New proposed levels for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) were released Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The 2018 RFS level for conventional biofuels, including corn ethanol, was maintained at 15 billion gallons, the maximum under current law, which Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says will benefit both producers and consumers. In this interview, Dinneen …
SMART Farmer Jennifer Houston
This edition of the SMART Farmer podcast features Tennessee native Jennifer Houston, a livestock market owner and beef cattle industry leader, who talks about how the business of producing and marketing beef cattle has become smarter in recent years. Houston is currently Vice President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and serves on the board of the U.S. Farmers and …
USDA Reports Record High Soybean Acreage, Corn Acres Down
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is estimating a record high 89.5 million acres of soybeans planted in the U.S. for 2017. That’s up seven percent from last year. Corn acres are looking to be down about three percent. All cotton acreage for 2017 is estimated at 12.1 million acres, 20 percent above last year, while all wheat planted …
Biodiesel Industry Considering Options Against Argentina
The U.S. biodiesel industry is considering legal options as imports of subsidized biodiesel have continued to increase since the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition filed an antidumping petition in March alleging that dumped biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia have injured U.S. producers. In this interview, NBB vice president of federal affairs Anne Steckel talks about the increase …
Quarterly Hogs & Pigs Report
The Pork Checkoff hosted the USDA’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report on Thursday, June 29, 2017. This quarterly teleconference featured three agricultural economists and their reactions to the report. Panelists included: Dr. Lee Schulz, Extension Livestock Economist, Iowa State University Dr. Scott Brown, Assistant Extension Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia Joe Kerns, President, Kerns & Associates, Ames, IA Reports seemed to …
Ag Groups Provide NAFTA Input
A number of agricultural organizations provided their input to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) this week regarding the upcoming negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “NAFTA has been overwhelmingly beneficial for the vast majority of farmers and ranchers across the U.S. for decades,” said Colorado Farm Bureau President Don Shawcroft in comments on …
American Ethanol E15 250 by Enogen Syngenta
The NASCAR Xfinity American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen took place June 24 at the Iowa Speedway, where race fans and farmers came to watch their favorite drivers run on clean burning ethanol. Syngenta and Growth Energy use this race to demonstrate the value of E15, a low-cost, high-octane fuel powering NASCAR for 10 million miles of competitive racing. …
GROWMARK Endure Initiative Grows
The GROWMARK Endure sustainability initiative is enduring. For the second year GROWMARK has announced winners of the Endure 4R Advocate award. Adam Dexter – West Central FS – Williamsfield, Illinois Don Jones – GROWMARK FS – New York/Pennsylvania Jay Matthews – AgVantage FS – Charles City, Iowa John Musser – Stephenson Service Company – Stockton, Illinois Nicole Weber – FS …
Trump Commits to Agriculture in Iowa
President Donald Trump stood among various models of John Deere and Case IH farm equipment as he pledged to boost agriculture exports, loosen federal regulations on the agriculture industry, and support ethanol and biofuels yesterday while speaking to a crowd of about 250 at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Listen to the full speech here: President Trump at …
2017 ASTA Annual Convention
The 134th annual meeting of the American Seed Trade Association was held June 21-24 in Minneapolis, MN with the theme “Voyage of Better Seed.” Founded in 1883, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is one of the oldest trade organizations in the United States with a membership of over 700 companies involved in seed production and distribution, plant breeding, and …
2017 Fuel Ethanol Workshop
The Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo, produced by BBI International, is the largest, longest-running ethanol conference in the world featuring timely presentations and a full trade show of industry companies and organizations. The 33rd annual meeting was held June 19-21 in Minneapolis, MN. This virtual newsroom includes links to photos, audio, and video from the conference. All content posted here …
SMART Farmer US Poultry
In this edition of the SMART Farmer podcast we head south to learn a little bit about poultry production and how it has gotten smarter, more efficient and more sustainable over the years. Monty Henderson started as a broiler service manager with Tyson Foods and later with Campbell Soup Company. He has served as president of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and …
30th Annual ACE Conference Preview
The 30th annual American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference is coming up Aug. 15-17 in Omaha with the theme of Tested-Proven-Driven and a big focus on marketing E15 and higher blends. Ron Lamberty, senior vice president of ACE, says the conference will feature two fuel marketers talking about what they have had to do to make higher blends available to …
Committee Hears Testimony on E15 Bill
Ethanol supporters and retailers made their case before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works committee Wednesday for a bill that would fix a frustrating and confusing situation and allow 15 percent ethanol to be sold year round. The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, sponsored by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), would extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver …
Uncertain Markets Require Flexibility
In this week’s ZimmCast, our Chuck Zimmerman speaks with Chip Whalen, Commodity & Ingredient Hedging (CIH). The topic is uncertainty requiring flexibility. Think about how commodity prices are affected by weather, trade, exhange rates and more competition. There are more factors too. In the program, Chuck and Chip discuss how farmers can manage risk with the uncertainty we’re seeing in …