ACE Conference 2026

Grains Council Officers Meet in Mexico

U.S. Grains Council (USGC) officers headed south of the border last week to talk about the new trade agreement and meet with new government officials in the country that accounts for a big chunk of U.S. feed grains exports.

Leaders from the U.S. feed grains value chain traveled to Mexico on the heels of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiations, and the new presidential administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, prepares to take office on Dec. 1.

While in the country, the joint leadership team visited with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) post in Mexico City; met with key customer organizations including the Mexican feed manufacturers’ council, known as CONAFAB; and made a stop at the Mexican grain trade association, known as APPAMEX. They also met with officials already appointed by the new president-elect, including Victor Villalobos, the incoming head of the agriculture department.

Mexico is the top export destination for U.S. corn, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and barley and a significant buyer of U.S. sorghum. The country also holds near-term potential for increased use of U.S. ethanol following energy policy changes in recent years.

AgWired Energy, corn, Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Exports, Grains, USGC

Kansas City Here We Come

ZimmComm is headed out today to the 75th annual NAFB convention at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri. We first started attending NAFB in the mid-1980s and have been there every year since 1987. But there are lots of NAFB members who have been faithfully attending the annual meeting since before it started being held in Kansas City. This year will be different for us since we’re bringing our fur baby with us because the Westin is so dog friendly and we will be seeing the grandbabies later this week!

The NAFB was founded in 1944 as the National Association of Radio Farm Directors (NARFD). Television was added to the name in 1955 to become NATRFD. The next name change came in 1964 to the more inclusive National Association of Farm Broadcasters and NAFB. In 2005, the name was changed from Broadcasters to Broadcasting.

There is a lot of history in the NAFB and we’ll be sharing some of it this week, thanks to the support of FMC – which has been a proud sponsor of Trade Talk for many years. Stay tuned for lots of photos and interviews!

Meanwhile, take a walk down memory lane from the past decade or so of NAFB meetings in the ZimmComm Flickr collection. See you in Kansas City to make new memories this week!

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by FMC
AgWired Animal, AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, NAFB

Latest Agri-Pulse Poll Shows Strong Support for Trump

It’s probably safe to say that no president in recent history has talked about agriculture as much as President Donald J. Trump, who has managed to mention farmers in nearly every campaign stop he has made in the past week. That “I love farmers” strategy continues to pay off, despite trade policy strategies that have impacted agricultural exports.

A new Agri-Pulse poll finds farmers and ranchers overwhelmingly approve of the job President Trump is doing, but they would like the administration to focus more on exports and ending the trade war with China.

The poll of 600 commercial farmers and ranchers, conducted over the phone by Aimpoint Research last month, found 79 percent either approve or strongly approve of President Trump, compared to 19 percent who disapprove. Broken down by party lines, 92 percent of the GOP farmers approved of the way Trump is handling the nation’s top job, compared to 33 percent of the Democrats and 65 percent of the independents.

Even though conditions on the farm might not be perceived as favorable right now, farmers seem optimistic that things will get better under President Trump. Our respondents gave fairly high marks to the administration’s efforts to renegotiate and rename the North American Free Trade Agreement, to renegotiate trade terms with China and to repeal federal regulations on their farms.

And when it comes to passing a new farm bill, they see the need to get it done before the end of 2018. On a scale of 0-10, with 10 being extremely important, 79 percent rated the importance of farm bill passage with a six or above.

Read more from Agri-Pulse

Agri-Pulse, AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, Government, politics

GROWMARK Energy Offering Pre-Blended E15

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association is pleased that farmer-owned cooperative GROWMARK Energy has started offering pre-blended E15 at its company-owned terminals in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.

RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White says the move will help expand the market for the higher ethanol blend. “GROWMARK Energy’s announcement provides new opportunities for retailers and a greater choice for consumers,” said White. “We thank GROWMARK Energy for its leadership and look forward to further growth expansion of higher octane, lower carbon E15.”

RFA has been working with GROWMARK on a number of issues related to offering E15 at the terminals, including regulatory compliance, participation in the EPA’s required fuel survey, and adoption of RFA’s Misfueling Mitigation Plan (MMP). RFA will continue to work with interested retailers serviced by the GROWMARK-owned terminals to help them offer E15 for consumers.

Scott Long, GROWMARK Marketing and Business Development Manager for Fuels, says an increasing number of retailers in their service area are starting to offer E15. “Some of them have blender pumps that can already provide E15,” said Long. “This gives them the opportunity to purchase the product without having to blend it themselves.”

Listen to an interview with Scott here: Scott Long, GROWMARK manager marketing and business development, fuels

Audio, E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, GROWMARK, RFA

Corn Growers Dispute Land Use Petition Claims

Cindy Zimmerman

Environmental groups filed a petition with EPA this week claiming that “millions of acres of wildlife habitat” have been converted to corn and soybean crops to produce biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard, based on a June report to Congress, which offered no specific conclusions about land use change related to biofuels production.

The petition claims that previously uncultivated land is being used to grow biofuels feedstocks, even though the amount of land used for corn and soybean production has declined since the RFS was instituted.

“The acreage data is very clear: farmers are planting fewer acres to corn today than we did when the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was expanded,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Lynn Chrisp. “And it’s not just corn acres that have fallen. The area planted to principal crops is shrinking nationwide. The reality of what is happening on today’s farms is not accurately portrayed in the petition.”

NCGA notes that farmers planted fewer acres to corn in 2018 (89.1 million) than they did when the RFS was expanded in 2007 (93.5 million). During that same time, ethanol production expanded from 6.5 billion gallons to 15.8 billion gallons. Overall, the area planted to principal crops in the U.S. has fallen from 328.6 million acres in 2000 to 322 million acres in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Meanwhile, the average corn yield has increased by more than 25 bushels per acre since 2007 and doing so with fewer resources and improved farming practices. Farmers have doubled yields while the cutting use of primary nutrients per bushel in half between 1980 and 2014.

Chrisp says they welcome new dialog with environmental organizations. “Environmental groups recognized the emissions reductions and health benefits of biofuels when they backed the RFS. This energy and environmental policy has been a success, delivering GHG reductions, improving air quality, saving consumers money at the pump and reducing our dependence on oil,” said Chrisp.

corn, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

Woolley Fuel Marks 10 Years of Biodiesel Service

Cindy Zimmerman

Woolley Fuel of New Jersey is celebrating its 10th year as a distribution location providing high quality biodiesel to consumers across the Garden State.

Woolley Fuel was started in 1924 by two brothers Herbert and Norman W. Woolley Sr. Their desire was to start a coal company similar to their father’s and found potential in Maplewood, New Jersey. The brothers built an energy company that is now approaching its 95th year and is still evolving. Norman Woolley, Jr. created a whole new market when he made his company the first in the state to offer biodiesel to the public. Woolley Fuel started with just B5 blends, and now due to demand, they are selling B30 to customers.

“It is hard to believe that 10 years has passed since the opening of the first public biodiesel fueling station in New Jersey. Kudos, thanks, and credit go to Norm and his colleagues for their forward thinking and entrepreneurial spirit in being the first to bring this environmentally friendly fuel to the public,” said Brian Palmer, New Jersey Soybean Board Chairman.

Woolley Fuel prides itself in offering biodiesel that is a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biofuel from Woolley is accessible throughout much of New Jersey including Essex, Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Union Counties. Along with biodiesel, Woolley is also a major player in the Bioheat® sector providing heating oil to northeastern New Jersey residents.

Biodiesel, biofuels, Bioheat

NEC to Feature Showtime’s The Circus Hosts

Cindy Zimmerman

The popular political commentary luncheon at the 2019 National Ethanol Conference will feature the co-hosts of Showtime’s popular political documentary series The Circus.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has announced that John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon will speak together at the 24th annual National Ethanol Conference, Feb. 11-13, 2019, in Orlando.

Heilemann and McKinnon will be the featured luncheon speakers on Tuesday, Feb. 12 for a lively discussion on the 2018 mid-term elections, the 2020 presidential race, and many other political topics. Both are well-known political commentators who collaborated to create and host The Circus, which premiered in 2016 and focused on the 2016 U.S. presidential election, January to November. In 2017 the series centered on President Trump’s first 100 days and this year the third season has been following the mid-term elections.

“The Circus has been called the ‘wildest political show on earth,’ and its fast-paced, behind-the-scenes approach has quickly earned the show a loyal and growing audience,” said RFA president and CEO Geoff Cooper. “We’re certain this will be one of the most entertaining and provocative luncheons we’ve had in the NEC’s 23-year history.”

Registration and more information is available online at NationalEthanolConference.com.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

RFA Pushes Back on API E15 Push Poll

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is pushing back on a poll released yesterday by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that claims most Americans are concerned about approving E15 to be sold year round.

“API’s newest poll is so manipulative it can’t even be called a ‘push poll.’ It’s more like a ‘shove poll’ that bullies respondents into answering the questions exactly the way API wants them answered. These results are meaningless and do nothing to objectively represent consumer opinion on E15,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

API’s poll claims to show that 69-83 percent of voters have concerns about E15, but questions asked in the poll clearly lead the respondents by making statements that are either totally false or misleading at best. For example, API says “83 percent of voters are concerned that consumers could shoulder higher pump prices if service stations are forced to invest in new infrastructure to accommodate certain types of fuels.” Here is how the question was worded (emphasis added):

There are some people who think the government should force service stations to carry higher levels of ethanol such as E15. According to a study by the Petroleum Equipment Institute, service stations might have to buy new storage tanks and pumps and make other investments in their properties to carry E15. These increased expenses could increase the cost of gasoline. How concerned are you that government mandates that force service stations to carry certain types of fuel could end up costing consumers more when they fill up?”

The question is based on a totally false premise. The federal government is not considering any mandate that would force stations to sell or consumers to buy any kind of fuel.

Cooper adds that since E15 was approved as a motor fuel in 2011, there have been no reported cases of consumer misfueling or engine damage related to the fuel blend. “While API continues to spread false and misleading information about E15, American drivers deserve to know the truth—E15 is a cleaner, lower priced, higher octane fuel that will soon be available year-round and nationwide,” said Cooper.

E15, Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Novozymes Bioenergy Sales Up

Cindy Zimmerman

Novozymes is reporting a five percent sales growth in the third quarter of 2018, including a 14% increase in the bioenergy sector of the company.

Novozymes reports that the strong growth momentum within enzymes for conventional biofuels in the first half of this year continued in the third quarter. Novozymes’ newly launched yeast product, Innova® Drive, posted good growth in the third quarter, and Latin America continued to perform well, supported by new starch-based ethanol production capacity coming online.

“Nine months into the year, I’m very pleased that Bioenergy continues to deliver strong; organic growth was up 14% and third-quarter growth was a touch better at 15%,” said Tina Sejersgård Fanø, Executive Vice President, Agriculture and Bioenergy. “We are happy to see that E15 in the U.S. now appears more likely to be implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency; there are still some legislative hurdles to be overcome, but longer term this is a good supportive measure for the U.S. ethanol industry, for Novozymes, and for the environment.”

Similar to the first half of 2018, U.S. and global ethanol production grew by an estimated 2% in the third quarter while trends with elevated inventories and tight margins for ethanol producers remain the same.

enzymes, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Novozymes

POET Moving Forward with New Indiana Biorefinery

Cindy Zimmerman

President Donald Trump’s decision to move forward with allowing year round sales of E15 is already spurring investment.

POET has announced it is moving forward with full construction of a new 80 million-gallon-per-year biofuel facility in Shelbyville, Indiana, with an expected completion date for the nearly $160 million facility of spring 2020.

“This is the right project in the right location at the right time,” POET CEO Jeff Broin said. “Farmers desperately need the income boost from this new market for grain, and Pres. Trump’s recent announcement of year-round E15 sales has the biofuels industry poised for new growth and prosperity. Shelbyville is leading the way for future production to meet new E15 demand. We’re excited to partner yet again with Indiana to create a cleaner, healthier environment for our children and grandchildren.”

POET Biorefining – Shelbyville will be the 28th starch biofuel plant in POET’s network, and the fifth in Indiana. It will add 45 full time jobs and $110 million in annual corn purchases for farmers in the area, primarily within a 30-mile radius. POET plans to start hiring for full-time positions in spring 2019.

E15, Ethanol, POET