The growth of the ethanol industry and the use of dried distillers grains (DDGs), a co-product of ethanol production, as livestock feed have both harnessed significant controversy and skepticism from livestock producers through the years, and the use of distillers grains as livestock feed was a major topic of discussion at this year’s American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Conference, held …
RFA Submits Comments on Animal Feed Rule
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday on the supplemental rulemaking proposal outlining best practices for the regulation of animal food under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The act outlines regulations for animal feed, which includes the ethanol co-product dried distillers grain. RFA submitted comments earlier this year following the initial …
Evolving Distillers Grains: Take the Survey
Iowa State University is looking at how the use of distillers grains have changed in the United States over the past several years. Interested growers are invited to participate in a survey currently being conducted by Iowa State University Assistant Professor Dr. Kurt Rosentrater. The survey findings will create a better overall picture of the roll distillers grains play in …
Ag Subcommittee Hears Pros and Cons of RFS
The food versus fuel debate arose once again in front of Congress. At last week’s U.S. House Ag Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., opponents and proponents of the Renewable Fuels Standard presented their arguments on the RFS and its impact on the livestock industry. One of the biggest opponents of the RFS is the poultry industry. Their members argued that …
Global Farmers Learn Value of Ethanol
Each year during World Food Prize week, the Truth About Trade and Technology Global Farmer Roundtable brings farmers from all over the world to visit Couser Cattle Company in Nevada, Iowa. Owner Bill Couser not only produces cattle, he also grows plenty of corn on his operation and is a big proponent of ethanol as a means of getting the …
Impact of RFS on Agriculture
Increased ethanol production has been good for corn growers, bad for poultry producers, but has overall helped increase farm income to record levels according to some testimony given in a House hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) this week. “The Renewable Fuel Standard is doing exactly what it was intended to do,” said National Corn Growers Association President Pam …
Beef Ranches as Biodiesel Refineries
The next set of biodiesel refineries will probably continue to be in rural America, but they might be part of livestock operations. This article from BeefProducer.com says Arkansas State University researcher Kevin Humphrey sees real potential for ranchers to produce their own biodiesel from oil seed crops, waste oil or tallow: “If all you want to do is extract oil …
American Farm Bureau Supports RFS
Delegates for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) last week voted overwhelmingly to support continuation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), despite the fact that membership in the organization includes a substantial percentage of livestock producers. “The livestock guys still have concerns about high feed costs, and I’m one of them, I’m a beef producer,” said AFBF president Bob Stallman. …
DF Cast: Biodiesel Helps Livestock Producers
We’ve known for quite a while that biodiesel is helping the bottom lines of feedstock producers, in particular, the nation’s soybean growers. But a new study from the National Biodiesel Board says livestock producers are also sticking more green in their pockets thanks to the green fuel. In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we hear from the NBB’s …
Algae Producers Look to Market By-Product of Biodiesel
Just as ethanol producers have been able to market the co-product dried distillers grains (DDGs) as livestock feed, those folks producing algae for biodiesel want to find more uses for what’s leftover once you get the fuel out. “The Departments of Energy and Defense have been interested in producing biofuels, both jet fuels and transportation fuels from algae,” Texas A&M’s …