National Corn Growers Association president Garry Niemeyer, a farmer from Illinois, penned an editorial this week in an effort to let those still complaining about the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) know that the game is over. Read that commentary below.
Back in August, the Green Scissors Project identified ways the federal government could shave $380 billion from the federal budget over five years. But their $380 billion in proposed cuts included a major error that accounts for more that 10 percent of their suggested cuts – $38.8 billion that they argued the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit would otherwise cost between 2012 and 2016. They conveniently ignored the important fact that there will be no VEETC between those years. VEETC expires about a month from now, and corn growers and the ethanol industry have long agreed to let it expire and have since stopped fighting for its renewal.
Regardless, we are quite amused that ethanol opponents continue to attack VEETC, even though no one on our side is fighting for its renewal. We stressed this point as long ago as last September.
On Thanksgiving, it was the Washington Times’ turn to take up the cudgel and beat the already-dead tax credit. In an editorial full of grievous factual errors, they claimed yet again that VEETC must go.
It’s kind of like when one football team leaves the field and the other team scores a game-winning victory four plays later. Frankly, we left this game last quarter because there are other, smarter ways to support ethanol, especially in today’s deficit-prone political world. That was part of the reason we and the industry asked for a one-year extension in 2010 – to have time to seek alternatives. We won the game and left the field … not the guys who will pound their chests and claim victory in a few weeks.Read More
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a new pilot program of insurance for camelina beginning with the 2012 crop year. 
Camelina, an oilseed, is a rotation crop for wheat that can be established on marginally productive land. It is an annual, short season plant. Biofuel from camelina is an ideal jet fuel substitute. USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have long-term studies underway to examine ways to use camelina as a bioenergy crop for producing jet fuel for the military and the aviation industry. In addition, earlier this year USDA announced two Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas devoted to developing camelina as biofuel in several states, including Montana. USDA is also part of several partnerships to develop oilseeds and native and perennial grasses as a biofuels.
The 
French energy company 
The 
The winners of Solar Decathlon 2011 were announced last month with the 
Appalachian State University won the Decathlon 2011 People’s Choice Award for its Solar Homestead entry – a self-sustaining net zero-energy house inspired by the pioneer spirit of the early settlers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Appalachian State also won second place in the Communications Contest and third place in the Architecture Contest. 
The