Commodity Classic is a gathering of farmers who grow many crops, including sorghum. I wanted to learn more about the organization that assists sorghum growers, the National Sorghum Producers, so I spent a little time with their Chairman, Gerald Simonsen.
Simonsen began by telling me about a great victory that had recently for sorghum growers. The organization has some issues with the formulas used to figure price election for crop insurance. After more than eight years working on the issue, they have gotten the methodology changed. In 2009, the price election was 77.8 percent of corn – in 2010, the price election will be 97.8 percent of corn.
“That’s a huge difference in coverage for producers,” said Simonsen. “On a personal note, on my farm, it means a difference of $35 per acre in crop insurance.”
While the National Sorghum Producers handles a lot of policy issues, they are also very involved in sorghum’s use for ethanol. Today, 1/3 of the sorghum crop goes into ethanol production. They may grow, however, as more research is dedicated to producing ethanol from sugar-based sorghums like sweet sorghum and cellulosic and biomass production using energy sorghums or forage sorghums.
While Simonsen doesn’t anticipate more sorghum production by “leaps and bounds” he does anticipate “a slow and incremental gain over the next few years.”
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) is relatively new to Commodity Classic with this being their third year. You could tell when you talked with John Caupert, the director of NCERC, how excited he was to be there so I asked him why.
“There’s energy, there’s enthusiasm back around around ethanol and biofuels. Some people believe that corn ethanol is an old technology. We believe just the opposite. We feel the corn ethanol industry is still in its infancy and through technological advancements, there’s much more to learn and prove in corn ethanol production.”
Caupert explained that the NCERC is unique in that they bring together the ethanol industry, corn growers and livestock producers and one of their goals is to ensure that there is a long-term market for corn growers through the corn ethanol.
Recently, they have spent a lot of time reviewing data regarding how the value of how co-products improve the greenhouse gas footprint of fuel ethanol production. “I think more often than not, we forget about the fact a corn ethanol plant in addition to producing fuel ethanol, also produces this high value livestock feed called distillers grains,” said Caupert.
Caupert noted that although they don’t often work directly with farmers, they work closely with both the National Corn Growers Association as well as state corn groups.
I only touched on the work that NCERC is doing. You can hear more about their research by listening to my interview with John below.
Cindy is working at the National Ethanol Conference and captured the speech from the Reverand of Renwable Fuels, RFA President and CEO, Bob Dinneen, who faced a much happier crowd than last year for the opening session of the 15th Annual National Ethanol Conference.
“A year ago, at this event, we met amidst the worst economic climate since the Depression. Commodity markets were in upheaval, investment dollars had evaporated, gasoline demand was falling, production costs were rising, plants were closing and the very foundation of our industry and our economy was shaking,” said Dinneen. “At that time, I summoned Winston Churchill to admonish you, ‘When you‟re going through hell, keep on going!’”
Dinneen was happy to report that the industry did persevere and survive, “And now, I can say, with confidence and conviction, that the state of the U.S. ethanol industry is strong,” he said.
Among the accomplishments for the industry, Dinneen noted 15% growth, reopening 14 plants that had been previously idled, starting up 8 new plants, and adding1.5 billion gallons of capacity. The ethanol industry contributed $53.3 billion to the economy, along with 400,000 jobs and replacing 364 million barrels of oil.
Organizations representing both biofuels and agriculture are pretty happy overall with EPA’s release of final rules for the implementation of the second phase of the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS2.
“We’re pleased the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes that corn ethanol provides a distinct advantage over conventional gasoline when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, with a reduction of more than 21 percent in some cases,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Darrin Ihnen. “This means that all corn ethanol including existing grandfathered capacity and new production will qualify to meet the conventional biofuels targets in the RFS.”
American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman says that they are encouraged by the rule because it “will help keep the nation’s renewable fuel standards on a path toward greater energy independence. By raising the volume of biofuels available for our nation’s transportation fuel supply, the administration is building on the strong bipartisan efforts that began years ago to provide a home-grown solution to the energy challenges facing our nation.”
Ethanol and biodiesel organizations were also pleased with the rule, which was changed from the initial proposal to be more favorable to first generation biofuels. See all their reactions on our sister site Domestic Fuel.com including a podcast with details from administration officials and comments from major biofuels groups.
However, while overall reaction has been favorable, all organizations are expressing concern about EPA’s continued reliance on the unproven theory of indirect land use change, which penalizes domestic biofuels production on the basis that it results in more land put into production globally in areas like the Amazon rain forest. “Removing the impacts from the international indirect land use theory means that corn ethanol actually provides a 52 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, compared to gasoline,” said NCGA’s Ihnen. “The EPA is not considering similar indirect impacts of petroleum-based fuels, so why are they so stringent when it comes to green, renewable corn ethanol?”
In the growing field of biomass conversion to fuel there’s a plant that Mississippi State University thinks will help farmers and all Americans. It’s Giant Miscanthus and you can follow it on Twitter @GiantMiscanthus. They’ve actually licensed the product which is Freedom Giant Miscanthus that’s being marketed by Sunbelt Biofuels LLC. On the show floor at AG CONNECT Expo to talk about it were John Holmes (l) and Sunbelt’s Chairman Phil Jennings (r).
Phil says they’re taking the product commercial for MSU. He says they’ve been in the turf grass business for years and this new product caught their attention. He says they’re off to a great start and expect to see a lot of acres signed up in the next couple years as the demand for cellulosic ethanol production increases. John says Freedom is a play on words to denote the ability to become independent of foreign produced oil. Phil says “We know of no other plant that is a perennial, that is renewable as fast as it is that can give us the masses of biomass that we’re looking for.” He says Freedom provides four times the yield per acre of switchgrass.
You can listen to my interview with Phil and John below:
Farmers who are considering growing miscanthus as a bioenergy feedstock now have a tool to make it easier. After years of collaboration and research, a miscanthus rhizome regeneration harvester and planter system has been developed. The unveiling took place during the Bioenergy Feedstocks Symposium held at the University of Illinois (U of I). Typically, miscanthus is a labor-intensive crop requiring multiple machines, and costly manual selection and grading – but not any longer.
Timothy Mies, Deputy Director of Operations at the Energy Biosciences Institute at the U of I, said, “When this project started, the propagation of rhizomes was done with shovels and lots of manual labor. These machines will take miscanthus production to a new level.”
The new machine is the result of a three-year collaboration between U of I, Tomax Ltd and Bermuda King USA. According to a news release from U of I, this machinery can lower the cost of miscanthus rhizome production by up to 40 percent and create opportunities for miscanthus to be used more widely as a high-yield bioenergy crop.
“Bioenergy feedstock processors require security for supply and unless we dealt with regeneration and planting issues for miscanthus, we simply couldn’t make progress,” said Gavin Maxwell, Tomax Ltd Senior Bioenergy Consultant.
In recent U.S. trials, the machine has demonstrated a 200 percent increase in rhizome collection over manual systems. this allows, says the research team, the opportunity for regional nurseries to more efficiently expand to meet the demand for both solid and liquid fuel conversion.
So here is how it works. The planter demonstrates a more uniform stream of rhizomes, enabling plant placement at a rate that matches rhizome weight, quality and ground conditions. The four-row planter incorporates separate feed hoppers and placement channels enabling it to be used for both two-row nursery work and larger scale plantations.
In addition, the harvester does bulk lifting of rhizomes on a continual basis with a patented one-pass digging head and oscillating de-soiler. Rhizomes exit via bulk side discharger conveying rootstock to an adjacent trailer. The speed of extraction allows faster transfer of rhizomes to storage which is a real benefit given the seasonal weather restrictions and narrow window of time that may prevail during the rhizome winter dormancy period.
The harvester and planter package will be available beginning this year and will be available for expanded grower crops in time for the 2011 season.
The Bioenergy Feedstocks session was a good value during the AG CONNECT Expo last week in Orlando, Fla. There were three main topics: winter and double crops, perennial energy grasses and the types of public policy needed to ensure second generation biofuels.
Dr. Tom Richard, Associate Professor with Pennsylvania State University, kicked off the session discussing the agricultural value of adding winter crops or double crops to a farmer’s rotation. An example of a winter crop that would be suitable for Pennsylvania is winter rye. Once harvested, the crop could be used for cellulosic ethanol. An example of a double crop would be planning a grain such as barley in the spring followed by a summer crop such as corn or soybean. Richard noted that when most people do a biomass potential study, they don’t factor in winter crops and double crops, thus reducing the amount of biofuels that could be produced on the same amount of land currently in production.
Dr. John Erickson, Associate Professor from the University of Florida, is an expert in studying perennial grasses for their potential as energy crops. These can include sugarcane, energycane, elephant grasses, miscanthus, giant reed, switchgrass and sorghum. In early trials, energycane and elephant grasses are doing well. Erickson also noted that the grasses tend to help improve soil quality and water use (they use less) and that the Southeast is likely to be the epicenter of cellulosic development.
Of particular note during Antonio Bento’s presentation, who is an Associate Professor at Cornell University is that through his economic studies of biofuels, found that corn-ethanol is in insignificant cause of higher food prices. The true cause is the country’s dependence on foreign oil. He also found that corn-ethanol is not a good indicator of increased carbon dioxide through indirect land use. He also stressed that market price will be the utlimate indicator of the success of biofuels.
Ultimately, the session can be summed up with this key thought shared by all the speakers, “Biofuels may offer advantages but the magnitude depends on how they are grown,” said Bento.
“Producing first generation ethanol from corn is a mistake,” writes Al Gore in his new book, “Our Choice A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis.” The book details the issues surrounding global warming, and presents various options to curb the issue. As a writer in the agricultural industry, I paid extra attention to the chapter regarding biofuels. It came as no surprise that corn ethanol was not presented favorably.
Gore writes, “The production of ethanol in first generation biorefineries has been a disappointment. However, it has had the benefit of increasing income for farmers and has led to the emergence of an infrastructure that will prove highly valuable when second generation technologies are available to produce ethanol from nonfood crops.” He goes on to discuss his personal disappointment with his early support of corn-based ethanol and then continues to lay out the case for second and third generation fuels including cellulosic ethanol.
The industry hasn’t taken the criticism lying down. Bob Dinneen, the president of the Renewable Fuels Association sent a letter to Al Gore stating, “Given your attention to science and the facts, I am disappointed by the treatment of ethanol and other biofuels in your new book, Our Choice. Many of your characterizations of today’s American ethanol industry are out of date or simply wrong.”
Biofuels aside, throughout the book, Gore uses a combination of words, graphics and pictures to demonstrate the climate change debate, detail many of the solutions and offer policy recommendations. There is one area where I think Gore did a great job, and that is explaining what the six categories of global warming pollution are: carbon dioxide, methane, black carbon, sulfur hexaflouride, tetrafluoroethane, carbon monoxide, butane and nitrous oxide. To date, the biggest focus has been on carbon dioxide and Gore’s focus throughout the book is no different.
I recently had the opportunity to go to Brazil to learn more about the sugarcane ethanol industry. While there, I also learned about several agricultural initiatives, including the country’s move to mechanized sugarcane harvesting. In the past, the sugarcane was harvested through what is widely known as slash and burn. Not only is this harmful to the environment, but not an economically sound approach.
In Brazil, sugarcane accounts for 8.14 million hectares of land or 2.5 percent of the arable land. Of that 2.5 percent, 1.5 percent is sugarcane for ethanol, while 48.1 percent of the country’s arable land is used for pasture for cattle. It is interesting to note that 87 percent of sugarcane production is in the state of Sao Paulo – no where near the Amazon Rain Forest.
This year the industry harvested 471.5 million tons, an increase of 7.5 percent from last year, even accounting for excessive rains that left a significant amount of sugarcane in the fields. So how many people does it take to harvest that much cane? The industry employs 850,000, of that 550,000 are cane cutters.
However, this is rapidly changing with the new mechanized harvest, spurred in part by the Green Protocol in Sao Paulo State. This protocol is an agreement between UNICA, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, and the Sao Paulo state government, to end sugarcane straw burning by 2014. By the 2008/09 harvest year, 49 percent of the harvest was mechanized.
I was able to see a mechanized harvest when I visited, along with 19 other international journalists, a sugarcane field in Ribeirao Preto. The fields were being harvested for sugarcane delivery to Pedra Agroindustrial sugar/ethanol mill. While the state average of mechanized harvesting is 48 percent, 77 percent of Pedra Agroindustrial’s fields were mechanically harvested. Unlike the corn ethanol industry, a large portion of land is owned by the sugar mill and the remainder of the sugarcane is purchased from farmers and suppliers. Here is a brief harvest video.
While mechanized harvesting is good news for the economic vitality of a mill as well as the environment, it is not good news for cane cutters. Therefore, to address the loss of jobs issue, the renovAcao program was developed to retrain 7,000 cane cutters to work in the sugar mills and ethnol plants as well as to work in other industries. The coordinators of the program are UNICA and Feraesp; Syngenta, John Deere and Case IH are sponsors; and funding comes from the Inter American Development Bank.
It was a year ago this month that ethanol advocacy group Growth Energy was formed, absorbing the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) and more recently merging with the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC).
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis has been with the organization since March, after leaving the National Farmers Union and he was on hand at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Trade Talk last week discussing ethanol issues with ag reporters like Gary Cooper of Southeast Agnet pictured here.
I talked with Tom about what Growth Energy has accomplished in one year and what the organization is working on now.
AGCO is one of the companies working on a prototype biomass harvest/transport system. At POET’s Project LIBERTY Field Day they demonstrated a pulled behind baler system to harvest corn cobs and stover.
Dean Morrell, Product Marketing Manager for Hay and Forage Harvesting, was on site and talked with me about their system. He says it’s a one pass system which utilizes combine technology and durable large square baler technology. He says the material doesn’t touch the ground and makes for a very clean bale product. They had to do some major customization on the equipment and they have two units out working in the field as part of the development process.
One of the companies exhibiting their developmental corn cob harvest/collection equipment at the POET Project LIBERTY Field Day was Case IH. Representing them again this year was Sam Acker, pictured sitting in their booth during the speeches. I spoke to him to find out what’s new with Case IH in this area this year.
Sam says they’re demonstrating an Axial-Flow 8120 combine and biomass harvesting system. The combine features a massive 350 bushel grain tank and has an attached biomass cart which is receives power from the combine. The cart has an adjustable cleaning system to tailor the cob/stover sample how you want it.
You can listen to my interview with Sam below and watch a video clip of the equipment lined up and waiting demonstration starting with Case IH.
There were 16 different equipment manufacturers involved with POET’s Project LIBERTY Field Day. One of them was John Deere, represented by Dean Acheson, Manager, Solutions Development. Dean says that what they’re working on is completely customer based. He says they don’t want to be slowed down during harvest and they want to keep up a high level of productivity.
The prototype equipment they had on display was a one pass, two stream cob collection system. On the back of their combine they have a new prototype piece of equipment that allows the grain to follow a normal path and the cobs then flow out of an attachment on the back of the combine. He says the equipment allows you some flexibility in how you choose or handle what is being harvested. A wagon is pulled by a tractor alongside the combine to collect the cobs. They’re currently not endorsing the towing of equipment behind their combines but this is equipment that is in development for the future.
You can listen to my interview with Dean below and watch a video clip of their equipment in action.
Corn growers heard from Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge at POET’s Project LIBERTY Field Day. She said, “We are seeing for ourselves that cellulosic ethanol is here, that it is viable and that it will transform renewable fuel as we know it today”. It was a cold, breezy day and she talked General Wesley Clark out of his jacket.
She reminded attendees about how they tried to hold meetings like this back in the early 1990’s to promote ethanol and how it was a slow process but she said they knew it would become a viable reality. So as a farmer and Lt. Gov. she says a lot of work has gone in to making a day like this happen. She says this POET project is helping keep Iowa at the forefront of renewable energy production. She says the state has made a total investment in this project of $20 million and that the funds will make the project a reality and help create new jobs. She pledged that she and the Governor would do all they can to increase the demand for ethanol.
One of the stars on hand to address the crowd at POET’s Project LIBERTY Field Day was former four-star General Wesley Clark. He spoke about the important role they would play in providing more homegrown fuel for the nation.
“We are involved in something that is historic,” Clark said. “We are going to significantly reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources, and we will strengthen America’s national security.” He says it’s a big step for American agriculture but the work is not done and encouraged attendees to get involved and join Growth Force to help influence what is being done in Washington, DC. Clark told me after his speech how much he enjoys getting out and interacting with farmers. I think he really likes “the field” although he excelled in a different one than you’ll find here in Iowa.
Clark is Co-Chairman for Growth Energy, a ZimmComm sponsor.
This is a load of corn cobs being unloaded after they were just harvested at the POET Project LIBERTY Field Day.
We watched several different equipment manufacturers display their latest products to handle collecting the corn cobs for use in cellulosic ethanol production. I’ve got video clips of them in action which I’ll be posting in coming days. In the meantime you can see photos in the photo album which I just updated.
Before we got started I interviewed POET CEO Jeff Broin about what we should expect. He emphasizes the importance of cellulosic ethanol production and what utilizing corn cobs as a biomass will mean to farmers and rural America. You can listen to my interview with Jeff below or watch the video:
Driving to Emmetsburg, IA last night I saw a growing number of these lights the further north I got. This combine was working right near the POET plant in Emmetsburg. Well, it’s daytime now and I’m hoping it will warm up from the 25 degrees we had when I got up.
POET is describing today’s event as “The largest gathering ever of cellulosic biomass harvesting equipment.”
Agriculture equipment manufacturers will soon put cob harvesting equipment on the market, and Iowa farmers will have a chance to see the latest prototypes in action at Project LIBERTY Field day at POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg (Iowa). Cobs will be the primary feedstock for POET’s commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg. Also at the event, four-star General Wesley Clark and Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge will join POET CEO Jeff Broin in addressing the crowd about cellulosic ethanol and its importance to our energy future.
I’m sure the POET Biorefining Plant in Emmetsburg, IA will look a lot different in the daylight but I think it looks pretty cool at night too.
I had to stop by on my way into town in advance of the Project LIBERTY field day tomorrow. Thanks to POET for sponsoring my trip so I can learn more about their cellulosic ethanol production system and plans. You can count on learning more with me here and on Domestic Fuel.
This is where I’ll be on Tuesday for the POET Project LIBERTY Field Day. The action will take place at their biorefining facility in Emmetsburg, IA starting at 10 a.m.
Agriculture equipment manufacturers will soon put cob harvesting equipment on the market, and Iowa farmers will have a chance to see the latest prototypes in action at Project LIBERTY Field day at POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg (Iowa). Cobs will be the primary feedstock for POET’s commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg. Also at the event, four-star General Wesley Clark and Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge will join POET CEO Jeff Broin in addressing the crowd about cellulosic ethanol and its importance to our energy future.
I hope to have some coverage online here and on Domestic Fuel late that morning. Last year it was cold and wet. This year we’re hoping to get a break in the weather. This time we’ll get to see equipment harvest demonstrations in the afternoon.
Have you ever wondered what switchgrass looks like? That’s it behind Cory Christensen, Director of Product Managment, Ceres, who was conducting Sunbelt Ag Expo presentations in the field. He says it’s a first season stand of their Blade energy crop. It was developed specifically for the southeast. Since it’s the first season for this crop they won’t harvest it at Sunbelt until next year. A mature yield for the crop is about 8 tons per acre of dry matter.
Switchgrass is native to the United States everywhere east of the Rockies. Ceres, has been working on varieties that will yield better in different growing environments though. Cory says that they don’t expect it to displace corn in Iowa but in the southeast with the difficulties in cotton and tobacco it becomes a viable alternative on open acres. He provides some estimates of what the crop can mean financially as the market for a fuel crop like switchgrass develops.
Cory describes the current market as a “developing market.” They have a map that shows developing opportunities where plants will be located to process energy crops. He says that biomass is a local business so you need to be located near a biorefinery. He also points to the USDA’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program that provides monetary assistance to facilitate the transition of eligible land to energy crops.
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Happy Ag Week
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
“That’s a huge difference in coverage for producers,” said Simonsen. “On a personal note, on my farm, it means a difference of $35 per acre in crop insurance.”
and 
Cindy is working at the National Ethanol Conference and captured the speech from the Reverand of Renwable Fuels, 
Organizations representing both biofuels and agriculture are pretty happy overall with 
In the growing field of biomass conversion to fuel there’s a plant that Mississippi State University thinks will help farmers and all Americans. It’s Giant Miscanthus and you can follow it on 
Farmers who are considering growing miscanthus as a bioenergy feedstock now have a tool to make it easier. After years of collaboration and research, a miscanthus rhizome regeneration harvester and planter system has been developed. The unveiling took place during the 
“Bioenergy feedstock processors require security for supply and unless we dealt with regeneration and planting issues for miscanthus, we simply couldn’t make progress,” said Gavin Maxwell, Tomax Ltd Senior Bioenergy Consultant.
Dr. Tom Richard, Associate Professor with Pennsylvania State University, kicked off the session discussing the agricultural value of adding winter crops or double crops to a farmer’s rotation. An example of a winter crop that would be suitable for Pennsylvania is winter rye. Once harvested, the crop could be used for cellulosic ethanol. An example of a double crop would be planning a grain such as barley in the spring followed by a summer crop such as corn or soybean. Richard noted that when most people do a biomass potential study, they don’t factor in winter crops and double crops, thus reducing the amount of biofuels that could be produced on the same amount of land currently in production.
“Producing first generation ethanol from corn is a mistake,” writes Al Gore in his new book, “
It was a 
AGCO is one of the companies working on a 
One of the companies exhibiting their developmental corn cob harvest/collection equipment at the POET Project LIBERTY Field Day was 
There were 16 different equipment manufacturers involved with POET’s Project LIBERTY Field Day. One of them was 
Corn growers heard from 
One of the stars on hand to address the crowd at 
This is a load of corn cobs being unloaded after they were just harvested at the POET Project LIBERTY Field Day.
Driving to Emmetsburg, IA last night I saw a growing number of these lights the further north I got. This combine was working right near the POET plant in Emmetsburg. Well, it’s daytime now and I’m hoping it will warm up from the 25 degrees we had when I got up.
Agriculture equipment manufacturers will soon put cob harvesting equipment on the market, and Iowa farmers will have a chance to see the latest prototypes in action at Project LIBERTY Field day at POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg (Iowa). Cobs will be the primary feedstock for POET’s commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg. Also at the event, four-star General Wesley Clark and Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge will join POET CEO Jeff Broin in addressing the crowd about cellulosic ethanol and its importance to our energy future.
I’m sure the POET Biorefining Plant in Emmetsburg, IA will look a lot different in the daylight but I think it looks pretty cool at night too.
This is where I’ll be on Tuesday for the 
Have you ever wondered what switchgrass looks like? That’s it behind Cory Christensen, Director of Product Managment, 
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
