The big news today at the National Biodiesel Conference was the unveiling of the biodiesel bike built by Paul Teutul, Sr., Orange County Choppers. The bike was built in partnership with CIMA Green. Today the bike debuted on stage driven by former NBB Chairman, Ed Hegland. Then Paul Sr. himself drove it onto the biodiesel vehicle showcase floor where he talked about the project with attendees. CIMA Green actually had two bikes built and donated one to the National Biodiesel Board along with a check for $50,000 to use for transportation expenses to showcase the bike at various events around the country.
I spoke with Paul Sr. just prior to his entry into the exhibit hall and he says the bike was a tough one to build. He says it’s not a speed demon but it won’t break down, “It’s just made to go.” The bike has affectionately been named Susie, btw.
Joe Jobe, CEO, National Biodiesel Board, welcomed attendees to the 2012 National Biodiesel Conference this morning. He started out by telling a story about what biodiesel means to him and how he got involved in energy, politics and history. One of the things that really got him interested in the industry was, “I wrote a paper for my high school economics class about developing a market for ag-based fuels to supplement our energy supply . . . So my paper was overly simplistic and naïve, but after working in this industry for almost 15 years now, the basic idea is clearer than ever, and has now become a reality.” However, he says, “Over the past four decades America has not had a consistent and clear energy policy.”
Joe spent some time talking about the RFS.
The RFS demonstrated last year that effective energy policy can be carried out by actual energy policy. After the first year of implementation it has its wrinkles to iron out and we are going to talk about those in depth. But 2011 demonstrated that the RFS can work at doing what Congress intended, which is to draw renewable fuels into the market. I want to commend the EPA for their work in bringing this program together. They have had a very difficult job to take a brand new complex law and a wide range of stakeholders, and build a workable program.
The RFS has created a clear, predictable, stable and sustainable future for this industry.
While I’m attending IPE Week, Cindy is at today’s Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit. Most of her coverage can be found on Domestic Fuel. Just thought I’d share this first story with you:
Today’s 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit kicked off in Des Moines on Tuesday on a very positive note, considering that 2011 was a record year in the state for both ethanol and biodiesel.
In his annual address to the summit, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw noted that the state’s 41 ethanol plants produced 3.7 billion gallons of ethanol. “If Iowa were a country, it would be the third largest ethanol producer in the world, behind only the rest of the United States and Brazil,” said Shaw.
He also noted that with the return of the biodiesel tax credit in 2011 helped most of Iowa’s biodiesel plants return to production. “Ten Iowa biodiesel plants operated during 2011 produced a record 169 million gallons,” said Shaw.
However, Shaw noted that the challenges facing biofuels are just as strong as ever. “I know it’s hard to believe, but not everyone in America enjoys the renewable fuels success story,” he said, outlining the attacks against ethanol in particular by the food and oil industries. “Today the oil industry enjoys billions of dollars in tax subsidies while the renewable fuels industry has none,” said Shaw, proceeding to name off all of the subsides unique to the oil industry.
Shaw outlined the priority issues for the renewable fuels industry in 2012 as getting the biodiesel tax credit reinstated, keeping the Renewable Fuel Standard in place, and getting E15 commercially available.
During the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Trends in Agriculture Conference we had a session that focused on “Trends In Energy/Alternative Fuels” which featured Nathan Schock, POET & Matt Roberts, PhD. Pictured is Matt who is an Associate Professor of Ag Economics at Ohio State University.
Matt does a lot of work in biofuels. One of his take aways from the session is that even though we’re going to see a lot of ethanol policy changes in the market soon with the end of the VEETC/Tariff, “There’s not going to actually be that large of an impact right now when that goes away.” He says long term there may be some impact. The RFS is a different animal though. He believes it needs to be re-opened on the cellulosic side but seems to be working on the corn ethanol side. Changes, however, could have a real impact on the corn side.
He says that when you look at the big picture of ethanol and the biofuels industry there aren’t simple answers. He encourages the industry to take a step back and “think about the fundamental reasons that are out there and what’s driving it and start with the questions.” He says everyone seems to start with an answer looking for a problem to solve with it instead of asking a question first and then seeking the answer to that question.
Fields of soybeans surround the newly re-opened Renewable Energy Group REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant in southern Minnesota, serving as a reminder of where the renewable fuel is rooted.
Christina Connelly with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Ag Marketing and Development Division attended the grand re-opening Monday of the 30 million gallon a year plant, which was shut down in 2008 due to the economic situation in the biofuels industry at the time. Christina manages the bioenergy programs within the division. “We’ve had the bioenergy programs at the department since back in the ’80s when corn and soybean prices were real low and biofuels were seen as an additional market,” she says. “So we’ve had it housed in the marketing department ever since and we’ve done a lot with ethanol and biodiesel over the years to help jump start both those industries.”
Christina says they are very excited to see the biodiesel plant re-open to get production back on track in the state since getting capacity back to where it was a few years ago means about 6800 direct and indirect jobs for the state.
The Renewable Energy Group (REG) celebrated the official grand opening of REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant in Minnesota on Monday, with representatives of the state and local community and agriculture industry.
REG President and COO Dan Oh (right) says the plant was shut down in 2008 when economic woes hit the biodiesel industry, but REG felt it was a significant plant that needed to get back in operation. “Think of a gallon of biodiesel in roughly every bushel of soybeans, this is a 30 million gallon biodiesel facility, so that really adds value back to a bean bushel,” Dan told me.
Pictured here with Dan is Jim Willers, a Minnesota farmer who is a director on the United Soybean Board and a member of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. Jim says he’s proud of Minnesota’s support of biodiesel and how it in turn supports the local economy. “This plant’s put almost 25-30 people back to work, there’s usually 50 trucks that go through here and the spin off effect from this plant creates almost 2,000 jobs,” he said.
Novozymes was one of the companies that participated in the AgCareers.com 2011 North American Ag HR Roundtable held this past week at Purdue University. Novozymes is a Danish-based international company which specializes in enzymes for bioag products, biofuels and bio-pharmaceuticals.
Novozymes Recruitment and Employer Branding Manager Darlene Godsey says the company’s workforce has increased tremendously just in the last five years. “With the growth of biofuels specifically in the U.S., we grew substantially, doubling the size of our R&D team and trying to support the growth of the biofuels industry was what drove a lot of it,” she said. Godsey spoke to the roundtable of more than 150 agribusiness employers, professional organizations and college career counselors about what Novozymes is doing to recruit new “Zymers,” the term they use to describe their employees.
Godsey says they worked with a marketing company to develop special tokens that current Zymers could hand out to prospective Zymers. The token sends them to a special website that serves to introduce them to the Novozymes culture and help determine if they would be a good fit. “We wanted the experience for the employees and candidates to be reflective of how we work, that we do things differently, we are innovative and we challenge conventions,” she said.
The Zymer token program was just introduced in March and Godsey says they have already hired six people from that data base. “I have a target of 20 percent of our hires coming from the referral data base in the future,” she said.
I spent some time learning about ways the world can feed a burgeoning population. One emerging idea is through a “vertical farm,” an idea that has been promoted by Dr. Dickson Despommier, a former professor of microbiology and public health in environmental sciences at Columbia. He recently authored, “The Vertical Farm Feeding the World in the 21st Century,” which lays out the idea of growing our food vertically in greenhouse skyscrapers, rather than spread out over hundreds of millions of acres of farmland.
This idea has really captured my fancy and got my head spinning around all the ways it could be carried out. But let me take a step back. Today, our food travels on average 1,500 miles from field to table. Crazy. Much of our produce and fruits come from places like Mexico and South America. Wouldn’t it be cool if they could come from your own city?
That is exactly what Despommier is promoting. In the middle of an urban area could be a “vertical farm” that grows produce, fruits and grains and houses things such as fish farms. These future farms would grow our food year round while the excess waste, or biomass could be used to produce bioelectricity and biofuels. In fact, Despommier says that in some cases, a vertical farm could have up to five harvests per year.
While his idea could potentially grow grains like corn or wheat, the initial idea focuses on other crops. In my mind, for many, many years to come, the majority of our grains will still be grown in the great outdoors. In addition, there will be no animals here – they will still roam the countryside as well.
He writes that ideally, they would be cheap to build, modular, durable, easily maintained, and safe to operate. A vertical farm would mitigate external influences on crops such as too much rain or drought and disease along with the need for fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. Vertical farms would provide well-paying jobs and improve economics. He also believes they should be independent of economic subsidies and outside support once they are up and running and they should be profitable. (more…)
During the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour we heard a presentation from Cristina Negri, an agronomist with the Argonne National Laboratory. Cristina told us about a project they are working on in the watershed to see what types of agricultural production will work best for biofuels. They’re looking for marginal land that doesn’t lend itself to growing corn and looking at alternative crops. Efficiently using nitrogen will be important to whatever crop is found to work best for biofuels. The name of the project is “Biomass Production and Nitrogen Recovery.” You can read about it here (pdf).
To determine the opportunity, relevance and sustainability of a biomass production scenario and BMP that recover marginal land and impaired water to support productivity. This scenario by design maximizes sustainability benefits at the farm and landscape/watershed levels.
Cristina participated in the CTIC tour to learn more about the production practices being used by farmers in the watershed and says she learned a lot. You can learn more about her project from a presentation she gave our tour group during lunch: Cristina Negri Presentation
I am attending the 2011 Fuel Ethanol Workshop which is being held in Indianapolis, IN. It’s the “technical” conference for the industry where lots of the latest in technology and processes are presented in multiple, simultaneous workshops. This morning it was also where the 2011 FEW High Octane Award was presented.
Receiving the award is Rick Tolman, CEO, National Corn Growers Association. The award was presented by Tom Bryan, BBI International. Rick made a few comments about working in support of the industry. He says there are three main reasons for why he does it. First, it’s the economy, to take some of the money that’s going overseas and invest it in rural America. Then it’s the environment, trying to bring the reality of a clean, renewable energy source to the U.S. and reduce our GHG emissions. And third it’s national security, to bring home the men and women overseas trying to protect the flow of oil. You can listen to or download his remarks here: Rick Tolman Award Remarks
You will find much more coverage of the 2011 FEW over on our sister website, Domestic Fuel. Feel free to follow the Twitter hashtag, #FEW11 too.
Agriculture Ministers from the G20 nations reached agreement this week on a plan to reduce world food price volatility.
“The consensus reached today by the G-20 Agricultural Ministers marks an historic union of resolve in combating the pressing challenges of hunger and food price volatility confronting our world with greater regularity,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement from Paris where the meeting took place this week.
The G-20 Action Plan includes creation of an agricultural market information system charged with collecting accurate and timely data on world crop supply, demand and food stocks; and the removal of barriers to food exports for humanitarian purposes. The ministers also agreed to starting a pilot program for “small, targeted regional emergency food reserves for a limited group of countries” and helping smaller, women and young farmers in developing countries to improve productivity.
The ministers stopped short of making any recommendations that would impact the production of biofuels, but did call for further analysis of the impact of biofuels on food availability, price volatility and sustainability. “We also recognize the importance of research and development on biofuels, including those produced through new processes or new feedstocks, non-food feedstocks and other vegetable materials,” they said in their declaration.
Giant sweet potatoes could help South Carolina get into the ethanol game and provide an alternative crop for farmers to replace tobacco.
At the recent International Biomass Conference and Expo in St. Louis, Dr. Janice Ryan-Bohac attracted a lot of attention carrying around a sweet potato the size of a newborn baby.
She’s the president of CAREnergy, Carolina Advanced Renewable Energy, located in South Carolina and dedicated to the development of dedicated energy crops for the southeast, such as the eTuber™ sweet potato and sweet sorghum. “We are looking at feedstocks for ethanol and other fuels for the southeastern states because corn is not a crop that does well in the southeast. So, what we want is a very efficient crop for water, nitrogen, very high yielding,” she said, and the eTuber meets those qualifications. “These are very dry sweet potatoes, these are not in the food market, it would be a dedicated energy crop,” she explained. “We would like to build or takeover a corn ethanol plant to show that these feedstocks work, in combination with sweet sorghum, which does very well in the southeast. We want to get in the ethanol game and create clean, green jobs in one of the poorest areas of the United States.”
Janice says the tubers can grow to be over 20 pounds, which would translate into enough starch to produce 1500-1800 gallons of ethanol per acre. “The longer you grow them, the bigger they get. This crop never dies until the frost kills it.”
“I am a great believer in American ingenuity,” began Vilsack during his speech in Shenandoah, Iowa where the only first generation ethanol plant is co-located with an algae plant. “I’m a great believer in the capacity of the American farmer and rancher to literally meet any challenge.”
Vilsack recently went on an “energy” tour of the Midwest where he visited various energy projects, many that are supported by the USDA. One project, started three years ago, is the BioProcess Algae project co-located with a first generation corn-ethanol plant. The algae plant utilizes the waste carbon dioxide, waste water and waste heat to produce algal fuels and by-products. Vilsack, along with CEO Tim Burns of BioProcess Algae and CEO Todd Becker of Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) all believe that farmers will soon be growing algae – just like they currently grow other energy crops such as corn. In fact, Burns’ vision is that in 10 or 15 years, when you fly over Iowa, you will see concentric circles of algae around the ethanol biorefineries.
While Vilsack was excited about the technology and partnership happening in Shenandoah, Iowa, maybe what he was more excited about was the ability for domestically produced energy to revitalize rural America. During his keynote speech, Vilsack focused on the need for innovative and creative jobs to bring bright, young people back home. Today, 16 percent of our country’s population comes from rural areas like Shenandoah, Iowa and 44 percent of our military comes from these areas.
Vilsack believes that projects such as the BioProcess Algae / GPRE project will spread across the country and rural communities. “There’s phenomenal innovation and phenomenal growth opportunities to be able to do something for your country that needs to be done and that’s to wean ourselves off of our dependence on foreign oil,” continued Vilsack. “It’s an opportunity for us to create jobs in small towns. It’s an opportunity for American agriculture to continue to respond to the challenges it has met time after time in the country.”
There are four components that Vilsack believes are the secret for success in revitalizing the rural economy: significant investment dollars, innovation, networking, and a sense of place. Vilsack said these are the reasons why the USDA was supporting this project.
He concluded, “I want to congratulate the folks at BioProcess Algae and I want to congratulate the ethanol industry and the advanced biofuels industry for coming together in this operation because it’s a model for the rest of the country and it sends a strong unmistakable message the ethanol industry and the biofuels industry is here to stay and is going to play an important role in shaping not just opportunity for America but very specifically a wonderful opportunity, an unlimited opportunity for the bright young people who want to live, and work and raise their family in the greatest part of America.”
Another way farming will be showcased on the race track this weekend is when American Ethanol heads to Texas this weekend for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway on April 8th beginning at 8:30 pm EST on ESPN2. While the ethanol logo is on all the race cars, keep your eye on the No. 9 Toyota Camry driven by Kenny Wallace, who is sponsored for the season by the ethanol industry in partnership with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).
“It is an honor to be chosen as an American Ethanol spokesperson,” said Wallace who drives for RAB Racing. “I am very passionate about this subject and excited to spread true knowledge about American Ethanol throughout the United States. I’m proud and excited to go to Texas with new sponsor American Ethanol, and most of all I’m looking forward to getting my 10th NASCAR Nationwide Series win.”
During the entire 2011 season, all three of NASCAR’s national touring series will be racing on Sunoco Green E15, a blend of 15 percent corn-based ethanol and 85 percent racing fuel.
NCGA President Bart Schott noted, “Having Wallace as the driver is a great benefit. The RAB Racing team is racing very competitively this season and they are proving to be great proponents for Sunoco Green E15. Kenny understands the important economic and environmental contributions of the nation’s ethanol producers and family corn farmers. As a passionate and media-savvy spokesman, he is helping us reach millions of driving consumers with a positive message about domestic ethanol.”
The amount consumers will be paying for food at the grocery store could jump this year, but rising farm incomes won’t be the biggest factor in that increase.
“[High oil prices] are probably the biggest reason for the year-to-year changes. The higher energy costs we’ve seen in recent months do increase the cost of transporting and processing the food. And those are a big share of the overall consumer food dollar.”
Westhoff points out that while the amount of money American farmers will be making this year will increase, still only about 20 cents of every food dollar goes back to the people who grow and raise that food.
Westhoff says crop producers should have a good 2011, with livestock producers getting more of a mixed bag. “The positive is we have seen higher prices for cattle and hogs. But they’re also facing much higher feed costs this year.”
He adds that strong international demand for U.S. farm products will buoy the ag sector with cattle prices expected to go up and tightening corn stocks, helped by advancements for the ethanol and biofuels sectors, will keep those prices higher as well.
Westhoff cautions farmers that FAPRI doesn’t have some kind of crystal ball, and producers should expect some volatility.
“If you’re a producer or someone using agricultural products, you’re going to want to be very active in risk management these days to make sure that you’re able to handle different contingencies that might come up over the course of the next couple of months.”
Potential presidential candidates for 2012 were already testing the waters in the all-important Hawkeye State this week, appearing at the 5th annual Iowa Renewable Fuels (IRFA) Summit.
Former speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrich spoke to a full house of more than 700 at the summit in Des Moines on Tuesday. Gingrich supports all types of energy and strongly believes in the ability of modern agricultural technology to grow enough crops for all purposes. “The people who talk about food versus fuel are just plain flat wrong,” he said. He said if anyone is to blame for any food shortages, it is the European opposition to using genetically engineered crops.
Probably the biggest applause came when Gingrich gave his opinions on the U.S. EPA. “One of the things we are working on at (his action network) American Solutions is to develop an Environmental Solutions Agency to replace the Environmental Protection Agency,” he said.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a conservative Republican who served two terms in the U.S. House and two terms in the Senate, closed out the summit by telling his story of being a biofuels convert.
“I looked at this issue differently, until 9/11,” Santorum said. “Post 9/11, I went from someone who was skeptical at best of developing domestic sources of energy, to being a grand proponent of such things,” he said. “My pledge to you is to work with this industry to create a bigger and bigger place in the market for domestically produced ethanol and biodiesel.”
Santorum served on the Senate Agriculture Committee during his time in office. “I was the first Pennsylvanian to serve on the agriculture committee in the United States Senate in over 100 years,” he said.
UC Davis has won $40 million in federal grants to develop climate-change-tolerant plants and plants better suited to produce fuel. UC Davis scientists, who will led the various projects, will work with researchers at more than 50 universities spanning 20 states. UC Davis wheat geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky will receive $25 million to head a team that will work to develop new varieties of wheat and barley, and UC Davis forest tree geneticist David Neale will receive $14.6 million to head a team that will work to sequence the genomes of loblolly pine and two other conifers.
“Each of these projects features transdisciplinary, regional, integrated teams, including scientists from institutions that represent underserved populations.” said Roger Beachy, director of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture that awarded the grants. “This approach represents a new paradigm in how USDA science can best solve critical issues facing agriculture today.”
Linda P.B. Katehi, UC Davis Chancellor, added, “We are honored and pleased that the grant awards recognize the expertise and leadership of UC Davis in the field of plant genomics. We look forward to the practical solutions for agriculture and for the environment that will arise from these collaborative projects.”
Novozymes had acquired EMD/Merck Crop BioScience from Merck KGaA for US $275 and marks the company’s third major purchase in the agricultural biologicals sector in the past three years. EMD/Merck Crop BioScience is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the majority of the company’s activities take place in North and South America. Novozymes has spent the past few years building up its portfolio of sustainable solutions in the agricultural sector.
According to a press release from Novozymes, EMD/Merck Crop BioScience has approximately 165 employees and has generated average annual sales growth of roughly 15 percent during the last seven years. It is expected to generate sales of US $60 million in 2010 and will support Novozymes’ long-term sales growth expectation of more than 10 percent. EMD/Merck Crop BioScience’s EBIT margin supports Novozymes’ long-term EBIT margin expectation of more than 20 percent.
“The acquisition of EMD/Merck Crop BioScience strengthens our global position in the growing industry for agricultural biologicals providing products that enhance the natural growth and yield of crops,” said Steen Riisgaard, CEO of Novozymes. “We have found in EMD/Merck Crop BioScience a company that has a strong strategic fit with our existing BioAg business. In brief, it has a complementary product range and geographical scope, a strong R&D pipeline, and very talented people. Together we can utilize Novozymes’ unique biotechnology platform to bring a new level of innovation to the market.”
Novozymes cites many reasons that EMD/Merck Crop BioScience is an asset to their business portfolio but among them are the fact that their product line-up focuses on biological growth enhancers and nitrogen inoculants primarily used in the production of soybean and pulses. This supports Novozymes’ current nitrogen and phosphate inoculants business.
“Novozymes is dedicated to continued innovation in agriculture, thereby enabling farmers to become even more cost and resource efficient,” said Riisgaard. “In a world that continuously needs to produce more food for a soaring population without further stressing the environment, farmers need effective but more sustainable ways to grow crops. This has led to a strong interest in biofertilizers and other biotechnological solutions.”
Novozymes entered the biofertility market in 2007 with the acquisition of Philom Bios in Canada and has gradually increased its activities, most recently with the acquisition of Turfal in Brazil in August this year. The activities of EMD/Merck Crop BioScience will be integrated into Novozymes’ BioAg organization, which is part of Novozymes’ BioBusiness division. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed between February and May 2011.
President Obama held a public signing ceremony for the tax bill passed by Congress this week that delivers early Christmas presents for everyone, giving farmers and ranchers good reason to be thankful this holiday season.
Securing meaningful estate tax reform for farm and ranch families has been a top priority for the American Farm Bureau Federation. “We commend President Obama and congressional leaders for being committed to securing passage of this tax bill. It offers considerable relief that will help farmers, ranchers and rural communities in these difficult economic times,” said AFBF in a statement.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Steve Foglesong says they are pleased to get the estate tax at 35 percent with a $5 million exemption, at least for two years. “I speak for all cattlemen and women when I express my gratitude to those members of Congress who understand the importance of keeping small businesses, including farmers and ranchers, from receiving a financially devastating death sentence on New Year’s day,” he said.
The National Corn Growers Association is grateful for both the death tax relief and extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit. “We are very happy to see the one-year extension of the ethanol blender’s credit and a two year reformed estate tax move,” said NCGA President Bart Schott of North Dakota. “These extensions were among the top priorities for our organization in 2010; failure to renew both would have done much to harm our nation’s rural economy and the future of America’s farms.”
Among those in attendance at the signing today were some 150 members of Congress, administration officials and key stakeholder and advocates who worked to pass the bill, including representatives from the ethanol industry. Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen and Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis were both in the audience at the bill signing.
The biodiesel industry is especially pleased with passage of the new bill, which retroactively renews the biodiesel tax credit that expired at the end of 2009. “Reinstatement of this proven incentive helps provide the policy framework needed to meet the nation’s renewable goals, and the NBB sincerely appreciates the bipartisan cooperation and support that made extension of this worthwhile incentive possible,” said Joe Jobe, National Biodiesel Board CEO.
While some are worried that the new fiscal hawks who were elected as the Republicans swept control of the U.S. House will be bad for agricultural interests in this country, the American Farm Bureau Federation says the shift to the right doesn’t necessarily mean the wrong path for farm policies.
“I know there’s people in the press who have said, ‘Oh gosh, [incoming Speaker of the House Republican] John Boehner’s gonna kill farm programs.’ I think that’s far from the truth. He’s a very smart guy, and he’s going to recognize a lot of the new people coming in are rural Republicans, and the Farm Bill’s going to mean a lot to those folks,” Mary Kay Thatcher, Director of Public Policy at AFBF, told our own Cindy Zimmerman during the Trade Talk session at the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasters meeting in Kansas City. While she believes farm programs will take some cuts, it won’t be more than what other programs are asked to give up.
She says members of Congress during the lame duck session will kick the budget to the next Congress coming in after the first of the year by passing a continuing resolution and will at least temporarily extend some of the Bush tax cuts before they expire on January 1st. But she’s not as optimistic that the ethanol and biodiesel tax breaks will be extended. Thatcher says they could be renewed on a temporary basis, but she’s not sure after that.
“It’ll be short term … six months, maybe a year … and then the new Congress will have to figure out where do you get the money to pay for that stuff.”
Thatcher says new advocacy groups, such as the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), will be very important to keep the voice of the American farmer alive, despite there being fewer and fewer farmers and fewer and fewer farmers represented in Congress each year.
“I think we’ve got to do everything to try to put that simple message about what farmers do out there. Make sure people know you don’t get milk from a grocery store; you get it from a cow. We’ve probably got to do some advertising, [which] we didn’t have to do in the past,” says Thatcher.
Thatcher says the Farm Bill and biofuels tax credits will be big topics of discussion when the AFBF holds its 92nd Annual Meeting, Jan. 9-12, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia … just as the new Congress comes into session in Washington. She admits the ethanol tax credit could end up taking a hit from some of the new fiscal hawks elected this year. Thatcher does believe that farmers will be helped by the fact that Republicans have taken control of Congress, and thus, taken control of the purse strings of the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies that have put up roadblocks. And that could ease some of the restrictions the government has put on the agribusiness sector in the past few years.
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
Chuck and Mike often wind up at the same events all over the country so it seemed like a good idea to do a little AgriTalking about the changes they've seen in the ag media landscape.
The big news today at the National Biodiesel Conference was the unveiling of the biodiesel bike built by Paul Teutul, Sr., Orange County Choppers. The bike was built in partnership with CIMA Green. Today the bike debuted on stage driven by former NBB Chairman, Ed Hegland. Then Paul Sr. himself drove it onto the biodiesel vehicle showcase floor where he talked about the project with attendees. CIMA Green actually had two bikes built and donated one to the National Biodiesel Board along with a check for $50,000 to use for transportation expenses to showcase the bike at various events around the country.
While I’m attending IPE Week, Cindy is at today’s 
Fields of soybeans surround the newly re-opened 
The 
Novozymes Recruitment and Employer Branding Manager Darlene Godsey says the company’s workforce has increased tremendously just in the last five years. “With the growth of biofuels specifically in the U.S., we grew substantially, doubling the size of our R&D team and trying to support the growth of the biofuels industry was what drove a lot of it,” she said. Godsey spoke to the roundtable of more than 150 agribusiness employers, professional organizations and college career counselors about what Novozymes is doing to recruit new “Zymers,” the term they use to describe their employees.
During the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour we heard a presentation from Cristina Negri, an agronomist with the 
Agriculture Ministers from the G20 nations reached agreement this week on a plan to reduce world food price volatility. 
At the recent
Former speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrich spoke to a full house of more than 700 at the summit in Des Moines on Tuesday. Gingrich supports all types of energy and strongly believes in the ability of modern agricultural technology to grow enough crops for all purposes. “The people who talk about food versus fuel are just plain flat wrong,” he said. He said if anyone is to blame for any food shortages, it is the European opposition to using genetically engineered crops.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a conservative Republican who served two terms in the U.S. House and two terms in the Senate, closed out the summit by telling his story of being a biofuels convert. 
President Obama held a public signing ceremony for the tax bill passed by Congress this week that delivers early Christmas presents for everyone, giving farmers and ranchers good reason to be thankful this holiday season. 
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
