ACE Conference 2026

Ag Has Work To Do To Improve Public Image

Chuck Zimmerman

It looks like agriculture has a ways to go to change public perceptions according to our latest ZimmPoll. In answer to the question, “Do you think the general consumer perception of agriculture changed in 2010?” 43% say “No it didn’t really change,” while 30% say “Yes, it got worse,” and 27% said “Yes, it improved.” Where do you fall in those categories? That’s 73% of our respondents who think it didn’t change or got worse. Sounds like we really do need some campaigns to reach out to consumers doesn’t it?

The new poll is now live and the question is, “What do you think will have the biggest influence on ag in 2011?” There are no doubt many factors that will have an influence. We’ve picked a couple. When I post the results next week you can add any others you’d like to the discussion.

Remember, you can submit your questions for us to pose and add your feedback anytime by using the comment feature.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

Agrisys Building Big Algae-to-Biofuels Facility

John Davis

A Florida company is building the world’s first large-scale, vertically integrated algae-to-biofuels facility.

This article from Florida Trend, which goes in depth on that state’s algae-biofuels industry, says Orlando businessman Nick VandenBrekel’s Agrisys will be growing algae to turn into jet fuel and biodiesel, as well as omega-3 “fish oil.”

Scaled up, VandenBrekel envisions a host of 1,000-to-20,000-acre farms across the Southeast where algal fuel is grown, processed and used locally, from community gas stations to diesel fleets such as school buses. Success, he says, would create no less than a “rebirth of American agriculture.”

Like Agrisys, a troop of other Florida companies — including PetroAlgae of Melbourne; Algenol of Bonita Springs; AquaFiber of Orlando; and Algae Aviation Fuel of Sarasota — sees the same promise in algae as a source of biofuel. Algae grows faster than any other potential crop, reaching maturity in less than 24 hours. As it grows, it devours CO2, generating oxygen as a byproduct. Most important for its potential as fuel, algae produce lipids, which store energy as fat.

The Florida firms all boast unique algae strains or proprietary processes they say can make fuel.

Agrisys, for example, has developed or licensed technology for growing and processing its algae in partnership with a research institute called CEHMM and a private technology firm called ARA, both in New Mexico. VandenBrekel says researchers there have been able to squeeze 125 gallons of oil daily from 1,000 gallons of algae-water mix piped from five acres of ponds.

The article goes on to say the biggest issue is making these operations profitable. Maybe they should listen to our latest Domestic Fuel Cast and see if some of that technology would help.

algae, biofuels

Soybeans Gain from Biodiesel Incentive Renewal

John Davis

The main feedstock for biodiesel in the U.S., not surprisingly, has gotten a boost from the renewal of the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive.

The Inside Futures website says contracts for January soybeans have hit a new high for the year at nearly $14 a bushel … and could go over that mark:

The soy complex has been led by the Soy Oil which also made a new high for the year. From a technical standpoint this is rather bullish, however it is important to note that we are experiencing thin holiday trade and with less then normal volume technical indicators may be less reliable. Either way, the new highs could suggest that we could now continue to move higher with sights set on 14.000.

Fundamentally the Soybean market got a major boost when Congress approved a $1.00 per gallon tax credit for Biodiesel. This is significant because this had expired a year ago and had put a major damper on Biodiesel demand. The Soybeans have a tight balance sheet, which could potentially get tighter.

The site does note that trading has been light during this holiday week.

Biodiesel, Soybeans

So. Sioux City Approves $25 Mil Bond for Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

A new biodiesel plant in South Sioux City, NE is getting a boost from that city’s council.

The Sioux City (IA) Journal reports city officials have OK’ed issuing $25 million in revenue bonds to help fund a proposed biodiesel plant:

City Manager Lance Hedquist said the South Sioux City Council approved issuing the bonds for Nature’s BioReserves at Monday night’s council meeting. However, he said the city will have no obligation for payment of the bonds.

The city held a public hearing prior to approving the bonds.

Nature’s BioReserves is planning a 60-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel fuel plant that will make biodiesel out of beef tallow from Beef Products Inc. The proposed plant will be constructed on the north side of BPI.

Construction is to start this summer and be completed sometime in the fall of 2012.

Biodiesel

DF Cast: OriginOil to Prove Algae-to-Fuel Process

John Davis

The developer of technology that turns algae in to renewable fuel is going down under to do some long-term testing of its process.

OriginOil recently announced the successful completion of the first phase of its commercial pilot program with Australian company, MBD Energy, OriginOil’s first customer and pilot partner. In this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, we talk to OriginOil’s CEO, Riggs Eckelberry, about his company’s testing of its algae-to-renewable-fuel technology in an in-the-field, real-world situation.

“We were looking for one of our pilot customers that would enable us to scale up our technology in real conditions.”

Eckelberry says his company’s bread and butter is focusing on extracting all that water from the algae and then extracting the oil by a process that he describes as “shocking” the algae. This testing should take several years with Eckelberry hoping at the end of the day, his technology will prove successful.

This announcement comes on the heels of the news that OriginOil has another project in the works, this time a little closer to home. The company will help build a new Advanced Algae Center with Sustainable Resources, Incorporated on the site of the original Aquatic Species Program in Roswell, New Mexico, scheduled to start sometime next year. Eckelberry jokes that they’ll even hold a job fair for any little green men who might be visiting Roswell to work at the facility.

Hear more from Eckelberry on both these projects in the Domestic Fuel Cast here. Domestic Fuel Cast

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

algae, Audio, biofuels, Domestic Fuel Cast

2011 Ethanol Symposium Kicks off New Year

Joanna Schroeder

Although January is just around the corner, it’s not too late to add an event to your calendar.

The 2011 Ethanol Symposium: An Examination of Demand vs. Availability is scheduled for January 14 at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, CA. This free event is part of the Clean Transportation Education Project, a collaboration of the Clean Cities Coalition and the N.C. Solar Center at North Carolina State University and Wake Technical Community College. It is funded through the U.S. DOE. The symposium begins at 8:00 a.m. PST and ends at 4:00 p.m.

Confirmed speakers include: Judy Chu, California Congresswoman 32nd District;  Rich Cregar, Wake Tech College; Peter Ward, California Energy Commission; Joe Irvin, California Ethanol Vehicle Coalition; Paul Wikoff, Policy Advisor for CEVC; Warren Turner, V.P., Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Association; Lunch Keynote Speaker A.G. Kawamura, Secretary of CDFA; and more.

The Clean Transportation Education Project is holding a total of 36 workshops over two years covering ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas as a transportation fuel and fuel efficiency topics.

For more information contact Jennifer at Purpose Focused.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Education, Ethanol

$5 Gas Prices On the Horizon

Joanna Schroeder

According to former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, Americans will be paying $5 per gallon for gas by 2012 due to growing demand for oil, tighter supplies and inadequate responses by the U.S. government. His remarks were made during his appearance on Platts Energy Week television.

Not necessarily news Americans want to hear as gas prices have been on the rise for the past few weeks and the worst recession in decades holds on as the country makes preparations for the new year.

Hofmeister also predicted that little or no new drilling would take place in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico for the next two years as Washington still tries to find the adequate response to the BP oil spill. However, drilling new wells would not bring about an immediate relief to high gas prices as it takes years to bring new wells into production.

“If we stay on our current course, within a decade we’re into energy shortages in this country big time,” said Hofmeister, who retired from Shell in 2008 and now heads a grass-roots group called Citizens for Affordable Energy.

“Blackouts, brownouts, gas lines, rationing–that’s my projection based upon the current inability to make to make decisions,” Hofmeister said during the program. “The politically driven choices that are being made, which are non-choices, essentially frittering at the edges of renewable energy, stifling production in hydrocarbon energy–that’s a sure path for not enough energy for American consumers. When American consumers are short or prices are so high–$5 a gallon for gasoline, for example, by 2012–that’s going to set a new tone. It’s going to be panic time for politicians. They’re suddenly going to get the sense that we better do something.”Read More

biofuels, Oil, Opinion

Research to Study Impact of Ethanol on Older Vehicles

Cindy Zimmerman

Kettering University in Flint, Michigan is one of several that have been tapped by the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the impact of higher ethanol blends on older vehicles.

The use of up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline for 2007 model year vehicles or newer has been approved by the federal government, while the use of E15 in model year 2001-2006 vehicles is still being evaluated. The research at Kettering will look at vehicles older than 2000 model year, for which the use of higher ethanol blends has been denied by the EPA.

The $125,000 grant marks the second time Kettering mechanical engineering professors have studied the impact of ethanol on older vehicle engines. Kettering professors Craig Hoff andGregory Davis did a study last year that looked at how ten percent ethanol blends may impact classic cars from as far back as the 1940s. In that study, which included 1,500 hours of testing, the researchers concluded that “it’s safe to assume that you can continue to drive your collector vehicle using E10; it may just cost you more in the long run” because of additional costs associated with sealing fuel tanks and cleaning and rebuilding fuel systems more frequently.

blends, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Research, University

Restarting Idled Biodiesel Plants Could Pose Problems

John Davis

The renewal of the federal $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax incentive is giving some idled biodiesel plants new life, but a biodiesel consultant is warning that there are some risks to consider.

Wayne Lee, principal owner of Lee Enterprises biodiesel consulting group in Little Rock, Arkansas, says one area producers need to consider is Renewable Identification Numbers (RINS):

“While the EPA allows a biodiesel producer to detach and trade RINS,” says Lee, “this can only be done in two very specific ways.” He notes that if compliance is not followed “to the letter” plants will subject themselves and their RINS customer to rejected trades. “I think some producers are operating under the assumption that they can simply detach the RINS from B99 at will,” says Lee. “Without the proper paperwork, those people are likely to be very unpleasantly surprised.”

Another issue is safety … in the process and training sides … according to Lee’s in-house legal counsel John Hardy:

“OSHA has some pretty strict guidelines with respect to its [Process Safety Management] standards, and some very large fines for non-compliance,” says Hardy. “I think many biodiesel plants may be operating under the assumption that they are not covered by OSHA’s process safety management standards. Hardy notes that most commercial biodiesel plants are probably covered by PSM standards, and need to make sure they are compliant. He also notes that safety training is an ongoing process, not a one-time event, and that all plants should address PSM and safety training upon startup, and at least yearly thereafter. “With the magnitude of potential fines, one problem could literally devastate a non-compliant plant,” says Hardy.

Finally, Lee advises that producers make sure their re-start quality level of biodiesel is up to standards.

Biodiesel