Expected big plantings of corn and soybeans underscore the need for a strong Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). New estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show a possible record amount of soybeans expected to be planted this year and the fifth largest corn acreage to be planted as well. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) says these factors show …
Ag Secretary Takes Time on Ag Day for Ethanol
There are lots of activities for National Agriculture Day going on today in Washington DC, including a big celebration unveiling a statue of Dr. Norman Borlaug in the Capitol, but Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack still took time to meet with members of the American Coalition for Ethanol in town this week to visit Congressional offices “The country needs a robust …
Bulk of Advanced Biofuel Payments Go to Biodiesel
The biggest portion of money recently paid out for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Advanced Biofuel Payment Program went to biodiesel operations, indicating that green fuel is the leading advanced biofuel in the U.S. Biodiesel Magazine reports that about $40 million of the $60 million paid out went to biodiesel production. USDA officials say the entire $60 million announced last …
Vilsack Focused on Ways to Help Biofuels
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says his discussions with his counterpart at the Environmental Protection Agency don’t focus on the message that biodiesel and ethanol advocates are already pushing: abandoning the current proposal that would cut the amount of biofuels mixed into the Nation’s fuel supply. “I’m looking for ways to help this industry, regardless of what EPA does,” Vilsack told …
Mike Haas Receives Eye on Biodiesel Pioneer Award
Receiving an Eye on Biodiesel Pioneer Award for lifetime achievement serving the biodiesel industry at the convention was Mike Haas, of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. Haas has been a Lead Scientist and Research Biochemist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service since 1981. He has been a huge supporter of the biodiesel industry and currently leads a project investigating the production …
Corn Stocks and Ethanol Use Increased
The newest supply and demand estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms a record corn harvest in 2013 of just under 14 billion bushels and an increased in usage of corn for ethanol. USDA’s World Agricultural Supply Demand Estimate for January 10 projects corn use for 2013/14 higher with feed and residual use projected up 100 million bushels based …
USDA Increases Corn Use for Ethanol
Despite the Environmental Protection Agency proposal to lower corn ethanol volume obligations for 2014 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), USDA’s December supply/demand report is predicting a 50 million bushel increase in corn use for ethanol next year. Ending stocks are now expected to total 1.792 billion bushels, down 5 percent from last month’s estimate. The new report also calls …
Ethanol By-Product as Biodegradable Kitty Litter
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have found a way to turn a by-product of ethanol production into a biodegradable form of kitty litter. This news release from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) says USDA plant physiologist Steven Vaughn and his colleagues are using dried distiller’s grains, DDGs, as a starting material for a more environmentally friendly alternative …
Vilsack Defends EPA’s Slashing of RFS
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is defending the Obama Administration’s proposal to cut the 2014 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for the amount of renewable fuels to be blended into gasoline and diesel. But some of the people he spoke to, along with several biofuel advocates, are questioning the legality of the cuts. …
Beetle-Infested Trees to be Turned into Biofuel
Trees lost to beetle infestations might not be a total loss; they could be turned into biofuels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded nearly $10 million in grants to a consortium of academic, industry and government organizations led by Colorado State University (CSU) to see if insect-killed trees in the Rocky Mountains could be a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy. …