Federal Agriculture Department officials are warning that the rising demand for biodiesel is pushing up the demand, and the price, for the feedstocks that go into biodiesel… and that is cutting into already thin margins biodiesel are working under.
USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins says soybean oil prices have already been going up, and farmers are planting 15 percent fewer acres of soybeans to make way for corn to produce ethanol… pushing supplies down even further… and prices for the biodiesel feedstock even higher.
“As we look out over the coming year, we still think we’re going to have adequate supplies of soybeans, but the price for soybean meal and soybean oil is going up, and biodiesel, made from soybean oil has already been on a very thin margin over the past year.”
Officials say rising regular diesel prices have stayed up as well, and that has helped.
Click here to hear the USDA’s story on this subject.
Tonight’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be seen by millions of fans across the country… thanks, in part, to biodiesel. And it’s just the start for the green fuel’s part on America’s sports stage.
Fox Sports will be powering all of its generators, satellite trucks, and other diesel equipment at its television compound in San Francisco with 20 percent biodiesel, B20. 
According to a 
Hybrid and alternative fueled vehicles were in the spotlight July 6 at the 
The Department of Defense has signed a contract with Syntroleum Corp. to buy 500 gallons of biofuel made from animal fats. The feedstock for Syntroleum’s fuel would come from Tyson Foods.
“This contract with the U.S. Department of Defense is another significant milestone for Syntroleum,” said Jack Holmes, CEO of Syntroleum. “When the contract is completed, we would be the first company to provide both renewable synthetic aviation fuel and FT aviation fuel to the Department of Defense for its certification and weapon system testing program. This acceptance of our alternative synthetic fuels once again validates the quality and integrity of our product, and the successful completion of this program will provide Syntroleum with an opportunity for other long-term supply contracts with the Department of Defense.”
The U.S. House Agriculture Committee is considering a measure that would allow U.S. growers to sell cane and beet sugar for making ethanol. It’s part of an 111-page proposal updating U.S. agriculture subsidies.
California-based Green Star Products, Inc. announced today that it has completed the second phase of testing its facility that turns algae into biodiesel. 
‘The only way to stop reliance on ethanol would be to repeal its environmental benefits or to ban the use of ethanol altogether which would be very foolhardy,’ he told delegates at the International Conference on Biofuels here, adding that commodity prices would go up as a result.
OK, I’m not talking about Kermit the Frog or even The Riddler – Frank Gorshin (although he was more of a green wearer, and not actually green in hue on the old Batman TV show). 
* DARYL HANNAH — The actress hopes to become a full time activist, campaigning on the environment and slavery. Hannah lives without mains electricity in the Rocky Mountains, using solar energy and driving a car run on biodiesel made from recycled cooking oil.
* WILLIE NELSON — With Hannah and biodiesel producers Bob and Kelly King, the country singer helped set up the Sustainable Biofuels Alliance, bringing together activists and scientists to give consumers better guidance on clean fuels.
* SHERYL CROW — The singer travelled around U.S. colleges in April to raise awareness about global warming. Crow toured in a biodiesel-powered bus to university campuses with a final stop in Washington for Earth Day on April 22. Crowe and Karl Rove, political strategist to President George W. Bush, clashed over global warming at a White House dinner just after her tour.