It has been a biofuels kind of day for ZimmComm. Cindy and I have been here in Kansas City all day. I first went to the announcement ceremony for the proposed Cargill/Paseo Biofuels biodiesel plant which would be built adjacent to the existing Cargill soybean processing facility in north Kansas City. Then I joined Cindy at the American Coalition for Ethanol conference which is also taking place here. You can find more coverage on Domestic Fuel.
Put B20 In Your New Holland Tractor
Biodiesel fans can cheer New Holland today. They are the first equipment manufacturer to fully approve B20, a 20 percent blend of biodiesel, in their tractors. The release I received came from the National Biodiesel Board which is appropriately happy.
Energy Bill Roundtable
At the Clean Cities Congress today we had an energy bill roundtable. The panel consisted of (l-r) Phil Lampert, NEVC, Scott Gerke, American Honda, Rich Kolodziej, NGVA, Joe Jobe, NBB and Brian Feehan, PERC.
Perspective On Fuel Prices
I was very impressed today by the presentation here at the Clean Cities Congress given by J.J. Brown, Legislative Aide for Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. We’re hearing a lot of whining and complaining in the media about gas prices and lately a lot is being said about oil company profits. After hearing Senator McCain yesterday mention ADM and his lack of support for what he calls ethanol subsidies I think it’s time to put things into perspective.
This week I’m in Phoenix, AZ at the Clean Cities Congress & Expo. Since what happens in the alternative fuel industry is very important to anyone in agribusiness today I thought you’d be interested to hear from one of the most outspoken supporters there is. He’s Will Kleindienst, Chairman of the Congress and former mayor of Palm Springs, CA.Learn About Clean Cities Coordinators
At the start of the Clean Cities Congress the state coordinators get together. The first evening is social and then they have a full morning of training before the conference officially kicks off.
Students Helping Blog Clean Cities
The Clean Cities Congress & Expo is coming up starting this weekend in Phoenix, AZ. I’ll be blogging it on Domestic Fuel but not alone. I’ll have help! Once again – student bloggers. They will bring a fresh and interesting perspective to our coverage of the event. This is similar to my coverage of Commodity Classic with Margy & Mary. You see how a good idea catches on? I’m sure we’ll have some good content for AgWired too. So, let me introduce them to you.
Former CIA Director Talks Renewable Fuels
The plenary breakfast speaker today, R. James Woolsey, Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton, Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, just finished speaking. He really focused on how biotechnology can play a role in our national security. Besides what most people probably think of first in terms of cures or innoculants for bio-terror induced disease he spent a while talking about energy and independence from terrorist controlled foreign oil.
BASF Plant Science Debuts At BIO
BASF Plant Science held an end-of-day press conference to talk about their intent to dedicate more than $320 million over the next three years to develop biotechnological optimized crop plants.
Buy A Blue Bull
Driving to Minneapolis from Holts Summit, MO makes for one long day, especially if your email account goes on the fritz half way up and your Palm Treo turns into a “plain” mobile phone. It’s fixed now for any of you who had problems getting through to me this afternoon.