The 2007 Commodity Classic is upon us. For the first time this year, the annual commodity event brings together the “Big Three” – corn, soybeans AND wheat. The first two have been meeting in a combined event for years, now wheat has decided to join the club. The meeting will have a pirate theme this year, being held overlooking beautiful …
President Bush Promotes Ethanol Enzyme Technology
President Bush paid a visit Thursday to Novozymes North America Inc., a company which is researching enzymes to be used to produce cellulosic ethanol. The president toured the company’s Franklinton, North Carolina laboratories and talked with researchers about the technology needed to make wood chips and other biomass into fuel on a commerically viable basis. At one point, Bush held …
FCStone to Serve as Market Maker for CBOT Ethanol Futures
The Chicago Board of Trade has announced that FCStone has become an electronic market maker for the CBOT’s Ethanol futures contract. According to a CBOT release, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Robert D. Ray said, “FCStone brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the CBOT’s Ethanol complex, which we believe has become the benchmark for domestic ethanol prices. …
Developing More Crops For Ethanol
The head of energy crop company Ceres told the National Academy of Sciences this week that biotechnology-based innovations across the biofuels production chain will bring the cost of a new generation of cellulosic biofuels down significantly, while vastly increasing supply. According to a company release, Ceres president and CEO Richard Hamilton said, “Biofuels produced from dedicated energy crops will be …
Ethanol Track Talk
General Motors has been actively encouraging NASCAR to make the switch to ethanol for some time now, especially since the IndyCar Series has now gone to 100 percent ethanol and the American LeMans Series has adopted a 10 percent blend. The Associated Press reports there is more talk on the track this year about switching to ethanol. “Without a doubt, …
Economic Analysis on the Impact of U.S. Ethanol Industry
To get a complete understanding about the Ethanol Tax Incentive, attendees at the National Ethanol Conference heard this morning from Dr. John Urbanchuk, Director, LECG, LLC. He started out talking about how work needs to be done to renew the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) in a couple years. He talks about how the ethanol industry is in its …
Rep. Hulshof’s Capitol Hill View
Congressman from Missouri, Kenny Hulshof, (R-MO) was on stage today at the National Ethanol Conference as part of the session on how things look on Capitol Hill for the 110th Congress. Hulshof said that he might get in trouble as a Republican by saying it, but he said that he thinks agriculture will fare well with Rep. Peterson at the …
Capitol Hill View by Rep. Peterson
This morning at the National Ethanol Conference we got the view from Capitol Hill as two of our Congressmen provided their thoughts on the legislative agenda for the 110th Congress. First up was Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN). He serves as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Peterson started out mentioning the farm bill and the challenges presented by the successes …
Ethanol & Racing by Bobby Rahal
Bobby Rahal, Rahal-Letterman Racing, was our luncheon speaker today. Bobby says that racing has always been the place that auto manufacturers have experimented with various technologies and fuel is no exception. He says that with the Indy Racing League moving to 100% ethanol this year and with the American Le Mans Series moving to a blend of ethanol that the …
Understanding Alternative Fuels Policy Proposal
Here at the National Ethanol Conference we got some policy information you might find helpful to understand the President’s proposal on alternative fuels. With policy playing such an important role in the growth and development of the ethanol industry it was necessary to get the perspective from one of the government agencies that has a significant role in regulation. To …