USDA’s new planted acreage report out Wednesday morning estimates corn acreage planted is two percent higher than last year, but that is down a point from the March report with more acres are going to soybeans. Corn planted area for all purposes in 2010 is estimated at 87.9 million acres, up 2 percent from last year. Acreage is up in …
Biodiesel Has Place in USDA Biofuels Report
While the ethanol industry has been praising the USDA’s report entitled “Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard by 2022,″ there’s plenty in there for biodiesel fans to like as well. The feds are optimistic that biodiesel will be able to carry its share of the overall 36 billion gallons of biofuels goal: The U.S biofuels …
Ethanol Industry Pleased With USDA Biofuels Report
USDA’s “Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard by 2022” released on Wednesday gives all the right directions as far as the ethanol industry is concerned, now they want to see it actually hit the road and make it to the destination. Releasing the report, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “The current ethanol industry provides a …
USDA Releasing Report on Biofuels
The USDA is releasing a report on renewable transportation fuels and the role the agency will play in development of those biofuels. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the report comes as the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) gets ready to kick in on July 1st and will require that 36 billion gallons of biofuel per year be in America’s fuel …
Ethanol Groups Frustrated Over E15 Delay
The ethanol organization that filed the petition with the EPA to increase the ethanol blend rate to 15 percent has gotten very little information about why a decision is being delayed again. “We’re trying to find out what additional tests have been added in,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis during a press conference today. “The people who filed the …
USDA Promises Canola Biodiesel Won’t Be Left Behind
The Ag Department is promising that canola-based biodiesel won’t be left behind as provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill are implemented. Biofuels Digest says that’s music to the ears of some of the folks from northern states, including Congressman Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, who personally got the assurance from USDA assurance after the EPA failed to complete an evaluation …
USDA Chief Confident of Ethanol Blend Increase
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack believes that the Environmental Protection agency will increase the amount of ethanol allowed in regular gasoline above the current ten percent. “I’m very confident that we’re going to see an increase in the blend rate,” said Vilsack in a telephone press conference from Iowa on Friday. Vilsack also said that long-term extensions of the …
Importance of Biofuels in Rural Revitalization
The expansion of biofuels will play a significant role in the revitalization of rural America, according to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Why not create biofuel refineries and renewable energy plants that create jobs and markets for a product that otherwise might not be valued as much,” said Vilsack during a Rural Summit in Missouri on Thursday. “Why not …
Ethanol Demand a Topic at Clean Energy Forum
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and other administration officials joined rural stakeholders for a clean energy economy forum at the White House on Wednesday, which was the one year anniversary of President Obama’s Biofuels Directive. “Renewable energy production is a key to sustainable economic development in rural America,” Vilsack said. “We must rapidly escalate the production of biofuels to meet the …
USDA Invites Applications for Renewable Energy Funding
USDA is seeking applications to increase the production and use of renewable energy sources. Funding is available from four USDA Rural Development renewable energy programs authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill). “This funding will help spur investments in technologies that will reduce reliance on fossil fuels, conserve natural resources and help build a sustained …