Successful Farming hosts biofuels forum.by the AgriMarketing Editors Biofuels industry leaders looked into the future of their fast-growing industry last month at the "Managing the Biofuels Boom: A Catalyst for Success," a forum hosted by Successful Farming magazine. "The Biofuels Forum provided an opportunity for some of our key business partners and industry leaders to come together to discuss this important industry," said Scott Mortimer, Publisher of Successful Farming. "The Biofuels Forum was a tremendous success, and served as a platform for businesses to showcase their extensive expertise and engage in an informative exchange of ideas with the forum participants." TODAY'S CONSUMER Isobel Osius, Ph.D., Consumer Insights Director for Successful Farming magazine's parent company, Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation NYSE: MDP is based in Des Moines, Iowa. The company has two divisions, publishing and broadcasting. Edwin Thomas Meredith founded the company in 1902 when he began publishing Successful Farming magazine. , shared the results of a recent study they conducted among female consumers. She reported that 63% of consumers said they are "familiar with" the term "ethanol", 36% have "heard of it but aren't sure what it is" and 1% are "unfamiliar" with it. Fourteen percent of female consumers said they have purchased ethanol in the past three months, but 63% said they don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if ethanol is available in their area (editor's note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : in fact, last year 46% of U.S. gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by consumed was blended with some amount of ethanol according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," The Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway ). That being said, when asked if federal tax dollars should be used to support the biofuels industry, 88% said yes. Research and development funding for the industry gathered the most votes. ETHANOL PLANT MANAGERS A panel of ethanol plant managers discussed the industry from their perspectives. Chuck Woodside is Gen'l Mgr of KAAPA Ethanol LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , Minden, NE, which owns and operates Nebraska's largest ethanol plant. He talked about the "economic renaissance" the industry has generated in rural America. Woodside reported there are currently 110 plants in operation with a capacity of producing 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol annually. There are an additional 63 plants under construction which, when on line, will produce an additional 5.3 billion gallons, bringing total capacity to 10.7 billion gallons--equivalent to 10% of the oil the U.S. imports annually. Woodside said the industry estimates it had 154,000 jobs in 2005 generating more than $5.7 billion in household income. Three-year projections indicate total jobs growing to 208,000. "Our main challenge," Woodside said, "is finding the talented people we need who want to live in the rather remote areas in which many of the plants are located." DUPONT'S INITIATIVES Erik Fyrwald, Group VP, DuPont Ag & Nutrition provided the Forum an update on his company's biofuels initiatives. He said, "We have a three-part strategy. First is to improve existing ethanol production by providing seed hybrids through our Pioneer Hi-Bred Pioneer Hi-Bred is one of the largest U.S. companies which produces hybrid seeds for agriculture. History In 1926, farm journal editor and future U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace, along with a group of Des Moines, Iowa businessmen, started the "Hi-Bred Corn Company". subsidiary that improve the efficiency of ethanol production. "Second is to advance the technology to produce biofuels from cellulosic cel·lu·lose n. A complex carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, that is composed of glucose units, forms the main constituent of the cell wall in most plants, and is important in the manufacture of numerous products, sources such as corn stover Corn stover consists of the leaves and stalks of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) plants left in a field after harvest. It makes up about half of the yield of a crop and is similar to straw, the residue left in field after harvest of any cereal grain. . DuPont and the U.S. Department of Energy are jointly funding a research program to develop that technology. "And, third, we have formed a partnership with British Petroleum to develop biobutanol, a product that enhances ethanol-gasoline blends in a number of ways. GENERAL MOTORS (GM) GM Spokesperson Dr. Mary Beth Stanek, said biofuels are the second step in the evolution of powering motorists. The first step was internal combustion. The second step is biofuels, the third is hybrid energy, and the ultimate goal is the hydrogen fuel cell. She announced that by 2010, GM is planning to have a flex fuel engine option available in all GM models. |
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