March was a strong month for the corn market with May futures trading to the $5.02 level. With that price action the producer was actively rewarding the market allowing basis levels to relax.
Researchers from Michigan State University, U.S. DOE's Joint Genome Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have published the largest soil DNA sequencing effort. The data was later applied to study biofuel feedstocks.
The USDA Farm Service Agency recently announced the expansion of its Farm Storage and Facility Loan program, which can provide low-interest funds to build or upgrade permanent facilities to store eligible commodities, including renewable biomass.
Corn prices are likely to remain around $4 per bushel over the next decade and ethanol production will remain flat, according to an analysis released by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri.
Rick Tolman will step down as CEO of the National Corn Growers Association at the end of September. NCGA President Martin Barbre said the members of a CEO Search Committee and additional details will be announced soon.
Farmer and community meetings are underway this week in North Dakota laying the foundation for industrial beet production. Also known as energy beets, the varieties are bred for industrial sugars that can be converted to biobased fuels and chemicals.
N.C. Bioenergy Research Initiative seeks grant proposals
By North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
March 14, 2014
The N.C. Bioenergy Research Initiative is seeking grant proposals focused on research and development of agricultural and forestry-based feedstocks for bioenergy production, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler recently announced.
The Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy is partnering with GreenField Specialty Alcohols to test and develop a technology that could provide pulp mills with new revenue streams and increased efficiency.
Vertimass LLC, a California-based start-up company, has licensed an Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology that directly converts ethanol into a hydrocarbon blend-stock for use in transportation fuels.
Projected U.S. feed grain ending stocks for 2013/14 are reduced with higher corn exports and lower oats imports. Corn exports are projected 25 million bushels higher to 1.625 billion bushels on stronger world imports and the rising pace of shipments.
Sweetwater Energy and Proterro, two companies using widely different approaches, aim for low-cost sugar that may give today's corn ethanol plants a glide path into advanced ethanol production. They're in different stages, but share similar promise.
Following multiyear feedstock procurement campaigns and vast investments of capital, resources and time, America's first big cellulosic ethanol plants are nearing startup. EPM examines the progress of the Abengoa, Poet-DSM and DuPont facilities.
Pacific Ethanol Inc. announced that it had achieved record gross profit and operating income in the fourth quarter and twelve month period that ended Dec. 31.
The loan of two tractors by New Holland Agriculture to Iowa State University's BioCentury Research Farm has provided new options for its biomass research projects. A model T8.330 and a T5.115 tractor with a loader were loaned to the facility.
The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and Finep, Innovation and Research, recently launched a public call-to-submission for business plans aimed at agricultural-technological innovation in the sugar-based ethanol sector.
On my return from maternity leave, I discovered there have been some small but interesting steps forward in the world of industrial hemp.
On Feb. 20, the USDA released the 2012 Census Preliminary Report. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the preliminary data provides "a snapshot of a strong rural America that has remained stable during difficult economic times."
Findings at the USDA are providing information about the soil carbon dynamics that play a crucial role in lifecycle assessments of bioenergy production. These studies at support the USDA priority of developing new new sources of bioenergy.
The USDA has released new 10-year agricultural projections, predicting a moderate growth in corn demand over the next decade.While corn-based ethanol production has rebounded since the 2012 decline, the pace of further expansion is slowing.
Proterro Inc.'s latest patent is on its way to being finalized. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a notice of allowance to Proterro for a device patent covering the company's proprietary photobioreactor.
EPM's corn-focused March issue examines the potential impact of a lower-than-statutory 2014 RVO on corn prices, the rising costs of corn farming, futuristic visions of super-high-yield corn, and one U.S. ethanol producer's corn storage strategy.
In the fall of 2012, Green Plains Renewable Energy, sold 83 percent of its grain storage capacity. The move freed up capital, enabling the company to acquire more ethanol plants and make a big move toward outdoor corn storage. It's paying off.
With improved crop science and farming practices, today's award-winning corn yields may become tomorrow's average. Increasing yields spurs innovation and new investment across the agriculture industry. In the end, 'everyone is a winner.'
Curtailing ethanol blending this year may have a moderate effect on near-term corn prices, while broader, long-term consequences loom. Observers think the EPA will ultimately set the RVO above 13 billion gallons. How far above 13 no one knows.
Corn's value has retreated, but the costs of fertilizer, seed, land and machinery remain high. Have inflated expenses reset the break even point for American growers?
The National Corn Growers Association's Ethanol Committee met last week in Detroit, Mich., to discuss everything from the latest research on ethanol use in small engines to growing opportunities for distiller's grains.
The Andersons Inc. has released financial results for the fourth quarter and full year results for 2013, reporting record operating income of $50.6 million for the company's ethanol group. In 2012, the group reported a $3.7 million loss.
The total U.S. corn supply is pegged at 14.781 billion bushels and demand at 13.150 billion bushels, creating ending stocks of 1.631 billion. The 12.4 percent carryout-to-use ratio is a very comfortable level that will limit upside movement in corn.
The days of distillers grains being 140 percent the value of corn are behind us, at least near-term. With the Chinese New Year upon us, it is not clear how quickly we will get a resolution on China's intentions. Whatever happens will impact 2014.
With no changes to production estimates, the USDA's monthly World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates report lowered feed grain ending stocks for the marketing year in progress based on a 150-million-bushel increase projected for corn exports.
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