Political Strategists to Address Ethanol Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

Former Presidential Advisor Mary Matalin and veteran Democratic Political Strategist Donna Brazile will be at the 23rd annual National Ethanol Conference in San Antonio as the featured luncheon speakers on Tuesday, Feb. 13, for “A Candid Conversation about Washington Politics.”

Matalin served under President Ronald Reagan, made her mark as George H.W. Bush’s campaign director and was most recently assistant to President George W. Bush, and as assistant and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney, making her the first White House official to hold that double title. Today, Matalin is a frequent commentator on both radio and TV, and is the co-author of “All’s Fair: Love, War and Running for President,” a national bestseller written with her husband, James Carville.

Brazile is the former Chair of the Democratic National Committee and fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. She has worked on every major presidential campaign since 1976 and in 2000, became the first African American to serve as campaign manager for former Vice President Al Gore. Brazile is the founder and director of Brazile & Associates LLC, a general consulting, grassroots advocacy, and training firm based in Washington, DC. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University.

NEC2018 will be held Feb. 12-14, 2018, in San Antonio. View the complete agenda here.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Ins and Outs of Ethanol for 2018

Cindy Zimmerman

Guest commentary from Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen

Before there was a “What’s Trending” on Twitter or Facebook, indeed before there was a Facebook or Twitter, or even an internet, there was “The List” from The Washington Post, providing insight into what was “In” and what was “Out” every year. It was as predictable as the ball dropping at Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and it remains wildly popular among Senators and interns alike in Washington, D.C. today.

“The List” was never intended to be erudite social commentary and certainly not a reliable compendium of history or current events. But it was a fun and whimsical exercise. And because imitation is the highest form of flattery, I began compiling my own “List” many years ago to provoke light-hearted contemplation about the trends in the ethanol industry. So, with tongue firmly placed in cheek, and deep appreciation to The Washington Post, I provide this year’s “Ethanol List.”


Read more on the Ethanol Blog

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

2017 in Pictures

2017 is just a memory now, so we compiled some of our favorite photos from the 50 events we attended this year so you can relive it!

This album includes some of our favorite shots of the year, our favorite people, and some of the many inductees into the Golden Mic Club. There’s only 200 out of more than 10,500 put into over 60 Flickr photo albums this year, so it is only a small sample, but it took hours to go through them all!

To watch as a slide show, just click the button in the upper right above the title photo that with an arrow in it. Enjoy!

ZimmComm 2017 Year in Pictures

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RFA Hires VP for External Affairs

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) started the new year off this week with Jessica Bennett as vice president of external affairs to primarily focus on building stakeholder support through policy and messaging.

Bennett was most recently director of renewable fuels for the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), where she also previously served as director of public policy handling ethanol issues. Prior to her time at NCGA, she worked at Bunge North America as director of government relations and was responsible for representing the company’s interests on issues related to agriculture at the federal level. She has previously worked as the federal affairs representative for various trade associations representing agriculture and small businesses over the past several years, and served as a staff person in the offices of two members of Congress from Arkansas.

In addition to helping on policy and messaging, Bennett will provide strategic counsel on RFA’s internal and external communications, build stronger relationships with industry stakeholders and partners, and assist with legislative and regulatory efforts as needed.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Iowa Breaks Ethanol Production Record

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa ethanol producers topped last year’s record, producing 4.2 billion gallons in 2017.

“Iowa continues to lead the country and the world in ethanol production and efficiency,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Several plant expansions just finished or will finish during the 1st quarter of 2018, so production could jump again next year. That makes expanding export markets abroad and breaking down unnecessary barriers to E15 here at home top priorities.”

Iowa has 43 ethanol plants and 2017 saw several plant expansions, as well as increased demand for exports and more stations selling higher blends like E15.

Shaw says their top state policy priority for 2018 is securing funding for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (RFIP) to ensure more retailers have the equipment necessary to offer higher blends of ethanol now and in the future. On the federal level, they will be continuing to work toward getting the same regulatory treatment for E15 so it can be sold year round in all markets.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Top Ten Energy Stories of 2017

Cindy Zimmerman

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the top Energy AgWired stories for ethanol and biodiesel in 2017.

1. RFA CEO Speaks Out
2. Ethanol Report on National Ethanol Conference
3. GM Announces 20 for B20 in Diesel Vehicle Lineup
4. Enogen and Cellerate Making Ethanol Better
5. EPA Proposes Further Cuts in Biofuels Under RFS
6. Ethanol Producers Going “RINless”
7. Ethanol Report on Earth Day
8. Ethanol Report on Crappie Masters, Boats & E10
9. Meet New NBB Chairman
10. NE Gov Highlights Value-Added Ag and Ethanol

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Ethanol Report on 2017

Cindy Zimmerman

All in all, 2017 was a pretty good year for the ethanol industry with a new advocate in the White House and record production.

Among the highlights of the year, increased exports despite Brazil taking a protectionist stance against ethanol imports, EPA releasing new RVO numbers on time, and ethanol champions rally to protect the RFS and win.

In this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about all that and more.

Listen to it here: Ethanol Report 12-27-17

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS
Subscribe via iTunes

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA

Iowa Biofuels Plants Help Fuel Monarch Butterflies

Cindy Zimmerman

Monte Shaw, Kevin Reynolds, and Eric Hakmiller at Lincolnway Energy’s Monarch Fueling Station

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) has launched the Monarch Fueling Station Project to help ethanol and biodiesel producers across the state establish monarch butterfly habitats on green spaces surrounding their plants.

“Because of their migratory patterns, monarchs need small patches of habitat throughout the state,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Iowa’s ethanol and biodiesel plants are scattered across Iowa and also tend to have a lot of green space on their properties – making them excellent partners for this effort.”

Kevin Reynolds, who has over 30 years of experience in environmental conservation, will serve as the project’s Habitat Establishment Coordinator and assist biofuels producers in the best practices to convert grassy areas into monarch fueling stations that contain vital milkweed plants and other wildflowers that support the monarch population.

Lincolnway Energy in Nevada is the first IRFA member to establish a monarch fueling station. In recent weeks, the first steps were taken on a two-acre plot to prepare the fueling station for seeding in the spring. “It’s exciting to be the first ethanol plant in Iowa to launch a project like this,” said Eric Hakmiller, CEO of Lincolnway Energy. “Pollinators like the monarch butterfly are an important part of Iowa’s agriculture landscape. Anything we can do to protect their population is worth our time and effort.”

As part of the project, IRFA has joined the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, an organization that is implementing a statewide strategy to protect the monarch butterfly in Iowa.

Biodiesel, Environment, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

EPA Proposes Grain Sorghum Oil for Biofuels

Cindy Zimmerman

EPA has opened up the opportunity for grain sorghum oil to be used for making advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

EPA has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with biofuels that are produced from grain sorghum oil extracted at dry-mill ethanol plants and found no significant upstream agricultural GHG emissions. As such, biodiesel produced from distillers sorghum would meet the life-cycle GHG emissions reduction threshold required under the RFS.

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says this will allow ethanol producers who use grain sorghum as a feedstock to have an additional market for one of their key co-products. “We look forward to filing comments and working with the EPA to finalize this important rule.

The comment period will begin once the rule is published in the Federal Register.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Growth Energy, sorghum