See for Yourself Mission Wraps Up with Minnesota Soybean Growers Association Earning the Eye on Biodiesel Initiative Award

The conference wrapped up Wednesday with the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association taking home the Eye on Biodiesel Initiative Award along with the Iowa and Nebraska Soybean Associations.

“When the call to action came for the biodiesel industry to submit comments to EPA on its proposed Renewable Fuels Standard rules, soybean farmers answered the call. These three organizations led the way for the biodiesel industry and generated more than a third of the 8,000 comments biodiesel supporters submitted regarding the proposed standard,” said  Ed Hegland in presenting the award at the National Biodiesel Conference and Expo. “These comments demonstrated biodiesel’s and the Renewable Fuel Standard’s importance to a broad range of stakeholders.”

Feeding the Biodiesel Machine — Panel Discusses Future Feedstocks

As demand grows for biodiesel, eventually new feedstocks will be needed to meet that demand. On Wednesday morning, a panel of industry experts discussed potential new feedstocks for biodiesel.

The panel included Dick Auld, Texas Tech University; Mary Rosenthal, Algal Biomass Organization; Dallas Hanks, Utah State University, Freeways to Fuel, and David Slade, Renewable Energy Group, Inc.

Auld is researching oil crops that could be grown on marginal lands with little water. He is studying winter saffron and castor as potential biodiesel feedstocks. He predicted that within five years, 20 million acres of federal lands in the Western U.S. could produce crops yielding more than a billion gallons of biodiesel a year.

Rosenthal noted that algae has great potential and will be commercially available within three years. She noted that algae can be grown on non-potable water and that co-location with a wastewater treatment plant, energy plant, or dairy will be important. Production is being targeted for the jet fuel industry.

Renewable Energy Group makes biodiesel ‘to spec’ from many different feedstocks. “We’re the scavengers in the biodiesel world,” Slade said. He predicts that within two years, biodiesel will be marketed and sold by cloud point and perhaps sustainability scores. He also says biodiesel will increasingly come from mixed feedstocks and that the industry will become feedstock neutral.

The roadsides are a huge untapped land resource that could produce biodiesel, according to Hanks. He is testing the potential of camelina, flax, safflower, canola and dwarf sunflower to be grown in Utah for biodiesel. He predicts that within five years, 50 million gallons of biodiesel will come from U.S. roadsides.

Analyst Shares Oil Outlook

Ann Frick, senior oilseed analyst with Prudential, shared her economic outlook.  She indicated that record exports to China have depleted the record large U.S. soybean crop.  “The carryover stock is less than 200 million bushel so there’s no cushion against weather problems,” Frick said. She noted that South America is leading world soybean production growth and could influence the market. She says soybeans could rally higher this year, but over the next two years she expects lower soybean prices that trade within a 30-cent to 60-cent band.

Back to Minnesota

Our team flew back to Minnesota on Wednesday with a much better understanding of how the soybean checkoff works to build domestic markets like biodiesel for U.S. soybean growers.  We also made a lot of great friendships and connections on the trip. Thanks for following our trip on this blog

Collaboration, Commitment and Effort Evident in Biodiesel Industry’s Resiliency

As we attended more sessions at the National Biodiesel Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was apparent that this is a resilient industry that’s committed to doing whatever it takes to meet customer requirements and expand the market for biodiesel.  Many of us were surprised at the amount of effort that has gone into developing, protecting and growing this market.

With more than 30 information sessions offered, we definitely increased our knowledge about biodiesel, before heading back to Minnesota. The sessions covered topics related to markets, technical issues, policy and regulations, original equipment manufacturers and sustainability. We all have a new appreciation for the complexity of the industry and also for the amount of collaboration and cooperation that has gone on and continues in order to further develop the industry.

On Tuesday, we heard from all links in the petroleum supply chain as a panel discussed how they will meet the increased demand for biodiesel created by the Renewable Fuel Standard 2. We learned that the petroleum industry is willing to invest in the infrastructure needed to supply biodiesel to the nation. Companies are spending $2.5 to $3 million per terminal to add the infrastructure necessary to handle biodiesel. It was also interesting to learn that biodiesel is already being moved successfully through pipelines.

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