Latest Newsletter

Tag Archives biofuels — page 3

A decal on a Gulfstream 650ER business jet at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) exhibition in Las Vegas on Oct. 21, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/David Becker)
Crops, Machinery

U.S. EPA to propose expanding credit eligibility under biofuel program

By ,
New York | Reuters — The Biden administration is expected to propose expanding the kinds of renewable fuel production processes that are eligible to receive credits under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard program, three sources familiar with the matter said. The move could help increase production of advanced biofuels, which include lower-carbon products such as […] Read more
Researchers give yeast a boost to make biofuels from discarded plant matter
Crops, News

Researchers give yeast a boost to make biofuels from discarded plant matter

Science Notes: Corn stover seen as an underutilized fuel source

By
If corn stover could be efficiently fermented into ethanol the way corn kernels are, stover could be a large-scale, renewable source of fuel. “Stover is produced in huge amounts, on the scale of petroleum,” said Whitehead Institute Member and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) biology professor Gerald Fink. “But there are enormous technical challenges to […] Read more
An increased ethanol market will create more demand for Ontario corn.
Crops, News

Province bumps Ontario ethanol requirements

The use of ethanol in fuel will increase gradually over the next 10 years

By
The ethanol market for Ontario grain will continue to grow with the announcement that the provincial government is mandating an increase to 15 per cent ethanol in regular-grade fuel. The Ontario government is promoting the increase in ethanol as a way to reduce a megaton of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2030, which it […] Read more
Riparian buffer designs studied included widths of 35 to 100 feet, some all grass, some all trees, and some – like the one shown – both trees and grass.
News

Harvesting riparian buffers sees little impact to water quality

Science Notes: Harvested vegetation could increase biofuel efforts

By
Allowing farmers to harvest vegetation from their riparian buffers will not significantly impede the ability of those streamside tracts to protect water quality by capturing nutrients and sediment – and it will boost farmers’ willingness to establish buffers. That is the conclusion of Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences researchers, who compared the impacts of […] Read more
The Corn Plus plant is in Winnebago, Minnesota.
Crops

Greenfield buys U.S. ethanol plant

The closed Minnesota plant is the first foray into the U.S. for the Canadian company

By
Canada’s largest fuel ethanol producer will acquire the 182 million litre per-year Corn Plus ethanol facility in Winnebago, Minnesota, marking Greenfield Global’s first plant in the U.S. The Corn Plus facility makes ethanol for the purpose of blending into gasoline and has been shuttered since September 2019. “This ushers in a new era of North […] Read more
The USDA forecasts a little more than two billion bushels of U.S. corn carryout in 2019- 20.
Markets, News

Why there’s so much U.S. anxiety over corn

U.S. corn stocks-to-use ratio is expected to inflate to a bloated 29 per cent next crop year, shredding already low prices

By
Glacier FarmMedia – Corn prices are going to tank in 2020-21, according to a leading agricultural economist from the United States corn belt. Why it matters: The U.S. market sets the base price for corn and many other crops in Canada, although Ontario producers are often buffered by a lower Canadian dollar. The U.S. Department […] Read more
Dave Green and his parents, Gord and Laura Green, own Greenholm Farms in Embro, Ont. Methane gas produced from 
organics and cattle manure generate electricity on the farm that is sold into the Ontario power grid.
Livestock

Tapping into the power of methane

Producing power on a dairy farm increases the complexity of the farm’s facilities and management

By
Glacier FarmMedia – The owners of Greenholm farms near Embro have created a “circle of agriculture” by adding a biogas digester. The circle helps cycle nutrients throughout the system, tied together by barn systems, machinery and expertise. The owners, Gord and Laura Green, along with their son and business partner, Dave, have discovered that producing […] Read more
Dairy cows eat their breakfast at a dairy farm, in Exeter, Rhode Islan.
News

U.S. utilities turn to farms in climate change fight

The United States, and especially California is ahead of Canada in adopting renewable natural gas

By
Reuters – Joey Airoso has always been proud of his cows, whose milk goes into the butter sold by national dairy company Land O’Lakes. Now he has something new to brag about: the vast amounts of gas produced by his 2,900-head herd is powering truck fleets, homes and factories across the state of California. “It’s […] Read more
Laurie Stanton, of Stanton Farms near Ilderton, is planning to build a second methane digester to create renewable natural gas.
News

Ontario farmers seeing revenue opportunity in biogas digesters

Renewable natural gas contracts are making new methane capture projects profitable again

By
Renewable natural gas produced in biogas digesters is emerging as an opportunity for Ontario farmers to capture revenue from waste. Natural gas utilities in British Columbia and Quebec have requested proposals to supply scrubbed methane from biogas digesters for customers willing to pay more for natural gas with a lower carbon footprint. Why it matters: […] Read more
Chris Lee, right, built a passive energy house and Rob McKinlay built an anaerobic digester system on his dairy farm.
News

Debating rural energy efficiency

Alternative energy users discuss how local solutions can be good for rural economies

By
Residents of rural Ontario are creating new energy efficient solutions, whether or not government is involved. Farmers, rural residents and planners talked about rural environmental sustainability at the recent Rural Talks to Rural (R2R) Conference put on by the Centre for Rural Creativity in Blyth. At Rob McKinlay’s farm in Oxford County, his small 20 […] Read more

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast