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Updated Aug. 14, 2008
Colwich Ethanol
Blender Pump Promotion Monday, August 18!!
EPIC and Kansas Corn
Commission to announce initiative and give consumers a break at the pump
New program and
pump promotion planned to help raise awareness for higher blends of
ethanol in Kansas
WHAT: As gas prices stay near record levels, Kansas motorists can take
advantage of bargain prices while pumping up the local economy at a pump
promotion at TJ’s Convenience Store in Colwich, Kan. on Monday, Aug. 18
from 6:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. The promotion is being held to celebrate a
major initiative that will be announced immediately following the pump
promotion. Consumers attending the promotion can fill their flex-fuel
vehicles (FFVs) with E10, E20, E30 and E85 for a reduced price. FFV
owners will have a 40 cents discount on E20, 60 cents discount on E30
and E85 will be offered for just $1.85/gallon. All drivers can save 20
cents per gallon on E10 fuel, approved for use in any gas powered
vehicle or engine.
Blender pumps offer FFV owners more choices at the pump to get the best
fuel economy while also helping make the air cleaner. Ethanol blends
over E10, like E20, E30, E40, E50 and E85 can only be used in FFVs.
There are more than 7 million FFVs on the road today.
Immediately following the promotion, a joint press conference will be
held to announce a major initiative between the Ethanol Promotion and
Information Council (EPIC) and the Kansas Corn Commission. Reporters
will get a detailed look at the new initiative which will encourage
infrastructure development, raise public awareness for higher blends of
ethanol, and increase consumption of ethanol-blended fuel. Speakers will
include Robert White, deputy director of EPIC; Senator Sam Brownback;
Adrian Polansky, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture; Dave Vander Griend,
president and CEO of ICM, Inc.; and Bob Timmons, chairman of the Kansas
Corn Commission.
WHEN: Monday, August 18, 2008
Pump promotion: 6:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Press Conference: 8:30 a.m.
WHERE: TJ’s Convenience Store
Located at the corner of 53rd Street North and 167th Street West
Colwich, KS 67030
Updated Aug. 12, 2008
Record Crop Projected for
Kansas Corn
Kansas Corn:
522.6 million bushels on 3.9 million acres with a yield of 134 bu/acre.
This would be a record harvest, up 1 percent from 2007’s record
crop.
Expected yield, at 134 bu/acre, is down from 2007’s 140 bu/acre
Harvested acres are predicted at 3.9 million, up from 3.7 million in
2007
Kansas ranks #7 in U.S. production
U.S. Corn:
12.3 billion bushels on 79.3 million acres with a yield of 155 bu/acre.
This is down 6 percent from 2007, but the
second largest harvest in history.
Kansas Grain Sorghum
195.3 million bushels on 2.75 million acres with a yield of 71 bu/acre
This is down 8 percent from 2007 , but 48% of the nation’s crop.
Harvested acres are estimated at 2.75 million acres, up from 2.65
million acres in 2007.
However, yield is estimated at 71 bu/acre, compared to 80 bu/acre in
2007.
Kansas ranks #1 in U.S. production
US Grain Sorghum:
410.1 million bushels, down 19 percent from 2007.
Harvested acres are estimated at 6.4 million acres, down from 6.8
million acres in 2007.
Yield is estimated at 67.4 bu/acre, compared to 74.2 bu/acre in 2007.
Combined Kansas feedgrain (corn/sorghum) production is estimated at 718
million bushels, down from 730 million bushels in 2007.
Updated Aug. 11, 2008
Garden City
Ethanol Blender Pump Promotion
Friday, August 15!!
Garden City motorists
receive a break at the pump with alternative blends of ethanol
WHAT: As gas prices stay at record levels, Kansas
motorists can take advantage of bargain prices while pumping up the
local economy at a pump promotion at the U Pump It Country Corner in
Garden City, Kan. on Friday, Aug. 15, 2008 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. The
promotion is being held to celebrate the installation of the station’s
first blender pump. Consumers attending the promotion can fill their
flex-fuel vehicles (FFV) with E10, E20, E40, E50 and E85 for a reduced
price. Blender pumps offer FFV owners more choices at the pump to get
the best fuel economy while also helping make the air cleaner. Mid-level
blends like E20 and E30 can only be used in FFVs. There are more than
6.8 million FFVs on the road today.
During the promotion, motorists could win a free “e” branded t-shirt
while enjoying free hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and drinks. Two local
radio stations will broadcast live during the event. Motorist can jam to
tunes provided by Z98 FM from 11 a.m. to noon followed by the farm talk
show on KBUF AM from noon to 1 p.m.
WHEN: Friday, August 15, 2008 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
WHERE: U Pump It Country Corner
156 N. Campus Drive
Garden City, KS 67846
*The promotion is being sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and
Information Council, Kansas Corn Commission, U Pump It, and Garden City
COOP.
Updated Aug. 7, 2008
EPA Keeps Biofuel Levels in Place After Considering Texas Request
(Washington, DC -
August 7, 2008) Following extensive analysis, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today announced
his decision to deny a request submitted by the State of Texas to reduce
the nationwide Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). As a result, the required
total volume of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, mandated
by law to be blended into the fuel supply will remain at 9 billion
gallons in 2008 and 11.1 billion gallons in 2009.
"After reviewing the facts, it was clear this request did not meet the
criteria in the law," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "The
RFS remains an important tool in our ongoing efforts to reduce America's
greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our dependence on foreign oil, in
aggressive yet practical ways."
Current law authorizes EPA to waive the national RFS if the agency
determines that the mandated biofuel volumes would cause "severe harm"
to the economy or the environment. The agency recognizes that high
commodity prices are having economic impacts, but EPA's extensive
analysis of Texas' request found no compelling evidence that the RFS
mandate is causing severe economic harm during the time period specified
by Texas.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established the RFS program - and included
amendments to the Clean Air Act to set strict criteria for RFS-related
waivers. RFS nationwide volume mandates were increased in the Energy
Independence and Security Act, which was signed into law in December
2007.
EPA conducted detailed analysis, consulted closely with the Departments
of Energy and Agriculture, and carefully considered more than 15,000
public comments in response to the Texas request. This is the first RFS-related
waiver request. In a Federal Register notice, EPA is publishing a
detailed rationale that will also serve as a framework for any future
waiver considerations.
More information:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels
Updated Aug. 1, 2008
NozzleRage Video Gives
Some Friday Laughs
A new
website, nozzlerage.com has posted a new video on the very serious
subject of US dependence upon foreign oil and its national security
consequences.
Check it out HERE.
Updated Aug. 1, 2008
Kellogg's Improves
Profits (While Blaming Ethanol for Higher Food Prices)
According to the Wall Street
Journal and other financial publications, Kellogg Co.'s second-quarter
profit rose 3.7% as higher prices offset increases in advertising
spending and raw-material costs. Kellogg is another active player in the
Grocery Manufacturer's Association efforts to blame higher food prices
on corn based ethanol.
The Battle Creek, Mich., cereal maker, whose brands include Rice
Krispies, Pop-Tarts, Eggo waffles and Morningstar Farms, reported net
income of $312 million, or 82 cents a share, up from $301 million, or 75
cents a share, a year earlier.
Our
point of view:
Reports said higher prices offset increases in advertising spending. We
wonder if part of that increased advertising spending has been helping
to fund the misinformation campaign to make consumers believe that
ethanol and corn prices are the culprit for higher prices at the
checkout.
Updated July 230, 2008
Kraft Foods Improves
Profits While Blaming Ethanol for Higher Food Prices
Kraft,
one of the key players in the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)
efforts to blame higher food prices on corn farmers, announced quarterly
profits this week of $879 million, up 10 percent from last year’s second
quarter.
Northfield-based Kraft on
Monday beat Wall Street's expectations with its quarterly earnings and
raised its own profit forecast for the rest of the year. Kraft, maker of
products ranging from Oreos to Jell-O to Oscar Mayer meats, posted
second-quarter earnings-excluding special items-of $879 million, or 58
cents a share, up 10 percent from last year's adjusted $802 million, or
50 cents a share. Second-quarter results include a 6-cents-a-share
benefit from "certain commodity hedging activities," the company noted.
Still, even with that gain stripped out, Kraft topped the 50
cents-per-share profit estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial,
according to report in the Chicago Tribune.
Our point of view:
While we're not against companies making a profit, we don't think it's
right for them to blame corn farmers and ethanol plants for the higher
prices they are charging the consumer.
Updated July 28, 2008
Ethanol Blender Pumps in
Kansas!
Kansas now boasts three ethanol blender pumps that sell a variety of
ethanol blended fuels. Ethanol fuels over 10 percent (E10) are for use
in flexible fuel vehicles. Many more ethanol blender pumps will be
installed in Kansas in the next year, offering motorists more fueling
options and making ethanol blended fuels more accessible throughout
Kansas.
LAWRENCE
Zarco Earth Friendly Fuels
Fuels offered: E10, E20, E30, E40 and E85
9th & Iowa
Lawrence, KS
GARDEN CITY--Grand Opening Celebration August 15!
U Pump It (Country Corner)
Fuels offered: E10, E20, E40, E50 and E85
156 N. Campus Drive (Campus/Hwy 50)
Garden City, KS
COLWICH--Grand Opening Celebration Soon!
TJ’s Convenience
Fuels offered: E10, E20, E30, E40 and E85
104 W Chicago Ave
Colwich, KS
Updated July 22, 2008
New
Blender Pump Offers Motorists Options in Garden City
We
are excited to report a new ethanol blender pump station located in
Garden City. The Country Corners station at the intersection of Campus
Drive and Fulton St. (Highway 50) has a new blender pump in operation.
This pump offers E20, E40, E50 and E85 ethanol blended fuels. The
station also sells E10 at all its fuel islands. Look for a big promotion
and grand opening in August.
Updated July 21, 2008
ETHANOL
INDUSTRY HELPS RURAL KANSAS ECONOMY
BY JERE WHITE--Published as an op-ed piece in the
Wichita Eagle newspaper
Seaboard Foods' Rod Brenneman complained that the
ethanol industry is strangling pork producers
("Ethanol mandate hurts livestock producers," July 6 Opinion). These
are strange words from the executive of a company whose first quarter
earnings were up 42 percent from the same quarter last year.
Brenneman is a leader in the Food Before Fuel coalition. The coalition
is managed by Glover Park Group, the same East Coast public relations
firm that is handling the Grocery Manufacturers Association's now
infamous ethanol misinformation campaign. The goal of these two groups
is simple: Get rid of ethanol so food companies can once again have
access to cheap corn. Unfortunately for Seaboard and the other big food
manufacturers, it isn't that simple.
Seaboard has been a good friend to corn growers over the years,
especially when corn was priced below our cost of production. Writing
his commentary from his corporate office in metropolitan Kansas City,
Brenneman feigned concern for the small family pork producer.
Our office is located in rural Garnett. All four of our employees come
from family farms -- both livestock and grain. We know that small
livestock producers are struggling with higher corn prices, because
those producers are our friends and neighbors, association members, and
two of our four employees.
Several factors have contributed to higher corn prices. One factor is
certainly ethanol, and we will gladly take some credit for that one.
The boom in ethanol came about when growers in Kansas and the Midwest,
tired of selling their corn for less than $2 a bushel, decided to do
something for themselves and their rural communities. Many growers and
community members took a big chance, investing money in local ethanol
plant projects to create a market for their crops, to create jobs and to
increase revenue for their communities. I believe this is called rural
development.
What about the other factors? The value of the U.S. dollar has dropped,
and economies of many foreign countries, like China and India, have
exploded. So the export market for corn and other grains has grown,
increasing demand.
About the same time, investors and speculators, wary of the stock
market, moved to investing in commodities, increasing volatility.
Ever-increasing energy costs, thanks to our dependence on foreign oil,
play the biggest role in the cost of food production.
It seems shortsighted for Seaboard, looking for lower production costs,
to go after only ethanol -- a homegrown industry that is in many cases
owned by family farmers.
Brenneman justified his position by stating that ethanol is the one
factor that Congress can control and states that are "feeling the pinch"
should speak up. He should remember that many of the ethanol plants in
Kansas and other Midwest states are owned by family farmers, and those
plants are providing jobs in those small rural communities. Hurting the
ethanol industry will hurt our rural Kansas communities.
Brenneman stated that "there are real jobs, real people and real
communities at risk here." We couldn't agree more.
Jere White of Garnett is executive director of the Kansas Corn
Growers Association.
While we're in Washington DC for
Corn Congress the week of July 14, check out these great blogs!
Corn Commentary
Renewable Fuels
Now
Food and
Fuel America
Domestic
Fuel
Food Price
Truth
Updated July 11, 2008
U.S. Corn Outlook Is Improving!
After months of
doom and gloom forecasts about the 2008 U.S. corn crop, the news is
finally becoming more positive. The June 30 acreage report showed more
planted acres than expected. Here in Kansas, our growers planted 4.1
million acres, the highest acreage since 1936! Today, USDA released is
supply and demand report, which also has positive news about our corn
supply.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today provided updated
information on this year's corn crop, including an estimate that effects
from June flooding may not have a significant effect on the nation's
overall corn crop. The National Corn Growers Association welcomed this
news and the fact that USDA statistics show improving crop conditions.
"As each report comes out through the growing season, we are seeing more
and more reasons for optimism about a good year for corn," said Ron
Litterer, NCGA president. "With the second-highest acreage since the
1940s, we know there will a lot of work to do come harvest time to meet
all needs for food, feed, fuel and fiber. As farmers, we relish the
challenge."
In its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, the USDA
increased its estimate of beginning stocks, or carry-in from the record
2007 harvest, to 1.598 billion bushels, an increase of 165 million
bushels. This comes from a 100 million bushel reduction in feed and
residual use, a 50 million bushel reduction in using corn for ethanol
and a 15 million bushel reduction in other domestic use. While
production and average yield were marginally reduced in comparison with
the June projections, the total corn supply for the year is higher and
the total projected use has decreased marginally, providing for a
carry-out at the end of the season of 833 million bushels. The USDA
increased its projected 2008-09 feed and residual usage by 50 million
bushels, reduced its projected usage of corn for ethanol by 50 million
bushels and reduced other domestic uses by 15 million bushels. The
report also estimated average prices for the 2008 crop at $6 per bushel.
In a separate report on crop production, the USDA looked at weather and
acreage conditions. "By the end of the first week in June, 60 percent of
the corn acreage was rated good to excellent," the USDA stated. "Despite
flooding in the eastern Corn Belt, condition ratings dropped only 3
points by June 15, and showed improvement the following week. As of June
29, sixty-one percent of corn acreage was rated good to excellent."
Updated July 9, 2008
Biofuels Part of Gingrich's 3-Part Plan for Energy Independence
1.
Open the strategic petroleum reserve
2. Allow drilling in more places
3. Maximize biofuels
Watch
the YouTube video here
Updated July 9, 2008
Energy Expert: ‘Swift and Painful’
Ramifications if RFS Waiver Granted
An expert on energy markets has warned that gas prices would jump almost
immediately if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were to
grant Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s request for a partial waiver of the
renewable fuels standard.
“Our analysis shows that $5 gasoline will just be the beginning,” energy
market writer and publisher Tom Waterman said. “Prices in California
within one month would reach $5.75 per gallon and head to $6 per gallon
by summer’s end. The rest of the country will follow.”
“U.S. refiners would suddenly be faced with finding roughly 1.6 million
barrels or 68 million gallons of gasoline per day immediately,” Waterman
added. “These events are definite if the EPA acts.”
Waterman’s comments were part of a post on a Web site maintained by the
Renewable Fuels Association. Click here for the entire post.
Waterman has been writing about oil, gas, electricity and renewable
fuels as a reporter, editor and publisher for 23 years. He launched and
publishes Btu, one of the leading sources of information in the natural
gas and electricity markets, and the most widely distributed electronic
information and market intelligence product in the market. Waterman also
started a daily wire service and weekly petroleum publication known as
MarketWire, and launched the weekly publication The Ethanol Monitor in
2005, which has quickly emerged as one of the most innovative and comprClick
here for the entire post.ehensive publications in the field.
Waterman’s insight presents the corollary to what many have recognized,
the fact that corn-based ethanol has helped keep gasoline prices from
being even higher, by reducing the amount of petroleum needed in the
United States. According to the Center for Agricultural and Rural
Development at Iowa State University, the growth in ethanol production
has caused retail gasoline prices to be lower (up to $0.40 per gallon)
than would otherwise have been the case.
Click Here for more information on how ethanol helps keep gasoline
prices down. (links to RFA sheet)
Updated July 8, 2008
Food Before Profit Website Sets Record Straight
Here
is an interesting web site for you:
www.foodbeforeprofit.com
While Big Food, thorugh a well-funded public relations campaign, is
pointing fingers at ethanol and corn prices for higher prices for
families at the checkout, food companies are posting big profits.
Some Headlines from the
FoodBeforeProfit.com website:
Dean
Foods Profits on Higher Dairy Prices
ConAgra Foods Profits on Higher Prices
Del Monte Foods' Profits Soar on Higher Prices
General Mills' Profit Perspective
Updated July 7, 2008
Editor's note: We may be running too many articles about OPEC on this
blog, but those friendly folks at OPEC say the darndest things! When you
have the world by the purse-strings, you can say anything you want.
After reading the article below from MarketWatch, we don't know whether
to laugh . . . or cry.
OPEC president blames ethanol for crude-price rise
Khelil again predicts
price climbs, citing biofuels, weak dollar, tensions
By
MarketWatch
Last update: 2:05 p.m. EDT July 6, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The price of petroleum will continue to rise
because of ethanol, the weak dollar and political tensions, the oil
cartel's president was quoted as saying Sunday.
"The price of oil will rise again in the coming weeks," Chakib Khelil --
the Algerian energy minister and currently president of the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries -- said in an interview with an
Algerian newspaper. "We have to follow the evolution of the dollar,
because a 1% fall in the dollar means $4 more on the price of oil."
Khelil said the weak dollar and geopolitical worries are responsible for
60% of the rise in crude prices, but also said that "the intrusion of
bioethanol on the market" was alone responsible for the other 40%.
He didn't explain why more ethanol would drive crude prices higher,
but said the dollar's decline was because the Federal Reserve had kept
interest rates low. Khelil repeated his view that a lack of supply is
not the problem.
"As producer countries, we think that the current supply is sufficient,
that this balance in supply is in everybody's interests and that it
shouldn't be disturbed, because the current rise in oil prices is in
nobody's interest," he said, according to media accounts. Khelil said
petroleum production had been limited by Western investment embargoes on
Libya and Iran, and by the war in Iraq.
Updated July 3, 2008
$100,000 gift led up to Texas Governor's attack on
ethanol--
Poultry titan gave Perry group funds,
then work for waiver began, records show
For Some, Money Trumps Research
By Rick
Tolman, Chief Executive Officer, National Corn Growers Association
The Houston Chronicle ran a front-page story July 2 on Texas Gov. Rick
Perry’s request for a waiver of the renewable fuels standard, and how
his request followed within days a $100,000 contribution that Bo Pilgrim
of Pilgrim’s Pride made to the Republican Governors Association, chaired
by Perry. Pilgrim has been one of the most vocal opponents of corn-based
ethanol over the past few months.
You can click here to read the story.
Frankly, we’re not surprised. This is how politics often works.
What is much more disturbing is that Perry did this, the article states
further, despite research by one of his top-notch schools that
demonstrated that relaxing the RFS would not really matter.
“Perry pressed for the waiver despite an April 10 Texas A&M study that
showed a waiver of federal mandates on ethanol production would have
little or no effect in driving down the price of feed corn for poultry
and livestock,” reporter R.G. Ratcliff wrote. “The A&M study blamed
rising corn prices on the cost of oil, global demands for corn and
commodities speculation.”
Apparently, because Perry was not satisfied, he asked Texas A&M to go
back and write another report that looked at short-crop scenarios. While
the school gave him the conclusion he wanted, after the RFS waiver
request was filed, it appears to be a moot point with the updated
acreage from USDA this week that significantly discounts concerns about
a reduced corn crop.
Here’s a fair question: If Perry accepts the research of the second
report, why does he not accept the research of the first report? Well,
here’s how closely tied Pilgrim and Perry are, according to the
Chronicle:
“Perry's staff coordinated preparation of the waiver request with
Pilgrim's Pride lobbyist Gaylor Hughey of Tyler and Cliff Angelo with
Public Strategies, the firm handling a public relations campaign against
ethanol for Pilgrim's Pride and a coalition of meat producers.”
Another fair question: Why does a government official need expensive
private-sector lobbyists and PR firms to communicate with another
government official? Like the earlier Roll Call story that exposed the
Grocery Manufacturers Association’s PR campaign documents
(click here), this excellent report offers a rare insider’s look,
something print media are especially capable of. The reporter trolled
through nearly 600 pages of documentation from the governor’s office.
We salute reporters who work hard to try and get the real story … no
matter how unpleasant it may be to read.
Updated July 2, 2008
On July 4, Celebrate Energy Independence with Alternative Fuels
As American consumers pinch their pennies to drive
and celebrate the country’s Independence Day with family and friends
this year, the National Corn Growers Association and others are calling
for July 4th also to be celebrated as Energy Independence Day 2008.
“As much as we can, we need to work toward energy security and
independence by expanding domestic fuel sources such as corn ethanol,”
said NCGA President Ron Litterer. “Thanks to technology and hard work,
our farmers have been able to meet all needs and develop new markets and
promote the U.S. economy, especially in rural America.”
The United States spends more than $1 billion a day on imported foreign
oil and depends heavily on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC), whose members produce more than 40 percent of the
world’s crude oil. OPEC also controls two-thirds of the global oil
reserves. In an effort to curb this dependence, Energy Independence Day
underscores the nation’s drive toward domestic renewable fuel sources.
“This summer, Americans are paying huge energy costs,” said Toni
Nuernberg, executive director of the Ethanol Promotion and Information
Council. “We’re calling for July 4th to be Energy Independence Day, as a
way to rally support for renewable fuels. We are issuing a call for
unity in the fight to gain our Energy Independence.”
Last year, just seven percent of the U.S. energy supply was from clean
and renewable domestic sources. But consumers can turn that tide. In
2009, using domestically produced petroleum and ethanol only, American
consumers could drive for 186 days without using foreign oil.
With the current single-source energy portfolio, American consumers pay
a hefty sum for their dependence on petroleum. Consumers can support
Energy Independence Day by joining the charge for unity in finding
clean, renewable solutions to dependence on expensive fuel. And, by
combining trips, using public transportation, carpooling, and using
ethanol-enriched gasoline this summer, we can reduce our draw on the
fuel supply.

Updated July 1, 2008
High Level Fillup
Kansas Congressman Dennis Moore (right) and EPA Region 7 Administrator
John Askew (left) talk about renewable fuels while fueling the Kansas
Corn car at the grand opening event for the Zarco Earth Friendly Fuels
station in Lawrence on June 30.. Congressman Moore and Administrator
Askew carpooled together from Kansas City for the event.
Zarco Earth Friendly Fuels
biofuels station at 9th & Iowa in Lawrence held its grand opening on
Monday, June 30.. The station sells only fuels
blended with ethanol or biodiesel, and is the first of its kind in
Kansas. It is also the first station to implement the state’s ethanol
blender pump pilot program. A blender pump can dispense several blends
of ethanol blended fuels—the Zarco station sells E10, E20, E30 and E85
fuel. In addition to its focus on biofuels, the station is adding other
earth-friendly features like a green roof with plants, solar and wind
power and a rain garden. The Environmental Protection Agency held a news
conference to tout the new earth friendly station. The Kansas Corn
Commission and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council sponsored
an ethanol promotion, marking down all four blends of ethanol fuel.
Updated July 1, 2008
Kansas Growers
Plant Largest Corn Crop in Modern History
Kansas farmers planted 4.1 million acres of corn this
year, according to the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service. The 2008
acreage estimate represents a five percent increase over 2007 and is the
highest corn acreage in Kansas since 1936.
Kansas growers planted 90 percent of their corn acres with varieties
enhanced with biotechnology. 25 percent was planted with Bt corn, 30
percent with herbicide resistant corn, and 35 percent with stacked gene
varieties with both insect and herbicide resistance.
In 1936, farmers planted 5.1 million acres of corn in Kansas. Of that,
only 497,000 acres were harvested with a yield of 6 bushels per acre.
Total production was just 2.96 million bushels.
Grain sorghum and soybean plantings are also up. Growers planted 2.85
million acres of grain sorghum, up 2 percent from 2007. Growers planted
a record 3.2 million acres of soybeans, up 23 percent from 2007.
Combined feedgrain acres in Kansas (corn and sorghum) total 6.95 million
acres, up 3.7 percent from 2007. Corn and grain sorghum are both valued
in Kansas for livestock and ethanol production.

Updated July 1, 2008
Saudi
King on High Oil Prices--Get Used
to It
King Abdullah of
Saudi Arabia, whose nation is the world's number one oil exporter,
called on consumer countries to get used to high prices in comments
published on Tuesday.
"Consumer countries have to adapt to the prices and the mechanisms of
the market," the king said in an interview published by the Kuwaiti
daily Al-Siyassah.
"We have nothing to do with the current sharp increase in crude prices,"
he said reiterating the Saudi position that speculation, rising demand
and the taxation of oil products in consumer countries were to blame.
"These countries must reduce their taxes on fuel.. if they want to
contribute to easing the burden on ordinary consumers," he said.
(from AFP news service)

Updated June 27, 2008
Earth Friendly Fuels Station to Celebrate
Blender Pump Grand Opening Monday, June 30
Here
is a reminder about Monday’s events at the Zarco Earth Friendly Fuels
biofuels station at 9th & Iowa in Lawrence. The station sells only fuels
blended with ethanol or biodiesel, and is the first of its kind in
Kansas. It is also the first station to implement the state’s ethanol
blender pump pilot program. A blender pump can dispense several blends
of ethanol blended fuels—the Zarco station sells E10, E20, E30 and E85
fuel. In addition to its focus on biofuels, the station is adding other
earth-friendly features like a green roof with plants, solar and wind
power and a rain garden. The Environmental Protection Agency and other
partners in the project will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. The fuel
promotion will begin at 11:30.
When
Monday, June 30
10 a.m.: News Conference featuring Congressman Dennis Moore, EPA Region
7 Administrator John Askew, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian
Polansky and Lawrence Mayor Mike Dever.
Displays, spokespersons and information from several renewable fuels
groups
11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Blender pump promotion
Information on the EPA News Conference Information is attached.
Below is the information on the blender pump promotion, sponsored by the
Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, Kansas Corn and East Kansas
Agri Energy.
Blender Pump Promotion Monday at Lawrence
The first blender pump is opening in Lawrence, Kansas! The Green Energy
Gateway Fuel Station Grand Opening will be happening in conjunction with
Kansas Corn Commission and the East Kansas Agri Energy ethanol plant,
Garnett. Several blends of ethanol will be discounted from 11:30 am to
2:30 pm. How much consumers save depends on the blend--
E10 – 20 cent discount
E20 – 40 cent discount
E30 – 60 cent discount
E85- $1.85 / gallon
Where
Zarco 66 Earth Friendly Fuels
900 Iowa St. (9th & Iowa)
Lawrence, KS 66044

Updated June 24, 2008
OPEC Promises to Keep Oil Prices High
Oil
prices "will not come down," OPEC president Chakib Khelil said Tuesday,
assuring that the oil cartel has already done what it can on the matter.
"OPEC has already done what OPEC can do and prices will not come down,"
Khelil told journalists as he arrived for a meeting with EU energy
officials in Brussels.
OPEC
Secretary General Abdallah el-Badri said: 'We don't want to raise
production, there is no supply shortage."
Our view:
Wow,
there aren't many commodity producers who can tell you up front what
their price is going to do in the future with such certainty, and oil is a commodity. OPEC
is obviously in firm control of their supply and pricing. In the
face of this promise for high prices from OPEC, it would be foolish for
the U.S. to back away from producing ethanol or any domestic alternative
energy source.
Updated June 23, 2008
Mark Your
Calendars:
Grand Opening of Lawrence Green Gas Station Is
Monday, June 30
The grand opening
for the Zarco 66 Earth Friendly Fuels station will be Monday, June 30, 2008, at 10 a.m. at the station
located at 9th & Iowa in Lawrence. This is the first station to sell
ethanol under the state’s innovative blender pump program. The station
sells E10, E20, E30 and E85 fuels.
Featured speakers will be John Askew, regional administrator, US EPA
Region 7 and Adrian Polansky, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture. Invited
speakers are U.S. Senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts and U.S.
Representatives Dennis Moore and Nancy Boyda. A media session will be
held at 10:30 a.m. Several organizations will display vehicles that run
on alternative fuels and promote the benefits of burning environmental
friendly fuels. Other environmental friendly organizations will be
displaying consumer information regarding green practices.
EPIC and Kansas Corn will be participating in an ethanol fuel promotion
from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the station. Ethanol supporters will be on hand to pump
ethanol blended fuels at a discounted price, and to provide information
and education to motorists.
Visit the Zarco66
website
Updated June 20, 2008
Hey, It's the Food Dude!
The
Kansas Corn Commission is working with the Renewable Fuels Now Coalition
on a statewide radio campaign aimed at spreading information about the
food and fuel issue. The radio spots are in a lighthearted talk show
format in which the host, called the Food Dude, answers callers
questions about higher food prices. The corn commission is also
partnering with the Missouri Corn Marketing Board and EPIC in airing the spots on
four top radio stations in Kansas City. The radio commercials are an
excellent opportunity to counter misinformation in the media regarding
corn’s true impact on food prices. A second wave of commercials
featuring Fill'er Up Phil will begin next week.
LISTEN HERE
30
second "Crude" spot
30
second "EightCents" spot
60
second "EightCents" spot
60
second "Impact" spot
Updated June 19, 2008
ICM, Inc. Guarantees Food AND Fuel Production in 2010
ICM, Inc. this week announced that ethanol
biorefineries investing in the company's new, proprietary and innovative
technology before the end of this year, will be capable of commercially
producing both food and fuel in 2010. The announcement was made during
ICM’s customer meeting at the annual Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) in
Nashville, Tenn.
“We are talking about the ‘ethanol biorefinery of the future’…and very
near future at that,” said Dave Vander Griend, founder, president and
CEO. “Fifty years ago, the U.S. fed the world. We will be able to do
that again with a food supply brought about by the evolution of ethanol
production.”
Vander Griend says dry fractionation, the first component of ICM’s new
six-part Food AND FuelTM technology package, can be installed as early
as the fourth quarter of this year, with production coming on line in
the second quarter of 2009. After cleaning and moisture conditioning,
the proprietary dry fractionation process mechanically separates the
corn kernel into its three main components: endosperm (the starchy
portion comprising most of the inner kernel), germ (the protein- and
oil-rich center) and bran (the kernel’s fibrous outer layer). More than
just producing ethanol, optimizing the whole kernel in this way allows
for the production of a host of food-grade and feedgrade co-products, as
well as another alternate fuel source to power the process. In addition
to new food-processing capabilities, ICM’s new technology offering also
provides several other advantages for biorefineries:
• a guaranteed increase in ethanol production capacity
• reduced natural gas consumption
• decreased enzyme usage
• a platform for emerging technologies
• a bridge to cellulosic ethanol
ICM installed their first Food AND FuelTM technology package at a
biorefinery in St. Joseph, Mo. This facility, LifeLine Foods, is the
proving ground for ICM’s “ethanol biorefinery of the future” package,
which includes the technology to transform corn fiber to cellulosic
ethanol.

Updated June 18, 2008
Meet Edgar the E-man!
The
new mascot of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council was unveiled
earlier this month at the EPIC annual meeting in Omaha. The Kansas Corn
Growers Association submitted the winning entry in the contest to name
the new mascot. Suggested by KCGA was "eDDGar". This name combines the
EPIC "e" and DDG. Officially the mascot will be named Edgar, but the
name will be used to highlight both ethanol and DDGS. The South
Dakota Corn Growers Association submitted the name E-man. Both
organizations will get the use of Edgar at one of their upcoming events.
Updated June 17, 2008:
EPA Recognizes Garnett Ethanol Plant for Exceptional
Energy Savings
A Kansas ethanol plant was one of two plants recognized by the
Environmental Protection Agency. ENERGY STAR awards were given to East
Kansas Agri-Energy, LLC in Garnett, and POET Biorefining in Ashton, Iowa
at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo in Nashville. The
Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers
Association congratulated EKAE’s on receiving the honor from EPA.
“Our associations are based in Garnett, and EKAE has always been a very
good neighbor,” according to KCGA and KGSPA Executive Director Jere
White. “This plant is known for using innovative design and techniques
to save not only energy, but also to reduce water consumption. When
people question the efficiency of ethanol production, new generation
plants like EKAE demonstrate the advances that are being made in the
ethanol industry.”
The East Kansas Agri-Energy dry mill ethanol plant in Garnett, Kan.,
began production in 2005. The steam turbine system generates
approximately one-third of the facility’s electrical demands. It
requires approximately 23 percent less fuel than typical on-site thermal
generation and purchased electricity. Based on this comparison, the
plant reduces carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 14,500 tons per
year, which is equivalent to removing the annual emissions from 2,400
cars or planting 3,000 acres of forest.
“Our East Kansas Agri-Energy plant includes an energy-efficient system,
which transforms a requirement to control air pollution into an
opportunity to address the plant’s energy demands,” said plant manager
Doug Sommer.
This ENERGY STAR program recognizes projects that reduce emissions and
use at least five percent less fuel than state-of-the-art, comparable
separate heat and power generation.
"EPA is proud to recognize the outstanding pollution reduction and
energy efficiency qualities of both ethanol facilities by presenting
these ENERGY STAR Combined Heat and Power Awards. These facilities in
Iowa and Kansas are making improvements that contribute to a cleaner and
healthier environment,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator John B. Askew.
Updated June16, 2008:
BIG Food/BIGGER Profits
It's a well-known fact that the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)
is funding an expensive, high-powered public relations campaign aimed at
making consumers believe that ethanol and higher corn prices are raising
food prices for American families. At the same time, they are boasting a
very strong growth in earnings. We are all for American companies
growing and making a profit, but maybe its time for GMA to stop playing
the blame game with corn farmers--especially if they are funding this
misinformation campaign on the backs of cash strapped families (just our
opinion).
Here is release from the Illinois Corn Growers on GMA's latest
announcement:
Business is good. And really, really good at Big Food companies
according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for the Grocery
Manufacturers Association (GMA).
Big Food companies earned nearly an 11% percent sales growth this past
year and a strong shareholder return of 7.3 percent in 2007 according to
the report, The Food, Beverage and Consumer Products Industry: Achieving
Superior Financial Performance in a Challenging Economy 2008.
While raising prices and blaming farmers for food cost increases, the
companies have been rolling in the dough.
The GMA trumpeted the results in an announcement:
Commenting on the sector’s financial performance, Herb Walter, consumer
packaged goods and retail advisory partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers
said, “In 2007, we saw CPG manufacturers outperform the Dow and S&P
averages on strong financial performance, including a median EBIT growth
rate of 15+ percent. Free cash flow was seven percent of sales, and with
a significantly reduced cash conversion cycle, capital has been freed
for product innovation and marketing, among other spending
initiatives.”
Updated June16, 2008:
Missouri Governor
Denies KC Ethanol Waiver Request
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt announced Friday that he is denying
requests to exempt Kansas City from the sale of ethanol-blended gas. The
Mid-America Regional Council and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of
Commerce had requested that the governor issue a waiver from state law
that requires most of Missouri’s gasoline to include a blend of 10
percent ethanol (E-10). The renewable fuel standard, which requires most
gasoline sold to contain at least 10 percent ethanol, boasts advantages
for both the environment and Missourians’ pocketbooks.
In a letter to both organizations (pdf), the governor noted it is in
Missouri’s best interest to leave in place the state’s E-10 standard in
the Kansas City area. The governor cited environmental, consumer and
regulatory benefits for his decision.
“We have reviewed the request for a waiver of the E-10 standard in the
Kansas City area,” Gov. Blunt said. “After thorough consideration of all
aspects of this waiver request, I have decided it is in the best
interest of the state to not issue the waiver.”
Missouri became the third state to implement an E-10 standard. Ethanol
is a cleaner burning alternative to petroleum based gasoline and is more
efficient to produce. It contains more oxygen, which results in better
combustion and fewer carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and carcinogenic
emissions.
Updated June13, 2008:
Energy/Ag
Secretaries: Ethanol Moderates Gas Prices by
20-35 Cents Per Gallon
In the growing debate over
food versus fuel, top U.S. government officials are telling Congress gas
pump prices would be higher if not for increased use of ethanol. "It is
clear ... that biofuels are already moderating gas prices," Energy
Department Secretary Samuel Bodman and Agriculture Department Secretary
Edward Schafer wrote in a letter to the chairman of the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee. "That impact is likely to grow
substantially as more biofuels come to market."
The agencies estimate
gasoline prices would be 20 cents to 35 cents per gallon higher if
ethanol weren't blended in. Further, Energy and the USDA wrote in the
letter that without ethanol, the U.S. would need 7.2 billion more
gallons of gasoline in 2008 to maintain current levels of travel. That
would equate to 5% more gas and likely higher prices, the agencies said.
Updated June12, 2008:
Missouri Has Nation's Cheapest Gas, Thanks to Ethanol
Everyone is
looking for cheaper gas. For us in Kansas, it is just next door. The
state of Missouri is boasting the lowest gas prices in the nation. Why?
Four causes are cited: lower fuel taxes, distribution, location AND the
ethanol mandate. All gas in Missouri now contains 10 percent ethanol.
That's saving motorists an additional 10 cents per gallon. Kansas City,
MO asked for a waiver from the ethanol mandate recently.
Updated June10, 2008:
Survey: Motorists
Want Less Costly Fuel Alternatives
OMAHA, Neb., June 10 -- A
recent national survey commissioned by Ethanol Promotion and Information
Council (EPIC) (http://www.drivingethanol.org/) shows the skyrocketing
cost of gasoline is forcing American motorists to rethink their driving
habits and choices at the pump. The cost of summer driving, with oil
prices nearing $140 a barrel, has become an increasing financial burden
for many American consumers.
The EPIC survey found 47
percent of those polled stated that a fuel price below $5 a gallon
should be the point where fossil fuels are no longer our primary fuel
sources. An additional 27 percent of those polled reported that the
critical price point lies between $5 and $5.99. America is getting close
to the break-point as Sunday, the national average of a gallon of
gasoline rose to $4.005, 90 cents higher than a year ago, according to
AAA.
"Motorists are frustrated
and angry about high gas prices. Everyone is feeling the pinch at the
pump, which really underscores our need for biofuels," said Toni
Nuernberg, executive director of EPIC (http://www.drivingethanol.org/).
"As gas prices continue to skyrocket, we must continue the push for the
only current transportation energy option we have today-biofuels."
Even in the face of heavy
criticism from anti-ethanol groups and misplaced blame for rising food
prices, the ethanol fuel industry continues to help keep fuel prices
below the even-more exorbitant prices consumers would pay without the
availability of ethanol fuel.
According to data from
Iowa State University, blending gasoline with ethanol has kept fuel
prices $0.29 - 0.40 lower per gallon than they would have been
otherwise. In the Midwest, the savings are the greatest, with fuel
prices suppressed by as much as $0.39 per gallon due to ethanol fuel
blending.
The survey found that 42
percent of those polled said they were coping with rising gas prices by
driving less, but 15 percent reported there was nothing they could do to
cut back on the increasing expense of driving.
"Motorists across the
country are reaching their breaking point," said Nuernberg. "Rising fuel
costs are impacting the economy across the board. Cost-effective
renewable alternatives must be a part of our country's long-term energy
plan."
Survey
Methodology:Online survey of a total 1,004 completed surveys from Luth
Research's SurveySavvy online research panel. Survey fielding dates were
April 24, 2008 through April 30, 2008. Visit
EPIC for more
information.
Updated June 9,
2008:
EPIC Annual Meeting Features
Zubrin
The Ethanol Promotion
and Information Council Annual Meeting featured as a keynote speaker Dr.
Robert Zubrin, author of Energy Victory. Zubrin's presentation showed
how America and other countries are losing financial ground to the OPEC
countries through their control of oil supplies and price. AND it showed
how biofuels, especially ethanol, can play a big role in reversing this
trend. To see a PowerPoint of his presentation,
click here
Some points from Dr.
Zubrin’s presentation:
--In 1972 the USA paid $4 billion for imported oil. In 2007 it paid $342
billion.
--In 1972 Saudi Arabia received $2.7 billion for exported oil. In 2007
it received $235 billion.
--The US oil import payout in 1972 was 4.6% of all Defense Department
expenditures for that year. In 2007 it was 65%.
--With OPEC exploiting increased demand from China and India to raise
prices, within a few years US oil import payments are likely to exceed
100% of the Defense Department budget.
Dr. Zubrin said OPEC’s oil price increases are a tax upon Americans that
funds efforts of the Middle Eastern countries.
He outlined the work of a coalition that is pushing for legislation that
would require that all vehicles sold in the U.S. be flexible fuel
vehicles that would be capable of operating on 85% ethanol (methanol and
biodiesel would also be included). He contends that within 3 years of a
FFV mandate, there would be 50 million flexible fuel cars on the road
and hundreds of millions of FFV cars worldwide, which would lead to
rapid expansion of E85 and M50 pumps in the U.S. and worldwide. This
would greatly reduce our need for foreign oil, he said.
Kansas Senator Sam Brownback is active in developing the legislation to
mandate flexible fuel vehicles. For more information on Dr. Zubrin and
to view his presentation, visit
www.energyvictory.net
Here is the beginning of one of his essays on the subject.
In Defense of
Biofuels
By Robert Zubrin
On the world markets, the cost of a barrel of oil is, at this writing,
over $120. In the United States, a gallon of gasoline now costs, on
average, roughly $3.50. Even when adjusted for inflation, both of those
figures are now higher than they have ever been—higher than during the
1973 oil embargo, higher than during any subsequent peak. And yet,
bizarrely, instead of focusing their attention on the staggering cost of
oil and its ruinous implications for global growth and economic
wellbeing, American policymakers and energy analysts have begun to decry
a different fuel—one that holds the key to ending our dependency on
expensive oil purchased from countries with interests inimical to our
own.
Biofuels—a class of fuels of which ethanol is the most prominent and
immediately promising—can play a central part in weaning the United
States from oil. But in recent months, a flood of press reports,
articles in scientific journals, and statements from international
bureaucrats have suggested that ethanol is starving the world’s poor, is
a waste of government money, and is bad for the environment. These
claims are simply not true; some are based on partial information, some
on gross disinformation, but none of them can withstand close scrutiny.
Many of the critics of ethanol mean well: they are worried about hungry
children or big government. Others have more self-interested motivations
for their criticism of biofuels—like Hugo Chávez, the preening,
obstreperous dictator of oil-exporting Venezuela, who has called ethanol
production a “crime.” Still others are driven by a Malthusian vision of
a world with fewer people in it. No matter the motivations of these
unlikeliest of bedfellows, their recent objections to ethanol could have
the cumulative effect of warping U.S. and international biofuels
policy—and just at the moment when exorbitant oil costs should, if
anything, be leading legislators to adopt the critical technology needed
to expand the role of biofuels in the world’s fuel supply.
READ MORE
Posted May 30, 2008:
NCGA Meets with Grocery
Manufacturers--Expect Continued GMA Public Relations Attacks
According to a report
on Agri-Pulse, the Grocery Manufacturers Association smear campaign will
continue and intensify.
NCGA’s Rick Tolman met
this week with executives from the Grocery Manufacturers Association,
which is funding the multi-million dollar misinformation campaign
against corn and ethanol. Sounds like the gist of the meeting was that
GMA doesn’t think they have much chance of lowering oil prices, world
food prices, weather or the other costs that are increasing their
production costs. So the Renewable Fuels Standard and ethanol are
getting their attention because they think they do have a chance to roll
back progress we have made in that area. Don’t expect them to stop their
smear campaign—in fact their efforts will intensify.
Listen to the
Agri-Pulse report and interview with Rick Tolman at:
http://www.agri-pulse.com/default.asp
You'll find the report on the left hand
column.
A random thought: If GMA is spending
millions on this campaign, isn't it ultimately consumers who are footing
the bill?
Read the letter sent to GMA from the national
corn, wheat, soybean and sorghum associations
Posted May 27, 2008:
More Popcorn Baloney
Hoo
boy, now it's time to blame ethanol for higher theater popcorn prices,
and yes, higher movie ticket prices. The big city P.R. firms that are
being paid to smear ethanol and corn have really gone too far this time.
You know that $5 bag of popcorn you buy at the movie theater? The one
that has had 2 or 3 cents worth of popcorn in it? Now it has 4 or 5
cents worth of popcorn and that has spurred the theaters to not only
raise popcorn prices, but also movie ticket prices. And of course,
ethanol is to blame, according to Big Food's ethanol smear campaign.
A similar story broke
last summer. We're working on a fact sheet with updated numbers, but
until then, follow this link to see how the Iowa Renewable Fuels
Association handled this last year.
More
here
Posted May 27, 2008:
Finally Breaking Oil Addiction
(from EPIC's Good News Network)
Practically lost in the
shuffle of events last week was a stunning bit of news reported by the
Financial Times:
"The US is starting to break
its 'addiction' to foreign oil as high prices, more efficient cars, and
the use of ethanol significantly cut the share of its oil imports for
the first time since 1977.
"The country's foreign oil
dependency is expected to fall from 60 percent to 50 percent in 2015,
before rising again slightly to 54 percent in 2030..."
The projected decline in
America's net oil imports between now and 2030 will end "an almost
relentless 30-year climb in the use of foreign oil," the FT reported.
"The US decline in foreign
oil dependency is already becoming more visible, with imports making up
57.9 percent in the first three months of this year, down from 58.2 last
year."
Guy Caruso, head of the
Energy Information Administration, credited high oil prices and the
impact of the 2007 energy bill.
There can no longer be any
doubt that ethanol is an important part of the solution to America's
energy problems.
Sources:
"US
begins to break foreign oil 'addiction',"
by Carola Hoyos, Financial Times, May 19, 2008.
Posted May 22, 2008:
Take Action Now to Stop Big Food’s
Campaign Against Ethanol
In an
effort to encourage the Grocery Manufacturers Association to end its
campaign against corn ethanol and the U.S. farmer, we urge you to call
or e-mail these member companies and make your voices heard:
Kraft Foods 847-646-2000
Kraft-Board@kraft.com
General Mills 800-248-7310
Kris.wenker@genmills.com
Lakeside Foods 920-684-3356
jdquick@lakesidefoods.com
A sample
letter can also be sent via e-mail from the Legislative Action Center.
Posted
May 20, 2008:
USDA Says
Ethanol Not Main Culprit in Higher Food Prices
U.S. Secretary of
Agriculture Ed Schafer held a briefing May 19 on ethanol's impact on
food prices. He stated the issue is food AND fuel, not food VS fuel.
"The Council of
Economic Advisers estimates the total global increase in corn-based
ethanol production accounts for only about 3 percent of the recent
increase in global food prices," Schafer said.

Posted May 15, 2008
Rumors of High Dollar Ethanol Disinformation Campaign
Prove to Be True
In early May, the Kansas Corn Growers Association put out a news release
pointing to rumors of a multi-million dollar public relations campaign
against ethanol funded by the food manufacturers industry. This week,
Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, outed the Grocery Manufacturers
Association’s smear campaign.
On May 15, Iowa Senator
Charles Grassley went a step further, making a statement about the
campaign on the Senate floor. The Senator also posted the GMA request
for proposal as well as the public relations campaign proposal from
Washington, DC firm Glover Park which was one of the firms hired for the
job. . . .
READ MORE
Read Senator Chuck Grassley's Statement
Grocery Manufacturers Association Request for
Proposal for misinformation campaign
Glover Park public relations firm proposal
Posted May 16, 2008
Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky Addresses
Food vs Fuel Issue in Op-Ed Piece
OP-ED: Biofuels and the Price of Food
It’s no secret I’m an
advocate of biofuels. I have been for a long time, so I’m fairly
accustomed to the anti-biofuel rhetoric. Even so, I was taken aback by
the level of blame being heaped on biofuels this spring for rising food
prices.
Biofuels do have an impact on grain prices and a more modest impact on
food prices. The most recent estimates I’ve heard are that biofuel
production increased the price of corn by about 20 percent over the last
12 months and food prices by about 1.2 percent.
Knowing these figures to be accurate, I had to wonder why biofuels were
being pegged as the cause of a global rice shortage and record increases
in food prices. I found out the reason this week. A group of food
manufacturers hired a Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm to
conduct an aggressive campaign to mislead all of us into believing that
biofuels are to blame. The goal was to get Congress to roll back the
amount of renewable fuels required to be in the supply chain.
The truth is that raw agricultural products account for less than 20
percent of the price of food. Prices we pay at the store are impacted
most by marketing, labor and energy costs. We all know what has happened
to the price of gas, so it should come as no surprise that our food
costs more, too. Then there is a weakened dollar and increased worldwide
demand for more and better food by a growing middle class. At the same
time, world grain production dropped last year simply because of bad
weather.
A Merrill Lynch commodity strategist recently said gasoline prices would
be 15 percent higher if biofuel production didn’t exist. If fuel prices
impact food prices to the extent economists say they do, imagine how
much higher food prices would be without biofuels.
Adrian J. Polansky
Kansas Secretary of Agriculture
Do High
Corn Prices Really Cause
High Food Prices?
Follow this link to find the answer to this question and more on our
talking points page

Commodity prices account for less than 20 percent of consumer food
prices.
Food and Fuel Background
Information
National Corn
Growers Association has provided these excellent background pieces on
the food and fuel issue.
Introductory Backgrounder
This document clarifies how corn ethanol has little impact on retail
food prices, helps bring down the cost of gasoline at the pump and
benefits our domestic economy.
U.S. Corn Industry Statistics
In 2007, corn growers produced a record harvest of 13.1 billion bushels,
providing for a sizable surplus and record exports. This document is
updated monthly with the latest figures from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
A Tale of Two Corns
Most American consumers don’t realize the key differences between field
and sweet corn, and why 99 percent of corn grown is not the kind you’ll
find at your local farmer’s market.
Using Technology to Feed and Fuel the World
New technologies are allowing U.S. corn farmers to produce substantially
more corn per acre of land in a sustainable way, thus helping to meet
growing demand for food and fuel.
Top Ten Myths about Corn and Ethanol
This one-page document exposes the top ten myths about corn and ethanol.

RESOURCES
Kansas Corn and Grain
Sorghum websites
Kansas Ethanol
Information
A Quick Look at Kansas
Ethanol Production
National Corn Growers
Association
National Sorghum
Producers
Ethanol Promotion
and Information Council (EPIC)
Renewable Fuels
Association (RFA)
RenewableFuelsNow.org
foodandfuelamerica.com
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