Happy New Year from ZimmComm!

Cindy Zimmerman January 1, 2016

2015 was a great year and 2016 promises to be even better! In 2015, the ZimmComm team covered over 70 events in 18 states and four countries, including Australia and New Zealand. We uploaded almost 16,200 photos and 65 videos and did over 5,000 posts on our own five websites and several others. Our Flickr photo albums now have almost 14.7 million views! Thanks to our wonderful clients and friends who make our work a joy!

Look for the golden microphone to get back on the road right away in 2016, heading to Orlando and the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting on January 10. See you down the agriblogging highway!

ZimmComm

ARF Releases Final Prez Candidate Report

Joanna Schroeder December 31, 2015

As the year comes to a close, Americas Renewable Future (ARF) has released its final 2016 presidential candidate Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) report card. Candidates are given a “good” or “bad” grade based on their statements and actions related to the alternative energy legislation. ARF plans to send the report card to more than 50,000 pledged caucus-goers so that “Iowans know which candidates will protect the state’s economy or which will be job killers”.

Both Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Rand Paul once again received a “bad” grade while the remaining Republican and Democrats have received a “good” grade. Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich and Marco Rubio have been upgraded from “needs work” to “good”.

Out of the race is Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal George Pataki, Rick Perry and Scott Walker.

During the past few weeks, Sen. Cruz has made pro biofuel statements but ARF calls him a liar and hypocrite and has been funding campaigns across Iowa to enlighten voters to his true position on biofuels – against them.

“Ted Cruz is dangerous to Iowa and thousands of Iowa jobs,” again stresses ARF State Director, Eric Branstad. “Our economy depends on a strong RFS and Iowans count on $5 billion in wages thanks to it, Ted Cruz wants to kill their jobs and we are going to make sure every Iowan knows that.”

biofuels, Legislation, RFS

Vote For Top Ag Story in 2015

Jamie Johansen December 30, 2015

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What’s your favorite food/drink gift?”

I am still stuffed from all the holiday food I consumed and still unpacking a plethora of gifts. Food and drinks are always great gifts to give and receive. It looks like fruit and wine topped this poll.

Here are the poll results:

Fruit – 33%
Candy – 0%
Cookies – 1%
Bread – 11%
Popcorn – 0%
Wine – 33%
Other alcohol – 11%
Variety baskets – 0%
Other – 11%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What was your top ag story for 2015?

We are about to wrap up a very busy 2015 when it comes to agriculture news. We have compiled a list of some top stories we have been busy covering throughout the last 12 months. Which one do you feel topped your list? Was it some involving trade, animal ag, crops, policy, etc?

ZimmPoll

ADM to Develop North Carolina Ethanol Hub

John Davis December 30, 2015

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) will develop a new ethanol hub in Selma, North Carolina. The company says the project with Kinder Morgan, Inc. and Bailey Feed Mill will be to build a new unit train rail facility and ethanol offloading system.

KMI will invest in and construct the new facilities, which will be located at the Bailey Feed Mill and will have the ability to offload up to 96 railcar-long unit trains in a 24-hour period. KMI will also build a new pipeline, approximately 2.6 miles in length, to connect the unit train offload system to their vast tank farm in Selma, allowing ethanol to be distributed to blending terminals in Selma and the surrounding markets.

“This project will help us improve the efficiency of our ethanol delivery in this market with added unload capacity, quick-turn time on railcars and a pipeline connection to tankage,” said Craig Willis, president of ethanol for ADM. “And by working with KMI and Bailey Feed Mill on this project, we will achieve the benefits in a cost- and capital-efficient manner. ADM has been a long-time supplier in this market, and we are excited to work with KMI and Bailey Feed Mill to bring a more flexible, reliable and efficient solution to customers in the Selma area.”

ADM and KMI anticipate having inter-terminal connections in service as early as the third quarter of 2016, with the remainder of the project expected to be complete by the end of 2016.

“We are pleased to work with ADM and Bailey Feed Mill on this transportation solution for ethanol deliveries,” said David Halphen, vice president of business development for KMI’s Products Pipelines. “This project will reduce the ethanol delivery carbon footprint through a more efficient use of rail capacity and pipeline transportation.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Iowa Tops 4 Billion Gallons of Ethanol in 2015

John Davis December 30, 2015

It’s been a record-breaking year for ethanol production in Iowa. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) says the state’s 43 ethanol plants produced more than 4 billion gallons during 2015, up slightly from 3.9 billion gallons in 2014. Iowa continues to be the number one ethanol producing state, accounting for more than a quarter of all ethanol produced in the U.S.

“While Iowa took a modest step forward in production this year, we have the corn supplies to really expand ethanol production,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “What we don’t have is access to the market for higher ethanol blends. The USDA blender pump grant program will help move the needle forward in 2016 and we hope the EPA will get the RFS back on track when they propose the RFS levels for 2017. If we can crack the petroleum monopoly on fuel choice, it will benefit consumers, farmers and the environment.”

IRFA credits the increase to efficiency gains and debottlenecking at existing plants, as well as ethanol production from cellulosic feedstocks such as corn stover and corn kernel fiber.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Iowa RFA

SolarCity Stops Sales in Nevada

Joanna Schroeder December 29, 2015

SolarCity has stopped sales in Nevada due to the decision by the Nevada Public Utilities Commission to “undermine Nevadans’ ability to go solar” according to the company who opened an office in the state in 2013. The company says the decision by the PUC to raise fees for rooftop solar” amounts to a “massive bait and switch” for both the solar industry and more than 12,000 customers including school for what SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive is calling, “what appears to be an attempt to protect profits of the state’s largest utility”.

“This is a very difficult decision but Governor Sandoval and his PUC leave us no choice. The people of Nevada have consistently chosen solar, but yesterday their state government decided to end customer choice, damage the state’s economy, and jeopardize thousands of jobs,” said Rive. “The PUC has protected NV Energy’s monopoly, and everyone else will lose. We have no alternative but to cease Nevada sales and installations, but we will fight this flawed decision on behalf of our Nevada customers and employees.” The decision to raise solar fees ways made right before the holidays.

Rive says Governor Sandoval’s Office of Economic Development helped bring SolarCity to Nevada in 2013, and encouraged the company to create local jobs. Accepting the Governor’s invitation, the company expanded to Nevada and has hired more than 2,000 local workers in just over two years. The state also created a rebate program to entice Nevadans to go solar, and many took advantage. The rooftop solar industry helped Nevada become number one in the nation in solar jobs per capita in 2014. With abundant sunshine and a populace eager to adopt solar energy and save on electricity bills, the industry was poised to become a cornerstone of the state’s innovation economy. All three members of the PUC, who voted unanimously to change the rules, were appointed by Governor Sandoval.

“Most disturbing is the PUC’s decision to retroactively sabotage existing solar customers’ investments by changing the rules on them,” continued Rive. “The Nevada government encouraged these people to go solar with financial incentives and pro-solar policies, and now the same government is punishing them for their decision with new costs they couldn’t have foreseen. These actions are certainly unethical, unprecedented, and possibly unlawful. While the rest of the country embraces a clean energy future, Nevada is moving backwards.”

Clean Energy, Electricity, Solar

The Andersons’ Michigan Ethanol Plant to Expand

John Davis December 29, 2015

Agribusiness The Andersons is expanding its ethanol plant in Michigan. The company says the Albion, Michigan plant’s capacity is being doubled.

“The supply and demand situation in Michigan relative to corn and ethanol is very favorable,” explains CEO Pat Bowe. “Advancements in farm practices and technology continue to increase the size of Michigan’s corn crop and enhance its quality. This added production capacity enables more ethanol to be produced and used in the state.

“This dynamic,” he continues, “combined with the highly efficient operations at the Albion facility, makes it a compelling investment for expansion.”

The facility, built by ICM, Inc. of Colwich, Kansas in 2006, was engineered for future expansion. ICM, Inc. is contracted to build the expansion, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2017. Approximately 10 new full-time production positions will be added when the new capacity becomes operational.

The ethanol plant is co-owned by Marathon Petroleum Corporation.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

China Imports Record Amount of US Ethanol

John Davis December 29, 2015

U.S. ethanol exports to China hit record numbers this year. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is crediting the rise to its trade mission last year that helped push overall agricultural imports to China to three times what they were just a decade ago.

“Our objective for every trade mission is to create new markets for farm products made in rural America,” said USDA Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse, who led the mission. “U.S. ethanol exports to China have jumped from $8 million to more than $86 million since our May 2014 visit. In October, we exported more ethanol to China than in the previous 10 years combined.”

Scuse led the delegation to promote U.S. agriculture, and explore the role that renewable fuels might play in China’s long-term clean energy strategy. The delegation met with gasoline companies, fuel blenders, oil companies, commodity traders, and government officials to promote the benefits of using higher ethanol blends. During October, the U.S. exported 32.5 million gallons of ethanol to China, valued at $57 million, or 46 percent of total U.S. ethanol exports for the month. Previous U.S. exports of ethanol to China averaged less than $3 million annually from 2005 to 2014.

Earlier this year, USDA partnered with 21 states through the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) to nearly double the number of fueling pumps nationwide, expanding the ethanol refueling infrastructure by nearly 5,000 pumps, a $210 million investment that will give consumers access to clean, American-made biofuels, and provide more choices at the pump.

“These are the kind of initiatives that strengthen our rural communities, and open new doors and help our farmers and ranchers capitalize on the tremendous export potential for American agricultural products,” said Scuse.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, USDA

USDA Highlights 2015 Energy Achievements

Cindy Zimmerman December 28, 2015

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has released a list of USDA’s top achievements in 2015 in the areas of trade, food security, conservation, energy, research, rural development, and more.

“Even with challenges in 2015, including an unprecedented animal disease outbreak and lower commodity prices, America’s rural communities have proven once again that we are a nation of makers, creators and innovators, and our economy and security are stronger because of it,” said Vilsack. “As we look to 2016, USDA will continue to seek out new and innovative ways to expand opportunity for America’s farming families and rural communities.”

Among USDA’s 2015 highlights in the area of energy:

Made available $100 million in grant funds, with matching funds from state and private partners, which will provide $210 million to nearly double the number of fueling pumps nationwide that supply American-made renewable fuels, such as E15 and E85.

Through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, USDA provided assistance to 890 growers on 49,000 acres for costs associated with harvesting and transporting agriculture or forest residues to facilities that convert biomass crops into energy.

Announced 10 Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry, which, by 2025, will reduce net emissions and enhance carbon sequestration by the equivalent of taking 25 million cars off the road.