Robert Pore's Ag Blog

In his annual State of the Union address, President Bush outlined plans to increase the supply of renewable and alternative fuels to reduce our growing dependence on crude oil imports. His proposal would create a mandatory fuels standard that would require U.S. motorists to use 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels annually by 2017. This figure represents a five-fold increase over requirements contained in the Renewable Fuel Standard passed by Congress in 2005 and would replace 15% of projected annual gasoline use in the U.S.

“Much like the 2005 RFS did in it’s time, the President’s proposal can serve as a catalyst for exponential growth in the U.S. ethanol industry,” according to Jim Jenkins of Callaway, the newly elected Chairman of the state’s Ethanol Board. “Nebraska, and other ethanol producing states, will directly benefit from this new demand for domestically produced energy. Farm income will grow along with other segments of the state’s broader economy. Engineering, construction, trucking, retail, chemicals, and education will be among the first sectors to benefit. Folks in town and those in the country will realize the full benefits of this basic industry.” Jenkins said.

“Given current market structures, traditional corn based ethanol can provide around fifteen billion gallons to help meet the President’s annual goal of thirty-five billion gallons,” according to Todd Sneller, Ethanol Board administrator. “This means feedstocks other than corn will have to be converted to ethanol. Technologies must be refined and developed to ensure viable production costs for ethanol and other renewable fuels that are derived from non-grain sources.

“Most parts of the country have local resources that can produce ethanol or renewables like biodiesel or butanol. Sugar crops in southern states, agricultural residues in the Midwest, forestry products in the Northwest, potatoes in Idaho, municipal solid waste in the nation’s cities, all are strong candidates to supplement traditional grain based ethanol supplies.” Sneller said.

Nebraska’s ethanol production capacity grew at a faster rate than any other state in 2006. That trend is expected to continue in 2007 and Nebraska will soon overtake Illinois as the second largest producing state. With many of Nebraska’s operating plants expanding and ten new plants scheduled to begin operations in the coming months, the state’s production capacity will approach 1.5 billion gallons annually. This level of production exceeds the use of gasoline and diesel fuel in the state each year and means Nebraska will be a net liquid energy exporter.

Labels: Ag news

AMARILLO – Like it or not, ethanol is coming, and beef producers must be prepared to weather the transitional phase and capitalize on the potentials in the future, said officials of the Texas Cooperative Extension Service.

"The short run is going to be tough, but in the long run, things will work out," said Dr. Steve Amosson, Texas Cooperative Extension economist.

Feed prices are being driven up by predictions of 3 billion gallons of ethanol production capacity coming online in the next year. Ethanol would require almost an 8-million acre increase in corn acreage, which equates to an additional 1.1 billion bushels of corn, Amosson said.

"I feel the corn prices will range from $3 to $4.25 per bushel on the board for the next couple of years, and the differential between corn and sorghum will narrow," he said.

Competition for acreage will increase, forcing other feed sources and crop prices higher.

In the short run, fed cattle prices will remain relatively unchanged, and feeder cattle and calf prices may continue to soften, Amosson said. A rule of thumb, he said, is calf prices will drop $1.50 per hundredweight for every 10 cent rise in corn prices.

This is going to reduce the predicted expansion phase of the cattle cycle, he said. But in three to four years that reduction will have cattle producers seeing record prices.

"Cattlemen also have a potential to gain market share relative to the swine and poultry industries because cattle can be fed the distiller's grain by-products, where the other industries can't," Amosson said.

"We just have to learn to feed those DDG's (dried distiller's grain)," he said.

Dr. Jim MacDonald, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station beef cattle nutritionist, agreed, saying "You don't have to like it, but you had better learn how to feed it."

And that, MacDonald said, is his job – helping the cattle producers learn how to feed the byproduct.

While ethanol had its share of unfriendly comments during the two-day symposium, MacDonald said, "We're going to get there, we just have to manage the transition.

"A lot of concern has come with ethanol in this area," he said. "But we are better off with the plants here than not because we're not the only game in town."

Dried distiller's grains from the Midwest are being shipped into the export market, he said. So the fact that the Panhandle will produce 600 million gallons of ethanol per year soon, resulting in 1.5 million tons of distiller's grains, will help keep prices reasonable.

When corn is processed for ethanol, it breaks down to one-third ethanol, one-third carbon dioxide and one-third byproduct or distiller's grain, MacDonald said.

These distiller's grains still have all the nutrient profile of corn, only the starch has been removed, he said. It has 40 to 45 percent fiber and 25 to 30 percent crude protein.

"It's going to be a cheaper protein source in the future and if used as a forage supplement, it can be used for both protein and energy supplementation," MacDonald said.

Labels: Ag news

AMES, Iowa -- Richard Larock sorted through a pile of neatly labeled baggies filled with the plastics he makes from corn, soybean and other bio-based oils.

Larock, a University Professor of chemistry at Iowa State University, found the thin, square piece he was looking for and smacked it against his hand. This one is made from soybean oil reinforced with glass fibers, he said. And it's the kind of tough bioplastic he and his industrial collaborators will use to develop, test and manufacture new hog feeders.
Richard Larock

Larock said his research project is about as Iowa as you can get. The state, after all, is the country's leading producer of corn, soybeans and pork.

The project is partially supported by a grant of $96,000 from the Grow Iowa Values Fund, a state economic development program. Larock is working with AgVantage Inc., a Rocscatine manufacturer.

Larock has invented and patented a process for producing various bioplastics from inexpensive natural oils, which make up 40 percent to 80 percent of the plastics. Larock said the plastics have excellent thermal and mechanical properties and are very good at dampening noises and vibrations. They're also very good at returning to their original shapes when they're heated.

And so Larock is optimistic about the future of bioplastics in commercial applications: "This project should create new technology and jobs, expand opportunities for bio-based industries and agricultural suppliers, decrease our dependence on oil, strengthen the agricultural economy of Iowa, utilize ISU patented technology, provide new markets for farmers and marry new agricultural product development with sophisticated manufacturing skills and the knowledge to commercialize these projects," he wrote in a summary of the hog feeder project.

Ron Hagemann, a principal with AgVantage, said designs for a bioplastic hog feeder have been drawn up. The designs include radio frequency identification technology that can monitor and record the feeding habits of individual hogs. Molds for the high-tech feeders should be completed later this year and prototypes should be ready for testing in a hog building next spring. If all goes well, he said a product should be ready for commercialization by the end of next year.

Hagemann said the feeders' biggest advantage in the marketplace will be material costs. Corn and soybean oils are significantly cheaper than petrochemicals. And that's particularly true when oil prices are high.

Hagemann said he expects this project to be a very good test of Larock's plastics.

Hogs, after all, aren't known for being gentle with their feeders.

"I've told Richard that if we can do this, it's all downhill from here," Hagemann said.

But Larock isn't stopping with the feeder project. He's looking at adding other low-cost agricultural ingredients to his bioplastics. He's now studying whether distillers dried grains, a co-product of ethanol production that's sold as animal feed, can add strength to his bioplastics.

Labels: Ag news: Science