President Donald J. Trump congratulated members of the nation’s beef cattle industry Friday as the United States and the European Union signed an agreement that is expected to nearly triple the duty-free access for high quality U.S. beef exports to Europe. . “This is a tremendous victory for American farmers, ranchers, and, of course, European consumers because American beef is …
Ethanol Report on Plans for 2019 Sturgis Rally
The Renewable Fuels Association is back for the 11th year at the 79th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Aug. 2-11 in Sturgis, S.D., once again partnering with the Buffalo Chip Campground to provide free 10% ethanol for bikers along with the facts about ethanol use in motorcycles. In this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast, RFA Vice President of Industry Relations …
Biofuels Groups Testify at EPA RFS Hearing
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) heard concerns from many biofuels industry stakeholders during a public hearing Wednesday in Ypsilanti, Michigan on the proposed rule to set 2020 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) and the 2021 RVO for biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Much of the comments from both sides of the issues centered on whether or not EPA …
CannaFarm Con for Growing Industry
Cannabis farming is a growing industry in this country and people want to know more about it, and that is why CannaFarm Con is being held August 1-2 in San Diego. Cannabis can be either hemp or marijuana with industrial hemp and production for CBD being the fastest growing segments of the industry. Celeste Miranda set about organizing an event …
ZimmCast 622 – Future of InfoAg Conference
This edition of the ZimmCast podcast features interviews with PAQ Interactive and Lara Moody, The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) about the future for the InfoAg Conference, which started in 1995. Listen to the ZimmCast here: 2019 InfoAg Conference Photo Album
RFA Partners with Hauk Designs to Take E85 Off-Road
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Kenny Hauk of Hauk Designs are partnering to highlight the many benefits of using ethanol fuel blends in high-performance off-road vehicles. Fans can watch the Hauk team design and build an RFA flex-fuel Jeep Wrangler JL in a special “Hauk Machines” Amazon Prime video series airing soon. But first, the series kicks off exclusively …
Senate Ag Committee Hemp Hearing
The Senate Committee on Agriculture got an update on “Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill” Thursday with opening remarks from leadership and two panels. Providing opening remarks were: Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) The first panel included representatives from USDA, EPA and FDA who gave reports on how their …
USDA Provides Details of Support Package for Farmers
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and other agency officials announced further details of the $16 billion package “aimed at supporting American agricultural producers while the Administration continues to work on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals.” In May, President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a relief strategy in line with the estimated impacts of unjustified retaliatory tariffs on …
Ethanol Report on Current Issues
The Renewable Fuels Association is having a busy summer keeping up with the latest EPA actions impacting ethanol. In this edition of “The Ethanol Report,” RFA president and CEO Geoff Cooper discusses preparing for the July 31 public hearing on the proposed 2020 volume obligations, waiting on EPA to make a decision about more Small Refinery Exemptions, and when the …
2019 Southern Peanut Growers Conference
“Super Farmers Grow Super Peanuts” is the theme for the 21st Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference, July 18-20, at the Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort, Panama City Beach, Florida. The three-day event provides farmers with information about peanut production, legislative issues, marketing and promotions. The event includes the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, the Florida Peanut Producers Association, the Mississippi Peanut …
ZimmCast 621 – Ag Media Summit/IFAJ Congress Preview
This podcast features a preview of the upcoming 2019 Ag Media Summit and International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress in Minneapolis/Bloomington, Minnesota. This year’s dates are July 26-31 for the Congress with AMS overlapping on July 27-31. The last time the two programs were held together was in 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. The annual Ag Media Summit includes AAEA …
FMC Submits Two New Biological Strains to EPA for Approval
FMC has just submitted two new biological pesticide strains to the EPA for approval. These biologicals, which FMC anticipates will receive EPA approval in late 2020, will be used for seed treatment, in-furrow and transplant application to target diseases like Sudden Death Syndrome, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Phytophthora. This unique combination of two bacilli strains offers a new option for growers …
Ethanol Industry Critical of EPA Proposed Volumes
The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday issued proposed volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard program for calendar year 2020, with a total renewable fuel volume of 20.04 billion gallons, of which 5.04 billion gallons are advanced biofuel, including 540 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel. That leaves the 15-billion-gallon requirement for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol unchanged from 2019. …
ZimmCast 620 – Timber Creek Distillery
This podcast comes from a visit to Timber Creek Distillery near Crestview, FL. The owners are Camden Ford and Aaron Barnes, two exceptional entrepreneurs, who are building a new distillery on some beautiful property. The new distillery building, which is near completion, is a massive 13,000 square feet with 40 foot high ceilings and includes outdoor seating areas. They have …
Hemp Moving Forward in Florida
University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) recently joined forces with Florida-based hemp industry company Green Point Research (GPR) to support an industrial Hemp Pilot Project. Hemp plants have been planted at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead Florida and at the UF/IFAS Agronomy Forage Research Unit in Hague, Florida — the first hemp …