The latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) are bumping up the use of corn for ethanol in the 2011-12 marketing year. According to the June 12 report, the 50 million bushels adjustment upward to corn usage for 2011/12 reflects the latest ethanol production and trade data. “Weekly ethanol production has increased since mid-April after gradually declining from the …
Vote to Cut Military Biofuels Disappoints Ag Secretary
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is “disappointed” in recent Congressional action that would cut the use of biofuels by the military. “We are extremely disappointed in that vote because I think it fails to recognize and appreciate the enormous potential of this industry to revitalize the rural economy,” said Vilsack during a conference call today when asked specifically about a …
Novozymes Nebraska Enzyme Plant Opens
Advanced biofuels took a $200 million step forward on the march toward commercialization Wednesday with the official opening of Novozymes’ enzyme plant in Blair, Nebraska. The inauguration of Novozymes’ new Blair facility was celebrated with employees, customers, community leaders and government officials, including the governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman, U.S. Department of Energy Senior Advisor Jason Walsh and Blair Mayor …
Sustainable Aviation Biofuels Initiative Launched
Aviation and clean technology leaders have joined together to launch the Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels Initiative (MASBI). United Airlines, Boeing, Honeywell, the Chicago Department of Aviation and the Clean Energy Trust formed the initiative with the goal of advancing aviation biofuel development in a 12-state region of the central United States. MASBI will deliver “a comprehensive evaluation of the region’s …
Ethanol Report Analyzes USDA Corn Numbers
The first guess of corn production for the new year in USDA’s May 10 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report is even higher than many in the industry expected. “By all accounts, it could be a monster,” says Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Vice President of Research and Analysis Geoff Cooper who did an analysis of the numbers that came …
USDA Offers Optimistic Outlook for Corn Crop
The first U.S. Department of Agriculture outlook for this year’s corn crop is calling for record yields and record production, while corn use for ethanol is expected to remain the same. The May 10 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report projects U.S. feed grain supplies for 2012/13 at a record 416.3 million tons, up 16 percent from 2011/12 at …
Ethanol Blend Wall Still There
The ethanol blend wall is still a reality for the industry, according to the chief economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “For the time being, I think we are at a blend wall and it’s a pretty hard wall,” said USDA’s Joe Glauber during a recent gathering of farm broadcasters in Washington DC. Glauber says the general feeling now …
Ag Secretary Urges Oil Companies to Accept E15
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today urged petroleum companies to increase adoption of 15% ethanol blended gasoline (E15) to help decrease reliance on foreign oil. “The availability of E15 will increase America’s energy security and spur additional job creation,” Vilsack said. “The Obama Administration has an ‘all-of-the-above’ to promoting domestic energy security, and increasing the percentage of ethanol to be …
Early Planting Fuels Corn Production Speculation
Corn planting is running well above normal across the country, fueling speculation that this year’s crop could be huge. The crop progress report this week shows that seven percent of the nation’s corn crop is now planted – more than double normal for this time of year. Progress in some Midwestern states has already hit double digits. Missouri has 23% …
Join Ag Sec. Vilsack in First Twitter Chat on Energy
Tomorrow at 1:30pm EDT, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack will hold the first “USDA Virtual Office Hours on Twitter.” I’d recommend using TweetChat, Twubs or an app like TweetDeck or HootSuite to follow along. It looks like these planned monthly sessions will focus on different topics. Tomorrow it’s renewable energy. You’re asked to submit your questions via Twitter to either @USDA …