Secretary of Agriculture Asked About Feed Prices

Chuck Zimmerman

Mike JohannsSecretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns gave a speech during this morning’s general session here at the Cattle Industry Convention and afterward he held a press conference.

He was asked about ethanol and the effect that increased production has had on livestock feed prices and offers some administration thoughts on the subject which include the promotion and development of cellulosic ethanol. He also was asked about using sugar to make ethanol with. Both answers are in this sound bite.

Download and listen to Sec. Johanns here: Mike Johanns Press Conference (2 min. MP3 File)

Audio, Ethanol, Government

From Briefs to Biodiesel

John Davis

Who’s not wearing underwear? Well, apparently, besides some Hollywood celebrities, not enough of us. And, strangely enough, that could be good news for the biodiesel industry. This story on Bloomberg.com says a British-based distributor of underwear, Caldwell Investments, is getting out of the skivvies biz and is planting 1,000 jatropha trees in Brazil with plans to make biodiesel.

The biodiesel project, now at “very early” stage, is “subject to a number of major uncertainties, including funding, recruitment of local management, access to suitable land and successful cultivation of the plantation,” the company said.

Biodiesel, International

A Cattleman’s Perspective

Chuck Zimmerman

Mike John & John QueenThis week I’ve been attending the Cattle Industry Convention and like last week at the International Poultry Expo the buzz word is ethanol. I’ve heard it in the hallways and I’ve heard it in presentations. This morning I interviewed Mike John on the left and John Queen on the right. Mike’s the outgoing president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and John is the incoming. The changeover takes place tomorrow.

I asked them about the challenges they faced and will face in the cattle business and asked them about ethanol and the price impact to their industry for feed. They know that in the short time it’s creating some challenges and make it clear that whatever policy action NCBA takes on this issue, it will come from the grass roots membership.

Download and listen to my interview with them here: John-John Interview (4 min. MP3 File)

Audio, Ethanol

BioWillie on the Web

John Davis

Bio Willie 2
The distributor of Willie Nelson’s BioWillie® brand biodiesel, Earth Biofuels, has launched a new website. According to this Earth Biofuels release, the site, www.BioWillieusa.com, is supposed to help inform customers on company developments and where they can get BioWillie® biodiesel.

From the BioWillie website:

All Americans understand the importance of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Long or short haul carriers understand that every gallon we grow from our nation’s crops reduces what we buy from foreign soil.

BioWillie® is sold at 17 locations in five states. The BioWillie website also includes updates of where to get BioWillie® and the progress of a new truckstop called Willie’s Place at Carl’s Corner… about an hour south of Dallas, TX on Interstate 35 expected to open this summer. It even tells fans where to find the legendary country singer.

Biodiesel

Washington State Canola Grower and Biodiesel Maker Ink Deal

John Davis

Imperium Renewables Seattle-based Imperium Renewables has agreed to purchase a large amount of canola oil from Earth-firendly Natural Selection Farms to make biodiesel. The deal will produce one million gallons of biodiesel a year and is, in fact, the largest sale of Washington state-produced canola oil ever. From this Businesswire.com story:

“This partnership demonstrates the incredible opportunity for our state’s agricultural industry to benefit from the increasing demand for biodiesel within the state as well as nationally,” said John Plaza, Imperium’s Founder and President. “We’ve always said that we’d be the state’s biggest customer for Washington State produced canola oil, and today we are. This is just the beginning of what we hope will further establish a new market for Washington State farmers as well as Washington State consumers of the fuel.”

“Diversifying our crop base to include canola makes both great agricultural and business sense,” said Ted Durfey, owner of Natural Selection Farms. “We’re proud to be doing our part to clean up the air, increase jobs and revenue in our state and reduce our nation’s dependency on foreign oil. I hope others will realize the benefits of adding canola to their crop mix.”

Imperium is already the biggest producer of biodiesel on the West Coast, and when a new Imperium Grays Harbor facility comes on line in mid-2007, it will be the largest biodiesel facility in the country… making 100 million gallons a year.

Biodiesel

Senate Energy Committee Holds Biofuels Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

Senate SealAn all-day conference on biofuels was held Thursday by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The conference featured six panels and 33 witnesses from industry, agriculture, infrastructure, research and development. Much of the testimony focused on the need for increased funding to develop cellulosic technology.

National Commission on Energy Policy Counsel David Conover told the committee they should restructure renewable energy subsidies to put more emphasis on cellulosic ethanol and less on corn-based ethanol, reports Dow Jones newswire.

“We certainly don’t want to demonize corn ethanol, because it’s certainly better than gasoline,” Conover told the senators, referring to ethanol’s air quality and energy independence benefits. “But federal subsidies really ought to be targeted to…the valley of death.”

Cellulosic ethanol, a motor fuel that can be produced from biomass like wood chips, switchgrass and corn stover, is one of those technologies in the so-called valley of death, he said. Conover pointed out that cellulosic ethanol plants are expensive and can’t compete with corn ethanol. Thus, subsidies would help boost the technology, he said.

DuPontOn the Emerging Biofuels panel, DuPont Vice President of Bio-Based Technology Dr. John Pierce provided an overview of the company’s strategy to accelerate biofuels production.

Pierce told the committee that DuPont’s three-part strategy entails: (1) improving existing ethanol production through differentiated agricultural seed products and crop protection chemicals; (2) developing and supplying new technologies to allow conversion of cellulose to biofuels; and (3) developing and supplying next generation biofuels with improved performance.

Earth BiofuelsImperiumEarth Biofuels Inc. of Texas and Imperium Renewables of Seattle were among the witnesses who discussed the infrastructue situation mainly from a biodiesel perspective. Earth Biofuels is the exclusive distributor for Bio-Willie and Imperium is largest producer of biodiesel on the West Coast.

Biodiesel, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Government, News

Tennessee Wants to Become Biofuels Leader

Cindy Zimmerman

Tennessee Governor It seems like just about every state lately is getting into the biofuels race wanting to become a leader.

The latest is Tennessee, where Governor Phil Bredensen announced that his “proposed 2007-2008 budget will include $61 million for a comprehensive alternative fuels strategy to position Tennessee to be a national leader in the production of biomass ethanol and related research.”

Bredesen’s proposed budget includes $40 million to build a pilot biomass ethanol plant that will operate at a capacity of five million gallons per year.

“We know we can make ethanol from grassy and woody materials,” Bredesen said. “The challenge is producing it in large volumes and at a price that is competitive with gasoline, and in proving we can be the ones to take the discovery from the laboratory to the marketplace.”

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Government, News

Ethanol Continues to Fuel ADM Profits

Cindy Zimmerman

ADMShares for Archer Daniels Midland Co. took their biggest leap in over eight years as the world’s biggest corn and oilseed processor announced a second-quarter profit increase of 20 percent.

ADM’s net income rose to $441.3 million, or 67 cents a share, in the last three months of 2006, compared to $367.7 million, or 56 cents, a year earlier. Sales were up 18 percent to $11 billion, mainly due to increased prices for ethanol and corn sweeteners.

ADM CEO Patricia Woertz says the country’s biggest ethanol producer plans to get even bigger, with plans to increase production by 50 percent by the end of next year. The company currently produces 1.1 million gallons a year – about 20 percent of total US production.

Woertz said in a conference call Thursday that she expects commercial use of cellulosic ethanol to happen before the end of the decade, with some commercialization maybe as early as just two years down the road.

A webcast of the conference call is available on-line.

Ethanol, News

ARES, Blue Sun Biodiesel Announce Joint Venture

John Davis

ARES Corporation, a California-based engineering and research firm, has joined with Colorado-based Blue Sun Biodiesel to build a 15-million gallon/year B100 biodiesel plant under the name ARES Blue Sun near Clovis, New Mexico. They’ll break ground early this year. According to a joint company press release:

ARES “This new joint venture represents the initial implementation of ARES’ strategic goals in creating new businesses in the clean energy and biofuels sector,” said Dick Stuart, CEO and President of ARES
Corporation.

Blue Sun Biodiesel “Since its inception, Blue Sun has been focused on distributing a premium biodiesel fuel with warranted industry-leading specifications. The ability to bring to bear ARES’ superior engineering expertise assures Blue Sun of a continuous supply of B100 that meets our stringent quality requirements,” added Jeff Probst,
CEO of Blue Sun Biodiesel.

While the release doesn’t directly indicate more plants, it sure implies this won’t be the only biodiesel venture for the new company.

Biodiesel

Brazil Opens Country’s Largest Biodiesel Mill

John Davis

Brazil has opened a 108-million-liter (approximately 25 million gallons) a year biodiesel plant… the largest in the South American country. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended the event. BrazilPrez1.JPG

This story in Brazzil Magazine says this one operated by Brasil Ecodiesel is not the only biodiesel mill in the country.

Brasil Ecodiesel According to the (Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy), the company should inaugurate another three mills this year, one in Rosário do Sul, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, another in Porto Nacional, in the northern Tocantins, and the other in São Luís, Maranhão (Northeast Brazil). With this the company should add another 324 million liters to the annual production.

Brasil Ecodiesel plans to use soy, castor seeds, and sunflower seeds as the feedstocks. The article says the government expects total biodiesel production to hit about three-quarters of a billion gallons a year in the next four years.

Biodiesel, International