More in Energy Issues

Oct. 15, 2012

Article

Jousting continues over Renewable Fuel Standard mandate

The USDA’s downward revision of the drought-hit U.S. corn crop (from 10.73 billion bushels to 10.71 billion bushels) was followed by an unsurprising rise in the market price for the commodity, which hit over $7.74 per bushel. While farmers cheered the price bump – both wheat and soybeans also enjoyed increased prices -- the tug-of-war between the livestock/poultry sectors and ethanol industry over the dwindling corn supply shows no sign that either side is about to give ground....More
Oct. 10, 2012

Article

RFS waiver proposal creates divisions

A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) concludes that a full waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) would result in an insignificant decrease in corn prices — only about a 4 cents per bushel....More
Oct. 2, 2012

Article

Southeast Farm Press

Are high grain prices good for anyone?

Some well regarded economists contend $20 a bushel soybeans and $10 a bushel corn and wheat are not only possible, but likely for this year and beyond....More
Sep. 24, 2012

Article

Petroleum, fertilizer prices to remain high

Petroleum prices should remain high for the foreseeable future, while natural gas prices should remain low and electricity prices are likely to increase slowly. Demand is likely to remain high for nitrogen, potash and phosphorus fertilizers, but production costs will have much less impact than commodity prices...More
Sep. 20, 2012

Article

Vilsack: Biofuels reduce need for foreign oil, create jobs in rural America

During a recent tour of AGP Biodiesel, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack discussed how the increased use of biofuels is helping to reduce the nation's reliance on foreign oil. During the tour, Vilsack highlighted action by the Environmental Protection Agency to establish the volume of biodiesel products required to be included in diesel fuel markets....More
Sep. 20, 2012

Article

Early corn harvest clouding Sept. 1 old-crop numbers

A larger percentage of the U.S. corn grain acreage was harvested in August this year than is typically the case....More
Sep. 18, 2012

Article

Solving energy problems key to agriculture’s future

“To produce good crops farmers must have good weather, water and fertilizer — but the common denominator is energy,” says former USDA Under-Secretary of Agriculture Gale Buchanan....More
Sep. 4, 2012

Article

Governor says waiver for RFS needed for Texas cattle industry

Texas Governor Rick Perry is throwing his hat into the ring in support of a request for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) mandate that he says is needed to keep livestock feed costs down as drought conditions across Texas and much of the nation threaten to decrease corn supplies and drive feed prices higher in the months ahead....More
Sep. 4, 2012

Article

Commentary: Lies, damn lies and statistics......

The 19th Century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli has been credited with pointing out that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics....More
Aug. 25, 2012

Commentary

U.S. energy independence by 2020? Uhh, haven’t we heard this before?

Our energy appetite is voracious — and Mideast oil is, for the foreseeable future, the easiest way to feed that hunger....More
Aug. 20, 2012

Article

Report: Corn ethanol waiver's effect on corn prices uncertain

Corn prices pushed higher by the worst U.S. drought in half a century would not necessarily moderate if the federal government's corn ethanol mandate were temporarily suspended, according to a report by Purdue University agricultural economists....More
Aug. 20, 2012

Article

Intense drought and high corn prices continue as ethanol waiver requests pick up

As cries continue for an EPA waiver of the government’s ethanol production mandate, a new study out of Purdue University considers what might happen to corn prices if a waiver is granted. Among the takeaways: a waiver won’t be a quick fix for rising corn prices....More
Aug. 20, 2012

Article

Delta Farm Press

Energy efficiency, fiber quality among targets of ginning research

“It’s not likely that the price of energy is going to go down, and we need to find ways to reduce the amount of energy used in the ginning process," says Rick Byler, research leader at the USDA-ARS Cotton Ginning Laboratory at Stoneville, Miss....More
Aug. 16, 2012

Article

Are corn, soybean prices high enough to motivate rationing?

The USDA’s August Crop Production report confirmed prospects for small U.S. corn and soybean crops and the need for consumption of both crops to decline sharply in the year ahead....More
Aug. 16, 2012

Article

Renewable Fuels Association takes on waiver proposal

The Renewable Fuels Association says there is enough of a cushion of ethanol supplies and banked credits for the ethanol industry to reduce usage and still meet the Renewable Fuels Standard....More
Aug. 14, 2012

Article

BP Biofuels, Texas AgriLife Research sign agreement

BP Biofuels and Texas AgriLife Research, part of The Texas A&M University System, have signed a three-year agreement to develop and commercialize cellulosic feedstocks for the production of advanced biofuels....More
Aug. 14, 2012

Article

Ethanol quota waiver fight intensifies

Looking to cushion the forecast of diminishing U.S. corn yield, a myriad group of domestic and international interests has called on the EPA to waive the government-mandated Renewable Fuel Standard, which places a quota on ethanol production....More
Aug. 13, 2012

Article

Cattlemen want to compete ‘head-to-head’ for bushel of corn

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) stands with 156 U.S. Representatives and 26 U.S. Senators in their quest to bring commonsense to Washington, D.C., and relief to rural America by encouraging Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson to implement a waiver to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)....More
Aug. 13, 2012

Article

Biofuels essential to long-term U.S. national security

A retired U.S. Navy vice-admiral urges the continued expansion of the biofuels industry to enhance U.S. national security and help ward off threats from petroleum-exporting countries with opposing political views to the U.S....More
Aug. 3, 2012

blog

Senator Grassley slams Smithfield Foods exec over ethanol comments

Sen. Grassley takes the president of one of the nation's largest hog producers to task for comments about the need for waiving the Renewable Fuels Standard ethanol mandate....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Tussle over government ethanol mandate heats up as drought lingers

As a prolonged drought saps U.S. corn yields, a tug-of war over shrinking stocks has intensified between livestock/poultry producers and proponents of the government-mandated Renewable Fuel Standard....More
Jul. 16, 2012

Article

Energy independence in the cards for US?

Discovery of the largest natural gas find in the history of the world, the Marcellus Shale, spanning from Marcellus, N.Y. through the Appalachian Basin, may be the key to American energy independence....More
Jul. 11, 2012

Article

Beer makes a better ethanol

Usually made from corn in the United States, ethanol is produced in large reactors to ferment: enzymes convert cornstarch to sugar, and yeast converts the sugar to ethanol. Chemically identical to beer (and called that in the industry), the broth is not palatable -- drinkable beer has had the yeast filtered out, for starters....More
Jul. 2, 2012

Article

USDA funding boost for renewable energy production

The USDA has selected for funding 450 projects nationwide, including 31 in North Carolina, that are focused on helping agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy consumption and costs; use renewable energy technologies in their operation; and/or conduct feasibility studies for renewable energy projects....More
Jul. 2, 2012

Article

House/Senate agree on highway bill

House and Senate conferees agreed to a final conference report on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill (H.R. 4348) Wednesday night, which will extend highway programs at current funding levels for 28 months, through September 2014....More