Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visited Florida and Georgia to participate in roundtable discussions on USMCA and disaster aid signed by President Trump yesterday.
At his first stop in Tallahassee, Perdue participated in a short press conference with Governor Ron DeSantis prior to the roundtable.
Listen here:
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue presser in Florida on disaster aid
Casey’s General Stores will expand its E15 offering to more than 60 new sites this summer across their footprint following EPA’s approval of E15 year-round. Making that announcement this week, Casey’s and Growth Energy attributed this rapid expansion to the lifting of an outdated regulation that now allows American drivers to access the cleaner, more affordable biofuel all year-round.
“The summertime E15 restrictions have been a major concern for us for a long time and would typically slow down our E15 expansion,” said Casey’s Director of Fuels Nathaniel Doddridge. “Now that we know we can provide our guests with a consistent experience at the fuel pump year-round, we are expanding E15 at a faster pace to stay ahead of our competition.”
“Growth Energy has relentlessly led the fight on year-round E15 to grow the ethanol marketplace and give all drivers access to a cleaner, engine smart fuel,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “We are thrilled that Casey’s will be rolling out E15 at dozens of new sites this summer, and know from conversations with retailers all over the country that they will soon be joined by others who’ve been waiting for this day.”
E15 is currently sold at 1,807 stations in 31 states. To learn more about Growth Energy’s work to unlock access to E15 year-round, visit GrowthEnergy.org/E15.
Four new organizations are joining the National Biodiesel Board.
These new companies range from feedstock producers, to distributors, to environmental consultants, who join the extensive and diverse organizations that make up NBB.
“NBB is fortunate to have a diverse group of talented organizations within our membership who are passionate about moving this industry forward as a collective,” said NBB CEO Donnell Rehagen. “I’m happy to welcome these new partners, as their addition reflects the continued growth of our industry. Our members ensure that biodiesel and renewable diesel remain the top choice for diesel engines nationwide. I look forward to working alongside them, and all our members, to continue promoting America’s Advanced Biofuel from coast to coast.”
NBB’s newest members include:
Louisiana Soybean Grain Research and Promotion Board – A feedstock producer organization representing Louisiana soybean growers, dedicated to the state’s most important production and marketing issues.
Sack Energy Co. – A wholesale and commercial energy distributor working for more than 100 years who is committed to sustainability, superior service, and environmental stewardship.
Barr Engineering Co. – An engineering and environmental consulting agency providing service across the Midwest, throughout the Americas, and around the world.
Broco Oil – A veteran-owned fuel distributor located in New England with two rail served terminals which will soon be receiving and distributing biodiesel.
Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats, biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that can be used in existing diesel engines without modification. It is the nation’s first domestically produced, commercially available advanced biofuel. NBB is the U.S. trade association representing the entire biodiesel value chain, including producers, feedstock suppliers, and fuel distributors, as well as the U.S. renewable diesel industry.
Western Iowa Energy is adding a Monarch Fueling Station to the site of its Wall Lake plant.
The monarch habitat will span roughly four acres. The plant will start the process by spraying to eradicate non-native grasses this June and in late fall. They plan to do a dormant seeding of native plants and milkweed in the field in early November.
“Biodiesel production is all about turning the seemingly useless into something useful,” said Kevin Bieret, Operations Manager of Western Iowa Energy. “We transform agriculture coproducts into green fuel. We see this Monarch Fueling Project as a new way to do that again, by turning something we have to mow into habitat to help fuel monarch butterflies.”
The location and size of the plot was decided in consultation with Kevin Reynolds, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association’s Habitat Establishment Coordinator.
“It’s exciting to see the reach of this project grow,” Reynolds said. “More and more biofuels plants are stepping up to be leaders in the statewide effort to establish monarch habitat and protect this important pollinator. Considering the fact that the whole state of Iowa is in the monarch butterfly migration path, each plot can make a difference.”
The Monarch Fueling Station Project was established by IRFA in partnership with the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium in December 2017. It is a program to help Iowa’s ethanol and biodiesel plants establish patches of monarch habitat on plant grounds. To learn more about the IRFA Monarch Fueling Station Project, contact IRFA at info@IowaRFA.org or 515-252-6249.
Hydrite Chemical Co. launches a new product line for use in the fuel ethanol industry.
The integrated manufacturer and supplier of chemicals and related services announces its new Hydri-Maize™ catalyzed bisulfite product line for scrubber applications that will decrease plant emissions, decrease energy costs and freshwater consumption, and debottleneck operations.
All Hydri-Maize™ catalyzed bisulfite products are made in the USA by Hydrite. These products are used for VOC abatement in CO2 scrubbers which can effectively help VOC reduction goals. Hydrite’s new catalyzed bisulfite product line is designed to help reduce carbon footprint and improve operations.
Scott Cumming, Biofuels Product Manager for Hydrite, commented, “We are excited about the announcement and launch of the new Hydri-Maize™ catalyzed bisulfite product line. Our catalyzed bisulfite line has already taken over 2 billion pounds of fresh water out of ethanol processes across the United States. We look forward to taking out 2 billion more pounds.”
As a company with a strong commitment to sustainability, Hydrite Chemical Co. continues to invest in research, quality control, and training to offer products and systems that reduce water and energy usage and have a minimal impact on the environment.
To learn more, visit www.hydrite.com or call 262-792-1450.
Effective September 1, Carol Kitchen will be GROWMARK‘s Vice President, Energy and Logistics.
“I am truly honored to have been chosen to lead GROWMARK’s Energy and Logistics divisions,” Kitchen said. “As a native of central Illinois and having spent several of my early career years in the GROWMARK System, this is a career opportunity for me and one I’m extremely excited about.”
Kitchen is currently CEO and President of United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), a CDN$1.7 billion western Canada cooperative serving more than 110,000 Alberta members and commercial accounts in the petroleum and agriculture market segments. In the 1990s, she held positions GROWMARK’s internal auditing (Bloomington, Ill., office), and in Canadian accounting operations (Ontario office). Kitchen also has held roles at Land O’ Lakes, including senior vice president, corporate strategy and business development, and senior vice president and general manager, global dairy ingredients.
Carol holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois. She is a Certified Public Accountant and earned an MBA from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business. Carol and her husband, Jim, have a son, Jack.
Jim Spradlin, GROWMARK CEO, heralded Kitchen’s nearly 30 years of global, multi-channel experience including business unit management and strategy development. “At UFA, Carol drove the organization to be as customer-focused as possible, delivering growth across all platforms, while consistently improving employee engagement, delivering a new IT operating platform, and improving customer satisfaction. We look forward to welcoming Carol to the leadership team.”
Kitchen will replace Mike Builta, who passed away unexpectedly in April.
Husker Ag LLC in Plainview, Nebraska recently produced its one-billionth gallon of ethanol, a milestone noted by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).
“I couldn’t be more proud of the work that the staff has delivered over the last three years to achieve the goals set forth by the Board of Directors to increase gallons, improve our yield and lower our energy per gallon,” said Seth Harder, Husker Ag general manager and Renewable Fuels Association board member. “Hitting the billion-gallon mark is just the type of milestone achievement that commemorates all our hard work. I’m very proud to have been a part of this company since 2002.”
Husker Ag began production in 2003 and expanded its production capacity in 2007. Today, the company produces more than 300,000 gallons of ethanol per day.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed regulatory barriers allowing access to E15 fuel year-round. Representatives of the Renewable Fuels Association and other industry stakeholders shared information about the future of E15 and what this ruling means for retailers and consumers.
Panelists included: Geoff Cooper, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association; Neil Koehler, RFA Board Chairman and CEO of Pacific Ethanol; Steve Walk, Chief Operations Officer, Protec Fuel; and Bryan Stockton, Counsel, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
Listen to the comments here: E15 Media Call hosted by Renewable Fuels Association
The grand opening of the Elite Octane ethanol plant in Atlantic, Iowa got an extra celebratory boost on Friday with the announcement that E15 can now be sold year round. Guest speakers including Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds welcomed the news just hours after it was announced.
“Increased demand for E85 and E15 means that we can support more new ethanol plants like Elite Octane,” said Sen. Ernst. “We are officially ready, folks, to start our summer driving season with E15!”
Listen to Sen. Ernst’s remarks here:
Sen. Joni Ernst remarks at Elite Octane grand opening
Elite Octane began operations in July 2018 and produces more than 140,000,000 gallons of ethanol per year.
Iowa fuel retailer Charlie Good has been working to get E15 approval for years
“For the first time in six years that I’ve been handling the fuels, I can put an octane sticker on the pump and leave it on there and take flex fuel decals off,” said Charlie Good, owner of Good & Quick store in Nevada, Iowa. “So I believe it’s going to increase sales.”
Good is hopeful the rule will encourage more retailers to buck the system as he did and start selling higher ethanol blends. The American Coalition for Ethanol has a website (FlexFuelForward.com) for interested retailers that includes information from early adopters like Good.
Good has taken many trips to Washington D.C. over the past six years to tell his story to lawmakers, including President Trump himself. “Six years ago as a little piddly independent in Iowa I would have never thought that I would have been sitting in the White House and been able to help get this done,” he said.
Listen to my interview with Charlie here:
Interview with Iowa fuel retailer Charlie Good
