A group of farmers from around the world gathered in Des Moines this week for the fifth annual Global Farmer-to-Farmer Roundtable organized by Truth About Trade and Technology (TATT) and held in conjunction with the World Food Prize. As part of the event, the 16 farmers had the opportunity to visit Couser Cattle Company, owned by Bill Couser, who is …
Wind Power Will Play Key Role by 2030
The wind industry received a boost this week with the release of the “Global Wind Energy Outlook 2010,” in Beijing ahead of the China Wind Power 2010 conference slated to begin today. China is now the world’s largest wind power market and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) anticipates the country’s wind power will increase 10 fold by 2020. The …
RFA President: DDGS and Ethanol Markets Inextricably Linked
The President/CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association addressed the Export Exchange 2010 today and highlighted the importance of U.S. ethanol policy and expansion into foreign markets which is critical for the DDGS industry. You can read his full remarks here as well as listen to them below. In his remarks, Dinneen said, “As a nation, failure to continue the growth …
Challenges and Opportunities For DDGS Trade Growth
Our keynote speaker at the Export Exchange 2010 is Dr. Robert L. Thompson, Professor Emeritus from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he held the Gardner Endowed Chair in Agricultural Policy. He is a Senior Fellow of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and serves on the USDA-USTR Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade and the International Food and …
The Business of Grain Trade and DDGS
This morning the Export Exchange 2010 program got started in earnest with opening remarks from Tom Dorr, USGC President/CEO. He says we have nearly 500 attendees from 33 countries. The proceedings will be translated into 7 languages. Tom says that the opportunity to trade across borders helps to improve lives. That opportunity needs to be done in a transparent way …
Export Exhange Conference Kicks Off
The Export Exchange 2010 got off to an official and social start this evening with welcoming remarks from U.S. Grains Council President/CEO Tom Dorr (left) and Renewable Fuels Association President/CEO Bob Dinneen. The conference is focused on connecting international buyers of DDGS and coarse grains with the U.S. market. I don’t know what the attendance totals are here but we …
Friends of the Earth: Africa up for Grabs
Friends of the Earth International (FOE) has released a report about Africa’s move to produce biofuels to help meet the global needs of renewable energy. “Africa, up for grabs: the scale and impact of land grabbing for agrofuels” looked at 11 African countries and found that five million hectares of land, or an area the size of Denmark, is being …
Cane and Corn Ethanol Updates
The sugarcane harvest in Brazil is running ahead of schedule and the U.S. corn crop is progressing well, according to the latest reports. The cane crush in Brazil so far this year is running about 20 percent ahead of last year, which is not necessarily good news according to the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association’s (UNICA). Technical Director Antonio de Padua …
World Bank Report Takes New Look at Food and Fuel
Ethanol production probably had less impact on global commodity prices in 2008 than many were saying at the time. A newly released working paper, entitled “Placing the 2006/08 Commodity Price Boom into Perspective,” from the Development Prospects Group at the World Bank, concludes that “…the effect of biofuels on food prices has not been as large as originally thought.” Authors …
Export Exchange to Focus on Ethanol Co-Product
A partnership between the Renewable Fuels Association and the U.S. Grains Council will help bring producers of the ethanol co-product distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) together with interested international buyers to get answers, make connections, and build business. Export Exchange 2010 will bring together more than 150 international buyers of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains with more than 300 …