Three former Secretaries of Agricutlure testified before the House Agriculture Committee Thursday on what the most important priorities should be for the 2007 Farm Bill. All three mentioned energy and the role of agriculture in meeting the nation’s demand for it. Finally, one of President Clinton’s agriculture secretaries, Dan Glickman of Kansas, noted that energy offers “great opportunities” for agriculture …
Growing OK Biofuels
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry is holding a conference on biofuels next month in Norman, Okla. The Oklahoma Governor’s Conference on Biofuels features an impressive array of experts in the area of domestic fuels including state and federal government officials, oil and renewable industry representatives, university researchers and stakeholders from areas such as the military, transportation, agriculture and marketing. The event …
Biodiesel in the Parks
In 1995, the soybean checkoff funded key research on soy biodiesel quality. The same year, Yellowstone National Park began serving as the soy biodiesel testing ground for the National Park Service. A decade later, the market for soy biodiesel is flourishing, and its use has spread to more than 20 other national parks and among thousands of other diesel users …
Promoting Renewable Energy Conference
The US Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy last week were out promoting the upcoming Renewable Energy Conference in St. Louis. USDA Radio News reporter Rod Bain did several stories with Secretaries Mike Johanns and Sam Bodman you can listen to here: Energy Conference Story 1 (1 min MP3) Energy Conference Story 2 (1 min MP3) Energy Conference Story 3 (1 …
EPA Rule For RFS
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a proposed rule to fully implement the Renewable Fuels Standard designed to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil by doubling the use of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. The program, authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, will promote use of fuels largely produced by American crops. According to …
Energy and Rural Development
Our USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development, Thomas Dorr was on hand here at the Farm Progress Show. In my interview with Sec. Dorr we talked about renewable energy. I asked him to talk about the upcoming “Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance” conference that USDA is conducing with the Dept. of Energy in St. Louis, Oct. 10-12. He …