Sorghum Growers Sweet on Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

NSP Other crop producers are reaping the benefits of higher corn prices driven by ethanol. Among them are the sorghum farmers, who are meeting this week in New Mexico. Brownfield Network’s Peter Shinn reports that ethanol was the focus of Monday’s general session at the National Sorghum Producers (NSP) annual meeting.

NSP President Greg Shelor, a Kansas sorghum grower, told Brownfield that’s because ethanol is already increasing sorghum producer profitability. “On the ethanol, that’s real promising for another market for our grain sorghum because it’s interchangeable with corn in all these ethanol plants, so it just gives us another market and gets our price up there a lot closer to corn.” In fact, in some locations, sorghum is commanding a 10 to 15 cent per bushel to premium to corn, according to several growers in attendance here.

Two prominent national ethanol experts addressed sorghum growers Monday morning. One of them is Ethanol Promotion and Information Council Operations Director Robert White, who told Brownfield sorghum can do much to ease the concerns of those who are worried the ethanol industry may use too much corn.

“Corn’s not the only game in town,” White said. “We use sorghum today – that’s why we’re talking about ethanol here today.”

The other ethanol export to address Monday’s NSP general session was Dr. John Ashworth, Team Leader of Partnership Development for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Bioenergy Center in Golden, Colorado. He told sorghum growers their crop will play an even bigger role in ethanol production as cellulosic technologies are perfected.

Ethanol, News

BIO Supports Governors

Cindy Zimmerman

BIO The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) supports the incentives outlined in the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition report, Ethanol from Biomass: How to Get to a Biofuels Future.

According to a BIO release, “The technology for commercial production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass is ready today, but no modern biorefineries are currently operating to make use of the technology,” said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood. “The production incentive proposed by the governors would help jumpstart the construction and commercial operation of modern biorefineries by pioneering companies. We need to move quickly to ramp up production of renewable fuels that can help America move toward energy independence.”

BIO supports the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition’s recommendations to create a Cellulosic Ethanol Production Tax Credit and to fully fund research, demonstration and incentive programs authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Ethanol, News

Greener Snow Blowing With Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

E Clearing the driveway in the winter months can help clear the air if you use ethanol-enriched gasoline in your snowblower.

According to the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, small engines can efficiently burn 10 percent ethanol blends and the use of E10 reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 30 percent.

“It’s important to think green year round,” said Joanna Schroeder with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). “Winter air pollution is a concern for many communities across the U.S.”

The EPA describes “particle pollution” as microscopic particles in the air that can get deep in the lungs, with potential serious health problems. Particle pollution can occur throughout the year.

“Small engines in snow blowers perform well with ethanol-enriched gasoline, without sacrificing performance,” said Ralph Groschen with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Ethanol Program. “Check your owner’s manual and be sure to use fresh fuel at the start of the season.”

Read more from EPIC.

EPIC, Ethanol, News

Ethanol Means Big Business For Small Railroads

Cindy Zimmerman

TCW RR Small railroads are seeing big opportunities in hauling corn to ethanol plants and then transporting the finished product and by-products back out again.

An Associated Press article discusses the potential ethanol is presenting for the Minnesota-basedTwin Cities & Western Railroad with its mere 200 miles of track.

Chief operating officer Mark Wegner said his trains carry mainly corn and soybeans. But ethanol is working it’s way into the lineup.

“It has gotten everybody’s attention and it is seen as a huge opportunity,” said Wegner.

Besides the Twin Cities and Western, Wegner also helps manages a second company, the 94-mile-long Minnesota Prairie Line. He said ethanol accounts for almost a quarter of the business on the two railroads. An ethanol plant in Granite Falls is one customer.

“Granite Falls, which opened in December of 2005, we do a good program of bringing corn into it as well as bringing ethanol and DDG’s out,” Wegner said.

DDG stands for distillers dried grain, an ethanol byproduct used for livestock feed.

Read more.

Ethanol, News

Brunei Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman

Even some oil-rich nations are getting on the biodiesel bandwagon. Check out this article in the Brunei Times. Apparently, the sultanate on the coast of Borneo in the South China Sea has inked an agreement with a private company to build two biodiesel and glycerine production facilities.

The facilities can produce 100,000 metric tonnes of biodiesel per annum in Phase 1 and 400,000 metric tonnes per annum in Phase 2. The entire project costs US$263 million

The plants will produce biodiesel from the leftovers from slaughterhouses and cooking oil. By the way, Brunei exports about $4.5 BILLION in petroleum products each year.

Biodiesel, International

Welcome New Blogger

Cindy Zimmerman

John Davis.jpgDomestic Fuel welcomes our newest blogger, John Davis.

John is a 20 years+ veteran of traditional news and is getting his first taste of this “new media.” We’ve known John since Chuck hired him to work at the Brownfield Network in January, 2000 after he served an 11 year stint in the U.S. Air Force as a broadcast journalist. He’s getting out on his own now after working for Learfield Communications for almost six years as a network broadcaster.

John lives in Jefferson City, Missouri with his wife, two sons, two dogs, a cat, a mouse, and a fish! You can read more about him and his thoughts at his own website John C. Davis Online.

Welcome aboard, John!

Miscellaneous

US BioEnergy Claims Title of Largest “Pure Play” Producer

Cindy Zimmerman

US Bioenergy US BioEnergy Corporation has announced that with its Albert City and Central City ethanol plants now in commercial production the company can claim the title of “largest pure-play ethanol producer in the United States.”

“This is an important milestone for our company and to the revitalization of the American heartland,” said Gordon Ommen, CEO and chairman. “It’s the spirit and dedication of the American farmer that’s making this possible.”

US BioEnergy has also started site preparation work near Janesville, Minnesota for another plant. Fagen, Inc. will provide design, engineering and construction services for the project.

The company currently owns and operates three ethanol plants and has four additional ethanol plants under construction. Upon completion of these initiatives, the company will own and operate seven plants with combined expected ethanol production capacity of 600 million gallons per year.

Read more from US BioEnergy Corp.

Ethanol, News, Production

Cincy Buses Running on Biodiesel Save Nearly Half Million Dollars

John Davis

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that buses in the city and the surrounding county ran on biodiesel, saving the city $450,000 last year.

(The metro area’s) 390 buses used about 3.6 million gallons of fuel last year – half of which was biodiesel.

But, there is one adjustment that has to be made for the city’s cold winters…

During warm months, Metro fueled all buses with a blend made of up to 75 percent of biodiesel. It switched back to 20 percent biodiesel blend in colder months because the biodiesel can jell in cold weather.

Either way, it’s another city in the heart of soybean country making use of a plentiful, renewable, close-to-home source of energy.

Biodiesel, Government

Arkansas Ag Chief Pushes Biodiesel

Cindy Zimmerman

Bell The Secretary of the Arkansas Agriculture Department wants his state to focus on biodiesel, not ethanol. The Arkansas News Bureau reports Richard Bell told state lawmakers other states that produce more corn are already dominating the ethanol field.

Bell told the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee that Arkansas will have a chance to break into the ethanol market later, when technology is developed to allow the gasoline substitute to be made from wood products.

Of course, Arkansas is known for its forests, which could later supply cellulose-based ethanol production. In the meantime, biodiesel could be made from the abundance of soybeans grown in the state.

Biodiesel, Government

Busy Year Ahead for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

e-podcast2006 was an incredible year of growth of the ethanol industry and 2007 promises to be just as big. As production grows, education and marketing of the farm-based fuel becomes even more important and that is why the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has a busy year already lined up. In this “Fill Up Feel Good” podcast, EPIC Senior Director of Marketing Reece Nanfito talks about some of the programs, events and promotions in the plans.

The “Fill up, Feel Good” podcast is available to download by subscription (see our sidebar link) or you can listen to it by clicking here. (5:00 MP3 File)

The Fill Up, Feel Good theme music is “Tribute to Joe Satriani” by Alan Renkl, thanks to the Podsafe Music Network.

“Fill up, Feel Good” is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Audio, EPIC, Ethanol, Fill Up Feel Good, News