University of Missouri researchers are testing to see if glycerin, left over from biodiesel production, is a viable feed source for beef.
In a press release on the MU web site, Monty Kerley, professor of ruminant nutrition in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, is looking at how effective feeding glycerin would be. He’ll be testing the rowth of 60 calves through November, feeding some groups 5%, some groups 10%, and some groups 20% glycerin of their total diet. There will also be a control group that gets none. Kerley will look at growth performance and meat quality:
“We’re really looking at the energy value and how it compares to corn,” Kerley said. “When the animal consumes glycerin, it’s absorbed, and the glycerin is used to make glucose. Actually, it’s like feeding sugar to a cow. Because it’s liquid, there are two things we worry about – one, how much can be used in the diet before it changes the form of the diet; and two, is there a limit to how much glycerin can be processed by the animal? We’ll feed it to them for a period of 160 to 180 days.”
Similar experiements are being conducted at Iowa State University where researchers are looking at using glycerin for poultry and swine feed (see my post on April 12th).
Kerley says economics will play a large role in determining glycerin’s use as well. Right now, glycerin goes for about 4 cents a pound… corn costs 8 cents a pound. If glycerin as a feed source takes off, it will make those biodiesel plants just that much more viable.
I think I know how Don Scott feels. Don works for the 
Tyson is defending the use of a biodiesel tax credit by the meat-producing giant and oil giant ConocoPhillips.
It looks like it’s truly the end of the road, or the water in this case, for a biodiesel-powered boat trying to set a record for a ’round-the-world trip.
As I was in the homestretch of my 500-plus mile trip, burning plenty of $3.25/gallon gas, I noticed an alternative fuel source turning above the farm fields just a few miles off Highway 71… windmills.
For years, I’ve seen the turbines in the distance. Now that I’m reporting on this type of energy source, I decided to get a closer look. Turning at a corner where many times my family and I have stopped for gas and snacks, we made our way to where the white turbines turn in the constant breeze of an area known as Buffalo Ridge… a high spot of land that seems to catch every breeze… and a natural for the approximately 260 turbines along its flat plateau. Locals say it is one of the largest wind farms in the world. It’s no wonder nearby Storm Lake earned its name and reputation of constantly have a significant chop on its shallow waters.
In the meantime, I thought about the gas station back on the corner of Highway 71 where I turned. In front of the pumps is a concrete statue of a dinosaur, symbolic of the fossil fuel that flows from those pumps. I thought how fitting a symbol for that type of fuel. Dinosaurs are extinct and won’t be coming back. Much like the concrete in the statue, the oil industry in many ways is immovable – stuck in a dwindling supply that will become extinct in its own time, maybe sooner than we think. Contrast that with the constant motion of the turbines. If the wind supply is ever exhausted, we’ll have more problems than how to light our homes. Even the more stationary corn and soybean fields below the wind generators hold the promise of renewable fuel in the form of ethanol and biodiesel.
The wind did have some drawbacks. When we finally arrived at our destination of Spirit Lake, the wind was fueling some good-sized waves… too big to let me chase the much-desired walleyes and northern pike like I would like to. At least for a while. The next day the winds calmed, and we picked up plenty of walleyes… and the biggest pike my Dad has got in more than 70 years of fishing – 37″ long, weighing 10 pounds. That’s big enough to make even a concrete dinosaur smile.
One former and two current Democratic presidential candidates are sponsors or co-sponsors of a bill introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) intended to expand consumer access to 85 percent ethanol fuel, or E-85. Primary sponsors of the bill with Klobuchar include Barack Obama, (D-IL), Kit Bond (R-MO), George Voinovich (R-OH), and Dick Durbin (D-IL). Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Hilary Clinton (D-NY), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and John Kerry (D-MA) are also co-sponsors of the legislation.
Apparently no new records to report, but ethanol production still remains strong, according to the latest figures.
The company has agreed to acquire 
Case in point, this story from the Buffalo (NY) News. The owner of a Lewiston, NY restaurant (The Silo pictured on the right) is brewing up his own biodiesel in his own garage… using his own restaurant’s leftover cooking oil. He says he got the idea while living in France last winter: