Burning Bio News

More than 8,000 dairy producers across the country are participating in a landmark survey this month designed to determine the industry’s true carbon footprint, reduce on-farm costs and help protect future milk sales. A random sampling of dairy farms nationwide will receive the survey from their dairy co-op or processor organization. The survey asks basic questions about practices such as on-farm energy use, pasture management, feeding practices, and manure and water management. – mj As a professional advocate of a manure producer’s right to own and use manure, I am always excited to see the livestock industry recognized for their pro-active efforts.

The current issue of BioCycle Magazine uses their five decades of archives to chronicle the evolution of the US digester industry. This is particularly timely as the US EPA AgSTAR National Conference just ended yesterday (2/25) and the USDA Annual Outlook Conference begins today. Digesters are a shining technology on the horizon for energy and environmental benefits. Now if we can just get them to cash flow…

“I’ll take all the manure I can get,” said Wessling, whose Iowa Land Management Co. manages 70 farms in eastern Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. “Right now, I figure I can save from $30 to $50 per acre in fertilizer costs by using liquid manure.” Manure nutrients are a great value compared to the even higher cost of commercial fertilizer. As the cost of production reaches record highs, neither manure producers - nor manure consumers - can afford to waste it.

Brothers Matt and Ben Freund, second-generation dairy farmers in the northwest hills of Connecticut, have found a use for the vast quantities of manure that covered their fields: CowPots. Cow manure is heated by the methane gas collected from the digester, and liquid from the digested manure is applied to crops in a timely fashion to optimize nutrient uptake. The Freunds then use the excess material and the energy created by the process in the production of CowPots. – mj The Freund Legend is not new, but it is the first time I have linked to it. CowPots are totally out-of-the box, intuitively accurate, new use for manure fibers. Well Done!

A California dairy farm has converted a pair of 18-wheelers to run on biomethane produced from cow manure, creating what is believed to be the nation’s first manure-powered truck. Rob Hilarides’ dairy will use manure from 10,000 cows to generate 226,000 cubic feet of biomethane daily. That’s enough to reduce the diesel fuel consumption on farm by 650 gallons per day.

The North Dakota Department of Commerce considers commercial cattail production for paper and fuel. Some preliminary work done by the Commerce Department indicates about 18,000 acres of cattails would produce about 400,000 tons of dry cattails, which is what it would take to run one of the facilities, and that would result in about 100,000 tons of pulp for the paper industry.

Otter Tail Ag Enterprises, which owns and operates a 1-year old ethanol plant near Fergus Falls, MN, has defaulted on its $31 million master loan agreement with Agstar Financial Services and missed payments for two other debts it owes.

The Cherokee Landfill, Cherokee, IA, is ready to make fuel pellets from residual carbon in their MSW waste stream. Pellets from Cherokee will provide 30% of the energy needs of an ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, IA.

A wind turbine manufacturer, Vestas, has broken ground on a facility in Windsor, CO. This followed the arrival of a light weight, carbon fiber and glass manufacturer, Hexcel Corporation.

Drilling began this week for a carbon dioxide injection well as part of an $84.3 million project beneath Archer Daniels Midland Co. property. The project is intended to capture carbon dioxide from ADM’s ethanol plant, convert it into liquid form and pump it underground for storage before it’s emitted into the atmosphere. The US Department of Energy expects 1 million tons of carbon dioxide from the plant to be injected over a three-year period beginning in early 2010.

May Peters, Suchada Langley, Paul Westcott, Economists for USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), recently analyzed the current economic upheaval with other commodity price spikes in the 1970s and 1990s. Each price surge resulted from a combination of factors, including depreciation of the U.S. dollar, strong worldwide demand for agricultural products, supply shocks, and policy responses by major trading countries. In the past, market adjustments eventually brought prices back down. Similarly, the high prices seen in 2008 have dropped; however, these adjustments are occurring in a more volatile environment. – mj, the part of this article I like the most is the complexity of factors that shape the economy. Simply labeling an economic shock to food or fuel or the President, the authors list 17 factors. Two of the 17 are food and fuel.

Propane-powered Ford trucks developed by Roush Performance Products Inc. will soon be available at dealers throughout the United States and Canada, Roush said Feb. 18. The powertrain engineering company has made its alternative-power technology available in the 2010 F-250, F-150 and E-250 trucks with deliveries anticipated to start in the third quarter.

Tim Kaup, the general manager of Sapp Bros distribution center, pleaded guilty to nine charges, including theft of deception, in Burt County Court, NE. An August 2008 investigation showed he actively promoted the idea of selling ethanol-blended gasoline at unleaded prices to store owners. Issues raised include price, advertising and pump calibration. More than a dozen stations are currently under investigation.

“Buying gasoline is better than purchasing our corn-based ethanol,” said Jonathan Lewis of the Clean Air Coalition. Increased gasoline usage would be better for the US than increasing production of corn-based ethanol by 5 billion to 10 billion gallons, claim leaders from environmental groups. –mj Wow. The world has gone mad. These folks tend to be concerned about destruction of the rain forests. The problem is our current policies do not incent the rain forests to have a high value. Building fences around them is not a sustainable (or durable) solution.

New Generation Biofuels Holdings Inc. has completed construction on their 5 million gallon biodiesel plant in Baltimore, MD.

Two Canadian companies have suspended plans for an $80 million cellulosic-ethanol plant in Grand Junction, citing the tight credit market and unstable energy prices. The joint venture between Lignol Energy and Suncor Energy was announced in October. Plans called for the demonstration plant to produce 8,500 gallons of ethanol a day from wood damaged by pine beetles and wood residue.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the government must begin to look at new ways to support farmers – including the use of “green payments” – because of the impact of the recently passed economic stimulus package on the federal deficit. – mj, Farm program payments have been under attack for years. While the farm payments are not perfect, they are a principle reason that our US (and world) food supply is inexpensive and plentiful.

BP and Verenium Corporation have announced the formation of a 50-50 joint venture to develop and commercialize cellulosic ethanol from non-food feedstocks. the companies have agreed to commit $45 million in funding and assets to the joint venture company. The site of their first project is located in Highlands County, FL.

Virginia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Georgia researchers have announced a new “one-pot” process for producing fuel-cell-quality hydrogen, which simplifies production and uses cellulose from wood chips or grass. The researchers produced hydrogen gas pure enough to power a fuel cell by mixing 14 enzymes, one coenzyme, non-food cellulosic material, and water at 32 degrees C.

Ohio University’s new composting unit on the Athens campus is the largest in-vessel composting system at any college or university in the nation, capable of processing up to 28 tons of organic waste at a time. Ohio University expects to divert as much as 25 percent of the Athens campus’ solid waste from the landfill as a result of this project. Currently, the Central Food Facility is the sole contributor to the university’s composter, but the Baker University Center is slated to follow suit in the spring. The dining halls are next in line.