Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack held a town hall meeting at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin this week and took questions from the audience, one of which concerned ethanol and the impact it has had on livestock producers. The questioner, who was from California, said ethanol was “not a very popular word” with dairy farmers in her state. “Where …
RFA Expects RFS Waiver to be Denied
Responding to plans by livestock and poultry groups to seek a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard, the head of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) expects the request to be denied. “Given the flexibilities inherent to the RFS, and the fact that waiving the program would not result in any meaningful impacts on corn prices, we fully expect Administrator Jackson …
Livestock and Poultry Groups Seek RFS Waiver
Livestock and poultry producers are filing a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking a waiver from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in light of the current drought situation likely to cause feed shortages. “I and NCBA support American ethanol,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president J.D. Alexander of Nebraska. “I’m not asking for a handout. I’m asking for …
Ethanol Co-Product Prices Higher
Tight corn supplies, higher corn prices, low ethanol processing margins, export demand and high soybean meal prices are among the factors contributing to higher prices for dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS), the ethanol co-product used as livestock feed. South Dakota State University economics professor Darrell Mark says price for distillers grains usually declines going into summer as cattle feedlot …
Synergies of Livestock and Ethanol
There is a lot made about tensions between the ethanol and livestock industries but the distillers grains co-product of ethanol production is providing significant benefits for animal producers even as ethanol has helped prop up corn prices. A great discussion at the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit featured corn and cattle organizations on the same panel talking about the …
USDA Report Shows Value of Ethanol Co-Product
A new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report finds that the ethanol co-product known as distillers grains or DDGS is replacing even more corn and soybean meal in livestock and poultry feed rations than previously thought. According to the report by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), “We found that, on average, for the past 5 crop years (2006/07-2010/11), 1 mt …
Biodiesel Helps Make Livestock Feed More Affordable
While there have been some in the livestock industry that have had some real heartburn with biofuels, a new report shows that biodiesel has actually made animal feed more affordable. The National Biodiesel Board has released a new study that shows how soybean oil and meal economics favor the livestock industry, potentially saving farmers and ranchers $4.8 billion from 2005 …
Swine and Poultry Experts Discuss DDGS Use
Swine and poultry producers are using the ethanol co-product distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) as feed for good reasons. Dr. Phillip Smith, a nutritionist with Tyson Foods, spoke at the recent Export Exchange event sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the U.S. Grains Council about the value of DDGS in the poultry sector. “It’s a very good …
Cattle and Ethanol Producer Hosts International Farmers
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 …
Optimizing Ethanol By-Product for Hog Production
The ethanol by-product known as dried distillers grains, or DDGs, is being fed more often these days to all types of livestock. At first, it was mainly beef and dairy cattle producers that utilized the product, which is rich in protein, fiber and oil. Now more hog producers are using the product, which serves to recapture about one third of …