Farmers got about two minutes of airtime during the Democratic presidential candidate debate Wednesday on MSNBC. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg was asked whether he would continue the “farm subsidies” that President Trump has authorized to help farmers struggling from the impact of the trade war with China. “We shouldn’t have to pay farmers to take the edge off …
Project LIBERTY “Pauses” Cellulosic Biofuel Production
POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels is hitting the pause button on production of cellulosic biofuels at Project LIBERTY and shifting instead to “R&D focused on improving operational efficiency,” according to the company which is a joint venture of Royal DSM and POET, LLC. POET-DSM is blaming the shift on “EPA challenges with the implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).” POET’s Senior …
2019 NAFB Convention
The 2019 National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention takes place, as usual, at the Westin in Kansas City, MO. This virtual ag newsroom will provide you some great content with interviews, speakers and photos as we get them. This virtual ag newsroom includes links to photos and audio content available free of charge for digital or print publication or broadcast. …
Ethanol Report from #NAFB19
The Renewable Fuels Association was pleased to be able to once again be a part of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) annual convention in Kansas City this past week. RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper and Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White were interviewed dozens of farm broadcast reporters from around the country about the latest ethanol …
CARBO Ceramics Signs Agreement With INNOVAR AG
CARBO® Announces Signing of Production Agreement with INNOVAR AG, LLC, a Leader in Agriculture Technology Products (HOUSTON, TX ) – CARBO Ceramics Inc. (NYSE: CRR) has announced the signing of an agriculture technology products production agreement with INNOVAR AG, LLC. The agreement combines CARBO’s technological capabilities and expertise in manufacturing and material science, with INNOVAR’s new Encapsulated Infused Fertilizer (“EIF”) …
AFBF Women in Ag Survey
A recent survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) confirms that a high percentage of women in agriculture already advocate for the industry, but they are looking for more leadership opportunities at all levels. Sherry Saylor, chair of the AFBF Women’s Leadership Committee and a farmer from Arizona, said 95 percent of women surveyed indicated they advocate for the …
Report Shows Importance of Biodiesel Tax Credit
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) released a new report on the “Importance of the Biodiesel Tax Credit” that highlights how uncertainty regarding extension of the biodiesel tax credit significantly increases business risks for biodiesel producers. The report was written by John Urbanchuk, managing partner of ABF Economics. “The current uncertainty surrounding reinstatement and retroactivity of the tax credit is a …
Pacific Ethanol Third Quarter Results
Pacific Ethanol, Inc. reported its financial results for the year so far last Friday and top executives expressed optimism for the future after a rough year. “Positive ethanol production margins in the current market are supporting our efforts to conclude several strategic initiatives to strengthen our balance sheet and position the company to benefit from increased demand for low carbon, …
ZimmCast 629 – Farming Hemp in Florida
The inaugural Florida Industrial Hemp Conference & Expo was held this past week in Orlando. Hemp has become a hot topic in agriculture today since so many states have created legislation allowing it to be grown and USDA just released new regulations under the 2018 Farm Bill. Included in this ZimmCast are: Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, Director …
Secretary Perdue Talks Mexico Trade
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue led a trade mission to Mexico this week to investigate new opportunities with our nation’s largest bilateral trading partner and second-largest export market for agricultural products. The secretary was joined by the heads of six state departments of agriculture: Bryan Hurlburt of Connecticut, Celia Gould of Idaho, Joseph Bartenfelder of Maryland, Chris Chinn of …
Flex Fuel Jeep Wrangler Debuts in Vegas
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Kenny Hauk of Hauk Designs unveiled a new project at the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas this week that highlights the benefits of higher ethanol blends in high performance vehicles – a Flex Fuel Jeep Wrangler with more than 1,000 horsepower using a high-octane, low-carbon fuel containing up to 85 percent ethanol (E85). …
2019 Florida Industrial Hemp Conference & Exposition
The inaugural Florida Industrial Hemp Conference & Exposition takes place in Orlando, FL. With an expectation of 200 attendees the actual number is about 450 according to conference coordinator, Gene Jones. The Florida Industrial Hemp Conference and Exhibition will focus on the development of the industrial hemp industry in Florida. Conference related topics include, but are not limited to: Hemp …
Suterra Introduces CheckMate®Puffer®NOW Ace™
Global pheromone leader offers an improved one-per-acre aerosol formulation that allows growers to effectively reduce Navel Orangeworm (NOW) damage,deploy faster and save money BEND, Ore. – Nov. 1, 2019 – Suterra today announced the launch of CheckMate® Puffer® NOW Ace™, a new aerosol pheromone formulation for season-long Navel Orangeworm (NOW) control in almonds, pistachios, walnuts, figs and other crops where …
Ethanol Report on Hearing Highlights
Back to back hearings on topics related to small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard brought ethanol supporters out to explain how EPA’s abuse of the waivers is hurting farmers and producers and how the new proposed rule is insufficient to fix the problem. In this edition of The Ethanol Report, we hear from some of those who testified …
ZimmCast 628 – Conversation with Demeter
In this week’s program I have a conversation with Sharlet Teigen, CEO, Demeter Communications. Sharlet talks about the start of the company and the challenges she and the team had to overcome. For her it began with a major move from Chicago to rural Montana. Listen to the ZimmCast here: Subscribe to the ZimmCast by clicking here.