One of the companies exhibiting at today’s biobased event at the Pentagon is Advanced Image Resources.
These are the bio-toner people. They’ve even got a patent on their environmentally friendly toner which is made from both corn and soybeans. They had samples from an HP printer on hand to show how well it works.
I spoke with Tom Gandolfi who describes the product and the benefits it offers to customers.
You can listen to my interview here: 
Tom Ganfolfi Interview (3 min MP3)
It seems like I run into Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, everywhere these days. Today it was in the Pentagon at the Dept. of Defense, biobased products event that was put together with a lot of work by the United Soybean Board.
After his remarks (which you can hear on the USB site) I got to ask the Secretary a couple questions about promoting biobased products made from agricultural commodities. He says the market potential is in the billions just with our own government and that USDA is working to create awareness in all departments besides just the Dept. of Defense.
You can listen to my interview here: Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns Interview (3 min MP3)
The first speaker this morning at the Pentagon for the biobased event was The Honorable Gordon England, Deputy Secretary of Defense.
The Secretary says the Department of Defense is the largest buyer of products in the Federal Government and therefore they have a responsibility to be the leader and set the standards. He says biobased products are an essential element of the Department’s green strategy and are important to our national security. He says they often work better than the alternatives and are often less expensive.
You can listen to his remarks here: Dep. Sec. of Defense England Remarks (6 min MP3)
These were the speakers this morning at the Pentagon for the “Biobased Products – Enhancing DOD’s Mission; Protecting the Environment” event opening session. Pictured (l-r) are: Dep. Sec. of Defense, Gordon England; Sec. of Agriculture, Mike Johanns; Senator Richard Lugar; Representative Marcy Kaptur and Senator Thomas Harkin.
Each of them talked about how important it is to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, not only for fuel needs but for any products that depend on oil for their production. The Dept. of Defense is required by law now to give preference to biobased products when doing procurement and the companies displaying here today are showing what they have to offer.
DOD representatives will have all afternoon and tomorrow morning to see products and talk with company reps. I had to exit the Pentagon to upload the speeches and images of the speakers for the United Soybean Board which has a website location for them to appear by about 2pm this afternoon. That’s been done and I’ll be heading back inside shortly to do some exhibitor interviews.
Hello from the Pentagon area. It was a long day of travel after getting in late yesterday from Chicago. That didn’t leave much time for posting but I’ll get caught up this week.
Tomorrow will be a light day too since I’ll be in the Pentagon most of the day doing some work at the “Biobased Products – Enhancing DOD’s Mission; Protecting the Environment” event. I’ll have more on this event when a release is distributed tomorrow. You can assume there are audio and image files involved! The tough thing though is we will not have mobile phone or internet access inside. Kind of makes it challenging for a blogger.
I’ve been so busy lately that I never thought of the significance of flying into Washinton, DC today and spending the day at the Pentagon tomorrow. However, when I checked in with the news drones over the last day or so all you hear is references to the September 11 tragedy of 5 years ago. I certainly join all Americans who remember the people who died that day and since then defending our country. I add my prayer to all the others I know are being said for peace between all countries and people.
So, I’m going to go get myself ready for tomorrow and you can rest assured I’ll let you know all about it.
I didn’t know that the Ryder Cup is being played in Ireland for the first time until I talked with some folks at the recent IFAJ Congress. They had me follow up with James O’Donnell, Irish Food Board, Director of the Chicago office.
James says the Irish Food Board is a sponsor of the Ryder Cup and will be showcasing Irish commodities in various ways. One way is by preparing a special menu for activities that will take place at the event. You can learn more about their sponsorship and activities surrounding the event on their website.
The Irish Food Board promotes Ireland under the name The Food Island. Sounds like an island I need to visit.
Learn more by listening to this week’s program: ZimmCast 84 (10 min MP3)
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes.
The race is over and it was an exciting one. As usual this season, ethanol wins.
Actually the first car across the finish line belonged to Dan Wheldon. Jeff Simmons in the Team Ethanol car battled up to 6th near the end. When I say battle, I mean it. It was rough out there. He finished 8th.
The picture is him coming into pit lane at the end of the race.
That’s all for me from Chicagoland Speedway. Time to head on out and on to the next event.
The race is on. Thank you weather.
Here’s Jeff Simmons heading out of the pits. Although the drivers didn’t get to do their regular practice laps this morning, they’re doing a couple of warmups before hitting the green flag. If you want to hear what the start sounds like in the pits then listen up: PEAK Anitfreeze Indy 300 Race Start (30 sec MP3)
We’re going to wish Jeff the best right now and see what happens.
It’s race day here at the Chicagoland Speedway and the weather is finally cooperating. Before the race started we had an ethanol press conference here in the media center.
On the podium are (l – r) Jeff Simmons, #17 Team Ethanol driver, Les McTaggert, IRL Senior Technical Director and Tom Slunecka, Executive Director for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.
Each of them took a turn making some comments. The conference was emceed by Tom Blattler who conducts public relations work for Team Ethanol.
Les talked about the conversion to ethanol as a fuel blend this year and going into next year. He describes the challenges it presented and the testing required to make sure it would meet the demanding performance needs of IRL cars. He said that race cars using 100 percent ethanol would be tested on the track within the next month.
You can listen to his comments here: Les McTaggert Comments (2 min MP3)
You can find a lot more of my coverage from here in Joliet, IL on Domestic Fuel.
Bobby Rahal is very happy with his Team Ethanol car and driver Jeff Simmons this weekend (so far). That’s what he told me in an interview just a few minutes ago.
I was hoping to be able to interview one of the owners of Rahal-Letterman Racing and got my opportunity by the garages. Bobby says that he’s happy with the performance of the ethanol blend of fuel that’s being used this year in all Indy cars. He joked that he wishes he was the only one who could be using it.
Like most people who are involved in the ethanol industry he’s a believer in what using ethanol means to the environment and in reducing our dependence on foreign oil. He’s happy that the Indy Racing League has had the opporunity to be the showcase for how well ethanol works as a performance fuel.
You can listen to my interview with the Bobby here: Bobby Rahal Interview (4 min MP3)
