on the development, scale-up, and commercialization of products from biotechnology. “We are extremely fortunate to have …
MO Ethanol
MO Ethanol is on the way. The grand opening for Missouri Ethanol will be Monday, Sept. 25 on the plant site near Laddonia, Mo. The event will include public tours of the facility and a fly-over from the Vanguard Squadron, the world’s only 100 percent ethanol-powered aerobatic fleet. Several dignitaries will be on hand to celebrate the event, including U.S. …
Melon Ethanol
How about a nice juicy slice of – ethanol? The National Watermelon Association is preparing for some research with USDA, the University of Georgia and an ethanol plant in Florida to use the estimated 700 million pounds of watermelons that are wasted each year for ethanol production. “We’re really excited about this,” says Watermelon Association Executive Director Bob Morrissey. “This …
Hawkeye IPO on Hold
Hawkeye Holdings, the holding company that owns Hawkeye Renewables of Iowa Falls, IA has announced that it has “temporarily delayed the initial public offering of shares of its common stock.” According to a press release, Bruce Rastetter, CEO of Hawkeye, said, “We have decided to temporarily delay our IPO in light of current conditions in the equity markets, and the …