I think the caption kind of says it all. Who would you rather depend on?
For me it’s America’s farmers and ranchers anytime. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and neighbors. Happy Holidays from The Renewable Fuels Now Coalition
Santa gave the biofuels industry an early holiday gift with the passage of an increased Renewable Fuels Standard. We’re excited to meet the challenges outlined in the legislation in the New Year.
Bazer’s “I have seen the enemy-and its name is corn” is making light of the attacks on corn and ethanol. It is important to explain this because what he says is not a whole lot different than some of the things that are seriously being said about corn and ethanol. He’s just trying to make it amusing.
If total acreage for corn were to reach the 100 million mark in 2008, it would necessitate that many of the places we now take for granted as corn-free zones become crammed with rows and rows of stalks: doctors’ waiting rooms, National League ballparks, ballet studios, Lower Wacker.
But it’s not too late to do something. Our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought in two world wars for this great country or immigrated here after those wars. Now it’s up to us. We must destroy the corn!
It would be funnier if there weren’t people who actually think this way.
Missouri is prepared for a law requiring a ten percent ethanol blend to kick in next week.
According to an article in the Kansas City Star, most of the gasoline sold in Missouri already being blended with ethanol.
The law “sent a tremendous signal,” said Gary Marshall, chief executive officer of the Missouri Corn Growers Association, and E-10 now meets about 90 percent of the demand for gasoline in the state.
F. J. Cronenwett, director of wholesale fuels for Robson Oil, which supplies several area gas stations, said that most fuel retailers in Missouri and Kansas were using E-10 because of the lower price and were even using an ethanol blend when they buy premium fuel, which won’t be required under the Missouri law.
“That’s really the way the market works right now,” he said.
Missouri currently has five ethanol plants on-line with a total annual production of 225 million gallons and by the end of 2008 the state should have 275 million gallons of production capacity, which would be enough to meet the state’s demand for E-10.
When President Bush signed the Energy Bill last week, he noted that it will take the biofuels industry beyond corn.
New technologies will bring about a new era of energy. So I appreciate the fact that Congress, in the omnibus spending bill that I’m going to sign later on, recognizes that new technologies will help usher in a better quality of life for our citizens. And so we’re going to spend money on new research for alternative feedstocks for ethanol. I mean, we understand the hog growers are getting nervous because the price of corn is up. But we also believe strongly that research will enable us to use wood chips and switchgrass and biomass to be able to develop the ethanol necessary to help us realize the vision outlined in this bill.
Read the president’s full remarks during the bill signing here.
National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman says American agriculture is a great success story and he believes the positive news about the industry will be appreciated more by the general public in the coming years.
“I don’t think the people on Wall Street or on the West Coast understand how much technology is being applied and how much change there’s been in the way we grow crops in the last five years,” said Tolman. “I think that story’s going to come out and I think we are going to get a wave of recognition and support for agriculture for the contribution that we make.”
Tolman told Tony St. James of KFLP Radio in Floydada, Texas recently that he spent a big part of his time during 2007 answering questions about higher corn prices and how that is affecting other food prices.
A recent item in Britain’s The Economist magazine, picked up by bloggers on this side of the pond, blames ethanol for higher beer prices. Readers are left to believe farmers are plowing over hops and barley acreage in favor of planting field corn. While there may be one or two minor anecdotes along this line, writers never seem to consider all the facts they should. Anecdotes help illustrate a story, but they never take the place of good research.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its National Hop Report, the headline of which reads, “2007 Hop Production Up 4 Percent.” The three hops states of Idaho, Washington and Oregon all saw increases in acreage harvested, and growers produced 2.7 million pounds of hops over 2006 totals. And 2006 hop production was higher than 2005. And when it comes to barley the facts are similar. In its December crop report, the USDA projected barley production to be 18 percent above 2006, with the total acreage harvested 17 percent higher than last year.
Fact is, the Northwest is really not the New Corn Belt. In Idaho, Washington and Oregon last year, a total of 461,000 acres were planted for corn—that’s less than one-half of 1 percent of total corn acres. Of those acres, only 169,000 were harvested for grain.
The real story, if there is one, lies elsewhere … and it is only the hard-working reporter (or blogger) who will find it. Here’s another perspective from The Denver Post that offers a pint of truth about another culprit for higher beer prices. And it shows how the cost of “inputs” such as barley is a microscopic part of the price of a six-pack.
President George W. Bush today signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and ushered in a new era in the way America produces and uses energy.
Bush says the new law is “a major step toward reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure.” The bill signing took place this morning at the Department of Energy building.
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Ron Litterer issued the following statement today regarding final passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act.
“NCGA is delighted President George W. Bush signed the energy bill into law today, taking an historic step in strengthening America’s national security and reducing the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
“NCGA appreciates Congress’s strong bipartisan leadership in getting the energy bill to the president’s desk. This legislative victory would not have been possible without the many renewable fuels advocates who paved the way. This energy bill demonstrates that leaders in both the Democratic and Republican parties clearly understand the future energy needs of this country.
“Additionally, I commend the nation’s corn growers for their efforts in making the 15 billion-gallon renewable fuels standard (RFS) for corn ethanol a reality.”
President George W. Bush is expected to sign the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 into law on Wednesday, after passage of the Senate bill by a vote of 314 to 100 in the House today.
Corn growers nationwide have been vocal in advocating for an energy bill. “The National Corn Growers Association put out a national call to its members to contact their congressional leadership and they responded in a big way,” said NCGA President Ron Litterer. “Growers contacted their members of Congress, wrote letters, sent e-mails, attended town hall meetings, and made Capitol Hill visits. Their diligence has truly paid off.”
President Bush plans to sign the bill into law during a ceremony at the Energy Department Wednesday morning.
The National Corn Growers Association has announced the Corn Yield Contest winners.
Not only was the number of entries higher than ever before, but several entrants scored yields of more than double the estimated average.
The 27 winners in nine production categories had verified yields averaging more than 298 bushels per acre, compared to the estimated national average of 153 bushels per acre. Ten winners (and 24 entrants overall) posted yields of more than 300 bushels per acre.
While there is no overall winner in the contest, yields of farmers who placed first, second and third in their production categories ranged from 252.6366 by Gary Porter of Mercer, Iowa, to 385.5861 by David K. Hula of Charles City, Va.
The national and state contest winners will be honored at the 2008 Commodity Classic, the combined convention and trade show of NCGA, the American Soybean Association and the National Association of Wheat Growers, Feb. 28 to March 1 in Nashville, Tenn. Contest winners will also be featured in a special edition of Farm Journal magazine. This year’s guide is sponsored by BASF, Bayer CropScience and Deere & Company.
Following are the 27 national winners by class: (more…)
Senators just finished patting each other on the back for their “tremendous” work in getting both an energy bill and a farm bill passed within 24 hours.
The Senate version of the 2007 Farm Bill made amazing progress overnight after Senators decided it was taking too long to go through even the pared-down list of amendments they had agreed to and they voted to end debate on the bill. Today, 79 senators voted in favor of the bill’s passage, the biggest majority to pass a farm bill since 1973. The number would have been even bigger if the presidential candidates had been there for the vote. Senators Clinton, Obama, Dodd and Biden all said they would have voted for the bill if they had been there.
The bill must now still be reconciled with the House bill before it heads to the president’s desk, with the threat of a veto still likely.
Here’s the latest political cartoon from the Renewable Fuels Now Coalition.
For those who have a hard time grasping sarcasm, 
Missouri is prepared for a law requiring a ten percent ethanol blend to kick in next week.
When President Bush signed the Energy Bill last week, he noted that it will take the biofuels industry beyond corn.
National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman says American agriculture is a great success story and he believes the positive news about the industry will be appreciated more by the general public in the coming years.
The National Corn Growers Association has announced the