Posted By Mark August 13, 2010
We are officially in the dog days of summer and as such many people are vacationing and that often means lots of driving and time with family.
With all the exposure to gas stations you may have noticed the word ethanol on pumps. It is pretty much everywhere these days as a 10% blend in gasoline and it is increasingly showing up in E85 formulations for flexible fuel vehicles or FFVs.
In fact, GM recently announced their continued commitment to E85 ethanol as “our best near-term solution. In fact, last month, we announced that we’re increasing annual production of Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFV) to more than 850,000 – that’s a 55 percent increase from the 2006 volumes,” said Candance Wheeler, a Gm Technical Fellow.
GM’s 2010 lineup represents the most FFV models on the market, providing drivers with multiple options to fuel their vehicles – E85 ethanol, petroleum, or a combination of the two. And with many new stations opening up, especially in the south and south central regions, it’s becoming easier find a place to fill up.
The latest development is something called a “Blender Pump,” but I like to call it a consumer pump because it allows you to choose what gas or ethanol mixture you want; unleaded gasoline, or 10%, 20%, 30% or 85% ethanol. If you have an FFV you can pick whichever one is the best bargain or whichever blend works best in your car.
Despite all for proven benefits of ethanol some detractors continue to spread misinformation regarding ethanol fuel. As the attached charts show, ethanol is a great fuel and an even better idea if you believe we should rely more on farmers and less on imported oil from hostile nations.
Posted By Cindy June 7, 2010
As the battle to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are now likely to stretch into the fall, concerns are being raised that the situation could delay grain exports, according to Iowa State University grain markets specialist Chad Hart.
“If the oil slick got into what is called the Southwest Passage – which is a canal that goes from New Orleans out to the Gulf of Mexico – we would be looking at severe delays in getting our corn and soybeans shipped overseas,” said Hart.
Ships can sail through the oily water, but would need to be cleaned when they enter port. “When a ship comes into port, it would have to be cleaned if it went through the oil slick,” said Hart. “And then when it goes to their destination, it would have to be cleaned again when it arrives.” The result would be much slower movement of grain out of the Midwest to foreign markets.
There are some reports coming out of the Port of New Orleans that indicate vessels that would normally dock in New Orleans are diverting to other Gulf Coast ports, but authorities say only one of 600 ships that have come in since the spill had to be cleaned.
The oil spill has been moving mainly to the east, so there has been little impact on the shipping lanes, which lay to the west of the slick. But Hart says there could be an impact on grain prices if the slick does start to affect the shipping lanes.
Posted By Mark February 26, 2010
Our extensive water transportation system in the United States may very well be one of our greatest national economic and strategic assets. It is definitely our most unappreciated means of moving goods because the vast majority of the population doesn’t see river transport in action, smell it, or risk getting run over by it.
That’s also the downside. People will support road projects all day because of our personal engagement with the asphalt and concrete, but ignore our most efficient and environmentally safe means of moving critical goods from coal to corn to construction materials.
So it is concerning that a critical part of our nation’s transportation infrastructure, the locks and dams along the Illinois River and the Upper Mississippi River, are deteriorating and falling behind technologically after 80 years of stalwart contributions.
Granted, this oversight may be understandable given the public and government’s focus on political issues from war to health care and economic issues that don’t need any explanation, but the consequence for this lack of vision may carry a big price tag in years ahead.
The country’s inland navigation system plays a critical role in the nation’s economy, moving more than a billion tons of domestic commerce valued at more than $300 billion per year. More than one billion bushels of grain (about 60 percent of all grain exports) move to export markets via the inland waterways each year.
Growing agricultural productivity in the U.S. and growing populations and buying power overseas provide some clues to the critical importance of addressing this issue. Population is expected to grow by 2.5 billion more people by 2050 to more than 9 billion people and many of those hungry eyes will be looking to the U.S. to keep their pantries and their stomachs full.
There are also significant environmental benefits to the inland waterway system. The backwaters created by the lock and dam system support more than 40 percent of the migratory water fowl and fish breeding grounds and are home to more than 500 miles of wildlife refuge. In addition, more than $1 billion are generated each year in recreational use – fishing, hunting and tourism.
So if the opportunity arise to tell your local, state or federal elected officials they need to get active now on updating our water transportation system it will be time well spent.
Posted By Mark August 5, 2009
Just saw one of best arguments ever made against our continuing dependence on petroleum and better yet, it came from a global oil giant, Occidental Petroleum.
The commercial, now posted on You Tube, shows a gentleman and his dog reacting as many of the products in their home that contain petroleum disappear. Everything from the TV remote, to his easy chair and eventually the shingles on his home mysteriously go “poof” as evidence of how much we depend on petroleum.
I am sure some marketing/ad agency guru persuaded Occidental this cute concept was a good idea. However, in the decade of $4 gasoline not everyone views the commercial that way. For those concerned about our reliance on imported oil for more than 60% of our needs, this looks somewhat like a clarion call. All I could think while watching this is maybe we can still avoid the images portrayed in the spot by taking aggressive steps to reduce this petro dependence.
Maybe they didn’t get the memo that virtually everything we make from petroleum can be made from agricultural products like corn. Carpeting, ethanol, film and plastic resins are being made today. Combine this knowledge with the growing production capacity of corn producers and I think Occidental may have let the genie out of the bottle.
Life Without Oil sounds like a goal to me.
Posted By Cindy November 9, 2007
Congress voted to override the presidential veto of the Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, because it authorizes funding for water projects from coast to coast, but the centerpiece of repairing locks and dams on the Mississippi River was the main concern for corn growers.
“When it comes to this issue, nothing has been easy,” said NCGA President Ron Litterer. “After almost two decades of work by corn growers, millions of dollars spent on studies, seven years of waiting on the legislative process, a presidential veto and then a veto override by the U.S. Congress, we finally have achieved authorization to modernize seven locks on the Upper Mississippi River System. Once again, our grower members demonstrated their influence and commitment to the Water Resources Development Act by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to overturn the president’s veto.”
Litterer celebrated the victory this week with NCGA First Vice President Bob Dickey and Senator Kit Bond of Missouri who is credited with his perseverance in getting the legislation finally passed.
Missouri Corn Growers Association CEO Gary Marshall says, “No one deserves more credit for this bill becoming law than Senator Kit Bond. We owe him our sincere thanks for his vision and determination to see the locks and dams on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers upgraded.”
“These upgrades will spur economic growth for mid-America and will certainly go a long way towards improving access to world markets,” said Missouri Corn Growers President Mike Geske. “Our competitiveness in global trade has become much greater today due to the WRDA bill finally becoming law. We will now work with our Congressional delegation to see that funding is also approved.”
“Iowa’s corn growers should really celebrate this achievement,” said Warren Kemper, a grower from Louisa County and long-time advocate for improving the river’s infrastructure. “The ICGA has been lobbying for lock and dam improvements for more than a decade. WRDA is important to farmers who depend on the inland waterways, but it is also important to the whole economy of the upper Midwest.”
“It’s taken nearly two decades of work by corn growers and a consortium of other trade groups nationwide, as well as millions of dollars in studies, to finally authorize work to repair and modernize seven locks on the Upper Mississippi River System,” said Wisconsin Corn Growers Association President Tom Novak. “While we’re glad legislation finally passed, we still have a great deal of work to do to ensure the work it authorizes is properly funded.”
Even though President Bush vetoed WRDA citing the cost as the reason, the bill actually only authorizes the projects and opens the way to appropriate the funds needed to replace the locks. Once the money is appropriated it will still take more than 15 years to replace the 70-year-old locks that are falling apart.
Posted By Cindy November 7, 2007
The Senate is expected to follow the lead of the House Thursday and override the presidential veto of the Water Resources Development Act, better known as WRDA. The House vote on Tuesday was 361-54 with 18 members absent, well over the two-thirds needed for the override.
Late Wednesday, the Senate was debating the measure with most speaking in favor of the override. President Bush vetoed the $23 billion bill, which includes a variety of water-related projects around the nation, including the modernization of seven locks along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River.
“This is great! We have worked so hard and so long to get improvements on the Upper Mississippi River System authorized,” said Ron Litterer, president of the National Corn Growers Association.
Litterer says the project to upgrade the lock system will improve delivery of crops to the global marketplace. More than half of all grain exports are shipped by way of inland waterways, accounting for $8.5 billion in exports.
The bill will also provide funding for environmental restoration, flood control, port modernization, irrigation and hurricane protection.
If the Senate does vote in favor of the veto override, as expected, it will be the first time that has happened during the Bush presidency. The Senate originally passed WRDA by an 81-12 margin.
Posted By Cindy October 5, 2007
Corn growers took their concerns about transportation – both rail and river – to the Capitol this week.
First of all, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Ron Litterer formally asked President George W. Bush to sign the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).
Litterer said, “After years of work and months of extensive negotiations, Congress has delivered a WRDA conference report that represents a meaningful and responsible legislative package, addressing issues such as environmental restoration, navigation, flood control, hurricane protection, water supply, irrigation and beach nourishment and recreation. Improvements in these areas will contribute mightily to the well-being of the nation, serving us well in the years to come.”
The White House reiterated the threat to veto WRDA this week, saying it is ”bloated” with political pork. The $23 billion package includes numerous projects around the country from the Everglades to California and has enough support in Congress to override a presidential veto.
Meanwhile, in testimony to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week, the corn growers told legislators the nation’s railroad freight system is providing “deteriorating service” to agricultural shippers.
In written testimony, NCGA said “service predictability is a huge issue. Determining when rail equipment will arrive at origin for loading, when it will be furnished locomotive power and when it will reach destination are increasing uncertainties. It is common to hear reports from agricultural shippers who experience wait times for rail cars exceeding 30 days. In a world of ‘just in time’ delivery, a 30-day wait for your product to be picked up is often unacceptable to your customers.”
Read all of NCGA’s testimony here.
We are officially in the dog days of summer and as such many people are vacationing and that often means lots of driving and time with family.
