Talking Biofuels in Kansas City

Chuck Zimmerman

Lyle OrwigCindy and I are attending the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Convention in Kansas City this week. It follows the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Agribusiness Forum. I’m sure we’ll have several posts for you over the next few days that will include interviews with some people we hope you’ll find interesting. For example, at yesterday’s Forum session one of the presenters was Lyle Orwig, Charleston/Orwig. He’s being interviewed afterward during the break by Roger Ward, a farm broadcaster. Lyle was talking about the biofuels impact on food companies and their suppliers.

Another presenter on his panel was Hugh Whaley, Osborn & Barr Communications. Hugh was representing the soybean industry and the United Soybean Board in particular. He says that there was a lot of interest from the group in the kinds of soybean varieties that are in development that will help provide more oil for both food and fuel use. He also says that feeding soybeans to animals is still the biggest use of the commodity but that may be challenged in the future as the biofuels business grows.

You can hear my interview with Hugh here: Listen To MP3 Hugh Whaley Interview (4 min MP3)

Audio, Biodiesel, Ethanol

Make That Six Times

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol Hot Rod Mark Thomas is now a six-time International Hot Rod Association Funny Car champion.

Thomas, a farmer from Louisville, Ohio, won the International Hot Rod Association Alcohol Funny Car Division world championship once again this year, beating his nearest opponent by more than 100 points.

The World Champions will be crowned Saturday, December 9, at the 2006 IHRA Awards Banquet in Greensboro, N.C.

Read more from the Renewable Fuels Association.
Learn more about Mark and his passion for ethanol as a farmer and a driver by listening to the Domestic Fuel interview with him.

Ethanol, News, Racing

Presidential Farm-City Week Message

Cindy Zimmerman

White President Bush gave special recognition to domestic fuels in his annual Farm-City Week proclamation this year.

“Farmers are playing an increasingly important role in reducing our dependence on foreign oil by growing crops such as soybeans and corn that can be used as alternative sources of energy,” the president said in his proclamation.

National Farm-City Week is an annual event celebrating the vital partnership between America’s rural and urban industries. Held traditionally the week before Thanksgiving, it will be November 17-23 this year.

During National Farm-City Week, and throughout the year, we honor the farmers, ranchers, and all those working to build strong relationships between our rural and urban communities. Our economy is strong and growing, and behind the numbers are the stories of hard-working Americans who help spur our economic prosperity and feed our country and the world.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government, News

Ethanol Message Lights up Times Square

Cindy Zimmerman

E Ethanol is on the big screen in New York City during Farm-City Week this year.

A 30-second video featuring the benefits of farm-based ethanol will be displayed on the new NBC Universal High Definition screen in Times Square November 13-26. The campaign includes the week prior to Thanksgiving, which is national Farm-City week, and it will be seen by millions during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The “Fill up. Feel good.” informational campaign is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). Reece Nanfito, senior director of marketing, says it really highlights the annual Farm-City week theme “Partners in Progress.”

“I think the timing of this advertising is very important,” said Nanfito. “Because as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday season, it’s an important time when people are thinking about the bounty of our nation and how we can produce ethanol from our nation’s heartland and use that fuel to help our country’s environment and to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

Watch the ethanol video here. No audio, just the visual message as it is appearing twice an hour on the jumbo screen at the corner of 42nd Street and 7th Avenue.

EPIC, Ethanol, News

Domestic Fuels Go Hollywood

Cindy Zimmerman

Freedom Fuels Ethanol and biodiesel took center stage in Hollywood over the weekend with the World Premiere of the award-winning “Freedom Fuels,” directed and produced by Martin O’Brien.

The picture debuted on November 11 at the “Third Annual Artivist Film Festival and Awards” in Hollywood. “Freedom Fuels” received an award for best short in the Environmental Preservation category.

According to the filmaker’s website, Freedom Fuels takes an in-depth look at renewable fuel sources, such as biodiesel, ethanol and vegetable oil. It explores the interaction of the petroleum industry and alternative fuels over the last 150 years, and examines the global impact that biofuels can have on our future.

The film includes appearances by Darryl Hannah and Willie Nelson, as well as representatives of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and the National Biodiesel Board.

The film is also the first Carbonfree™ film, thanks to Carbonfund.org.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

US Farms Studies

Cindy Zimmerman

US Farms US Farms, Inc. and Imperial Ethanol, Inc. are doing a feasibility study for an ethanol plant to be located in Imperial Valley, Ca. BBI International will be doing the study.

According to a US Farms press release, US Farms president Yan K. Skwara said, “BBI will be targeting at utilizing sugar cane and corn as feed stocks for Ethanol in this study. Corn was chosen since the distillers grain by product produced from the process is consumed by the beef and dairy industry. This would be an asset to the project due to the amount of cattle currently in the Imperial Valley. The demand for Ethanol in California alone will outpace our production capabilities, leaving enormous potential for future growth.”

Imperial Ethanol intends to break ground next year on a facility that will have the capacity to produce 35-50 million gallons initially with capabilities of expanding to double the production of 70-100 million gallons per year.


Read more here.

Ethanol, News

SD Plants Merge With MN Company

Cindy Zimmerman

Adv BioE Advanced BioEnergy LLC of Minneapolis and Heartland Grain Fuels of Dakota Fuels Inc. are joining forces. With the agreement, two ethanol plants in South Dakota will merge with the Minnesota company.

Under the transaction, Heartland owners will invest in Advanced BioEnergy and, for that investment, will receive about $16.8 million in cash and about 2.6 million newly issued share units in Advanced BioEnergy.

Read more from Aberdeen News or Sioux City Journal.

Ethanol, News

Biomass Potential

Cindy Zimmerman

Biocognito As cellulosic ethanol looms on the horizon with the goal of producing ethanol from biomass, the questions are how much biomass is there and how much will it cost to convert to ethanol?

Nathan Danielson of Biocognito addresses those questions in a recent Ethanol Technical Update for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). Danielson cites a Department of Energy report that characterizes those biomass sources that are capable of producing one billion tons per year.

This study indicates that the largest single source of biomass in the united states is forestlands. Forestlands in the 48 states can produce 368 million dry tons of biomass annually.

The study also finds that agricultural lands could contribute 194 million tons of dry biomass in the form of corn stover, wheat straw, manures and other residues. So, they figure that we can come up with a good 500 million tons of biomass a year.

How much will it cost to make the ethanol out of it? Assuming a production level of 60 million gallons of ethanol per ton of biomass, the DOE report concluded that even if the feedstock cost $50/ton, ethanol could still be produced at a competitive level of about 83 cents a gallon.

Danielson concludes:

Clearly there is a great deal of biomass available at a rate that is competitive to corn, however we need to determine the best way to convert it to ethanol. The big question now is what is the best technology to convert it? Will it be a fermentation route as DuPont and Broin, honda and Iogen are considering or will it be the syngas to ethanol route that abengoa is developing? The winning technologies have the potential to produce billions of gallons of ethanol per year and generate billions of revenue.

Cellulosic, EPIC, Ethanol, News

Biofuels Could Complicate WTO

Cindy Zimmerman

WTO The International Food and Agricultural Policy Trade Council has conducted the first comprehensive assessment of how World Trade Organization disciplines may apply to the rapidly expanding biofuels sector.

The study sets out key WTO issues that need to be clarified, such as the classification of biofuels and their feedstocks and whether they are to be considered industrial, agricultural or environmental goods. It also examines how subsidies to promote the production of biofuels might be evaluated in a WTO context, including the issue of possible cross-subsidization of by products. Lastly, it examines the WTO consistency of certain domestic regulations and standards, such as mandates, fuel content requirements, or sustainability import criteria.

Read the paper here.

Listen to a report from USDA Radio News reporter Brenda Curtis here: Listen To MP3 Brenda (1:30 min MP3)

Audio, Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Domestic Fuel on I-65

Cindy Zimmerman

From the Birmingham (AL) News – The installation of the first ethanol-and-biodiesel-blended-fuel pumps along Interstate 65 in Alabama should begin in early 2007, state officials said Thursday.

State officials are talking with interested gasoline-selling convenience store operators and working quickly to make alternative-fuel purchase an option for drivers, said Kathy Hornsby of the Alabama Department of Economic and Development Affairs.

Read more.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News