Top Stories

Where does corn play in (Next) Next-Gen Cellulosic Biofuels?

Share 8 billion gallons of new cellulosic biofuels capacity is mandated for 2016-2019 – here’s a sneak peek at corn stover technology that drop the price by 33 percent. With ethanol trading at $2.53 per gallon for the October contract on the Chicago Board of Trade, fans (and stakeholders) of cellulosic ethanol have reason to [...]

September 29, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Will commodity crops survive?

Share Will the rise of designer fuels, chemicals and biomaterials put an end to crop growing system as we have known it? Will customers vie for differentiation and performance as well as price? A new sorghum deal between Constellation Energy and Chromatin may point the way. Earlier this week in California, Constellation Energy and Chromatin [...]

September 23, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Corn prices a “statistically insignificant variable” in driving food price hikes: study

Share In Washington, Informa Economics released a new study (funded by the Renewable Fuels Foundation) entitled “Analysis of Corn, Commodity, and Consumer Food Prices”. Informa concluded that “the statistical evidence does not support a conclusion that there is a strict ‘food-versus-fuel’ tradeoff that is automatically driving consumer food prices higher.” The new study found that [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Gevo, Amyris, KiOR – as the Khosla Kids mature, scale, differentiate, who’s on top?

Share On the road from Pilot to Player, three Khosla companies have gone far and fast – but now, the differentiating points become clearer. Who’s better now? They share Khosla Ventures in their DNA, and are next-gen companies – but there, the similarities begin to fade. KiOR – making biocrude from woody biomass. Gevo, making [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Refiner News

Monsanto lobbying costs top $1.7M for Q2

Share In Washington, D.C., the world’s largest seed company spent $1.71 million in the second quarter of 2011 to lobby the federal government, according to a disclosure report filed with the House clerk’s office by Monsanto Co. The Company lobbied Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture over regulations that would affect the distribution of [...]

September 29, 2011 | 0 Comments More

China, ethanol use keeps corn stocks at 15-year lows

Share In Washington, the USDA says corn stocks will stay at 15 year lows for longer than expected with ethanol and Chinese imports as the main users of the anticipated supply. The most recent usage estimates were 3% higher than expected by traders, offsetting some of the expected increase in supply. Ethanol will become the [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Is corn a fertilizer hog? Times are changing, says RFA

Share In Washington, RFA Vice President Geoff Cooper took issue with the contention that US corn yields are rising because of, simply, increased fertilizer use. ”Data from USDA show that 2010 application rates of the three common macronutrient fertilizers (nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate) were the same–or below—the application rates seen in the early 1980s. Thus, nitrogen [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Ethanol prices jump as corn rises

Share In Illinois, ethanol prices on the Chicago Board of Trade are rallying on high corn prices thanks to a hot summer that keeps shrinking expectations for the corn crop. Crude oil prices have also advanced, helping to push ethanol prices to three-week highs, up 22% this year. The crush margin is running at between [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Grower News

Monsanto lobbying costs top $1.7M for Q2

Share In Washington, D.C., the world’s largest seed company spent $1.71 million in the second quarter of 2011 to lobby the federal government, according to a disclosure report filed with the House clerk’s office by Monsanto Co. The Company lobbied Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture over regulations that would affect the distribution of [...]

September 29, 2011 | 0 Comments More

China, ethanol use keeps corn stocks at 15-year lows

Share In Washington, the USDA says corn stocks will stay at 15 year lows for longer than expected with ethanol and Chinese imports as the main users of the anticipated supply. The most recent usage estimates were 3% higher than expected by traders, offsetting some of the expected increase in supply. Ethanol will become the [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Is corn a fertilizer hog? Times are changing, says RFA

Share In Washington, RFA Vice President Geoff Cooper took issue with the contention that US corn yields are rising because of, simply, increased fertilizer use. ”Data from USDA show that 2010 application rates of the three common macronutrient fertilizers (nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate) were the same–or below—the application rates seen in the early 1980s. Thus, nitrogen [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Ethanol prices jump as corn rises

Share In Illinois, ethanol prices on the Chicago Board of Trade are rallying on high corn prices thanks to a hot summer that keeps shrinking expectations for the corn crop. Crude oil prices have also advanced, helping to push ethanol prices to three-week highs, up 22% this year. The crush margin is running at between [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

R&D

China, ethanol use keeps corn stocks at 15-year lows

Share In Washington, the USDA says corn stocks will stay at 15 year lows for longer than expected with ethanol and Chinese imports as the main users of the anticipated supply. The most recent usage estimates were 3% higher than expected by traders, offsetting some of the expected increase in supply. Ethanol will become the [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Is corn a fertilizer hog? Times are changing, says RFA

Share In Washington, RFA Vice President Geoff Cooper took issue with the contention that US corn yields are rising because of, simply, increased fertilizer use. ”Data from USDA show that 2010 application rates of the three common macronutrient fertilizers (nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate) were the same–or below—the application rates seen in the early 1980s. Thus, nitrogen [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Ethanol prices jump as corn rises

Share In Illinois, ethanol prices on the Chicago Board of Trade are rallying on high corn prices thanks to a hot summer that keeps shrinking expectations for the corn crop. Crude oil prices have also advanced, helping to push ethanol prices to three-week highs, up 22% this year. The crush margin is running at between [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Corn prices a “statistically insignificant variable” in driving food price hikes: study

Share In Washington, Informa Economics released a new study (funded by the Renewable Fuels Foundation) entitled “Analysis of Corn, Commodity, and Consumer Food Prices”. Informa concluded that “the statistical evidence does not support a conclusion that there is a strict ‘food-versus-fuel’ tradeoff that is automatically driving consumer food prices higher.” The new study found that [...]

September 21, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Policy & Policymakers

Monsanto lobbying costs top $1.7M for Q2

Share In Washington, D.C., the world’s largest seed company spent $1.71 million in the second quarter of 2011 to lobby the federal government, according to a disclosure report filed with the House clerk’s office by Monsanto Co. The Company lobbied Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture over regulations that would affect the distribution of [...]

September 29, 2011 | 0 Comments More

NCGA Committed to Helping Reduce Federal Deficit While Strengthening Risk Management Tools

Share National Corn Growers Association President Bart Schott released the following statement in response to President Obama’s Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction Plan: “NCGA strongly supports the effort to get our federal budget under control and the need for shared sacrifice in order to achieve an equitable, balanced approach. We appreciate the recognition in President [...]

September 23, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Ethanol prices jump as corn rises

Share In Illinois, ethanol prices on the Chicago Board of Trade are rallying on high corn prices thanks to a hot summer that keeps shrinking expectations for the corn crop. Crude oil prices have also advanced, helping to push ethanol prices to three-week highs, up 22% this year. The crush margin is running at between [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

South Africa releases draft biofuels policy for comment

Share In South Africa, the Department of Energy has issued a draft policy that would mandate E5 and B2 blending. The policy is open for public comment until Nov. 18. The Department of Energy is also working on two other complementary regulations: the pricing and the financial support mechanisms, which will also be submitted for [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Top Tweets & Opinion

Corn prices a “statistically insignificant variable” in driving food price hikes: study

Share In Washington, Informa Economics released a new study (funded by the Renewable Fuels Foundation) entitled “Analysis of Corn, Commodity, and Consumer Food Prices”. Informa concluded that “the statistical evidence does not support a conclusion that there is a strict ‘food-versus-fuel’ tradeoff that is automatically driving consumer food prices higher.” The new study found that [...]

September 21, 2011 | 0 Comments More

“Using Corn Ethanol to Develop Carbon Capture and Storage.”

Share Today on Twitter. asulightworks: DOE Announces $12 Million in Investments to Support Drop-In #Biofuels: Mitchellalt: New biofuels feedstocks are water hogs | TG Daily EINBiofuelNews: U.S. Biofuel Industry Prepares for Life Without Subsidies sciam: Using Corn Ethanol to Develop Carbon Capture and Storage STOCKSWAGER: Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc. Delays Start-Up of Canton, Illinois [...]

September 21, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Other Recent Articles

GreenShift corn oil patent case set to begin

Share In Indiana, a US district court judge will begin hearing arguments on the consolidated case for alleged GreenShift patent infringements on Aug. 22. Reports show that 15 ethanol plants have been named in the case including those by ICM, GEA Westfalia Separator, GEA Mechanical, and Flottweg Separation Technology that claim the companies infringed on [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Albany Renewable Energy abandons $350M ethanol project

Share In New York, Albany Renewable Energy has cancelled their lease with the Port of Albany.  Originally, Albany Renewable had planned to build a $350 million ethanol plant at the sight, but has not been able to meet deadlines outlined in their twenty year lease. Rick Hendrick, Albany Port General Manager stated that the Port [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Corn yields down with high heat, low rain: USDA

Share In Washington, the USDA released the latest World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates Report. The report outlined signnificant drops in projected corn production, owning to heat and rain conditions in the Corn Belt. “U.S. feed grain supplies for 2011/12 are projected lower this month,” the report comments, “with sharp drops in forecast corn and [...]

September 22, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Trojan Corn, or 20 billion reasons to Think Outside the Tank

Share A game-changing technology from Syngenta may drop billions to the biofuels industry’s bottom line Earlier this year, Syngenta received the OK from the USDA to commercialize its alpha-amylase corn. The news generated a smattering of interest amongst the broader biofuels community, which has been more engaged in thinking about tax credits, the future of [...]

September 21, 2011 | 0 Comments More