West Central Tribune

January 10, 2017

By Tribune News

Pending the outcome of an environmental review, Bushmills Ethanol Inc. near Atwater will expand its facilities and increase annual production of denatured ethanol from 65 million gallons a year to 100 million gallons.

Syngenta

January 6, 2017

Press Release

MINNETONKA, Minn., USA – Syngenta today announced that it has reached agreements with ethanol plants, from Arizona to Ohio, with a combined total capacity of nearly 2 billion gallons.

According to Dr. Miloud Araba, head of Enogen^® technical services at Syngenta, the robust alpha amylase enzyme found in Enogen corn hybrids helps an ethanol plant dramatically reduce the viscosity of its corn mash and eliminate the need to add a liquid form of the enzyme.

“This breakthrough viscosity reduction can lead to unprecedented levels of solids loading, enabling increased throughput and yield, as well as significant cost savings from reduced energy, water, natural gas and chemical usage in ethanol plants,” Araba said.

Golden Harvest^® and NK^® Corn growers who plant Enogen corn benefit as well – they can earn up to 40 cents per bushel when contracted Enogen grain is delivered to the ethanol plant.

“This is particularly significant given current commodity prices,” said Marcos Castro, Enogen marketing manager at Syngenta. “We expect the total premiums earned by Enogen growers to be approximately $32 million in 2017, creating real advantages for growers and rural economies.”

Improved ROI potential on ethanol acres

Approximately 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is used to produce ethanol.¹ Syngenta offers the Ethanol Grower Advantage program to help increase potential for a better return on investment on ethanol acres, help increase grower profitability and help plants produce more ethanol per bushel. “The Ethanol Grower Advantage program incentivizes and rewards agronomic best practices, helping growers to achieve consistently higher yields and earn premiums while delivering higher-quality, locally sourced grain to participating ethanol plants,” Castro added. “Participating growers are eligible to receive up to a 10-cent premium for each bushel of Golden Harvest, NK and/or Enogen corn delivered to a participating ethanol plant. This complements the existing premiums that can be earned by Enogen growers and further demonstrates our commitment to ethanol.”

Growers as enzyme suppliers

Enogen is rapidly gaining popularity because of the value it delivers and the opportunity it provides corn growers to be enzyme suppliers for their participating local ethanol plants. Numerous trials have shown that Enogen hybrids perform equal to or better than other high-performing corn hybrids.²

“The agreements we have in place with a steadily increasing number of plants will enable them to source alpha amylase directly from growers and keep enzyme dollars in those local communities,” said Ron Wulfkuhle, head of Enogen at Syngenta. “This is what truly sets Enogen corn apart from other technologies designed to enhance ethanol production. It adds significant incremental value at the local level for communities that rely on their ethanol plant’s success.”

The future of fuel

Looking ahead, Wulfkuhle added that the combination of Cellerate^™ process technology and Enogen corn will help ethanol plants increase efficiency even further. Cellerate converts corn kernel fiber into cellulosic ethanol and can help plants produce more ethanol from the same kernel of corn, increase total yield of distillers corn oil and improve the protein content of feed co-products. Trials at Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP) demonstrated as much as a 26 percent increase in in production when Cellerate process technology and the use of Enogen corn were combined.³

“We believe that not only will Cellerate process technology help make advanced and cellulosic ethanol a reality, but the combination of Cellerate and Enogen could represent the next step forward for ethanol production,” Wulfkuhle said.tent of feed co-products. For more information about Enogen corn enzyme technology, visit www.EnogenCorn.com. To inquire about incorporating Enogen into an ethanol plant, contact Tim Tierney, head, Enogen business accounts, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 612-801-9775. Join the conversation online – connect with us at social.SyngentaUS.com.

About Syngenta
Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Syngenta and www.twitter.com/SyngentaUS.

Read the original story: Syngenta Grows Enogen® Corn Footprint, With Total Ethanol Production Capacity Now Approaching 2 Billion Gallons

AgWeek

January 9, 2017

By Debra Levey Larson

The U.S. ethanol industry ended 2016 on a high note. Ethanol production for the week ending Dec. 30 set a new ethanol production record with an average of 1.043 million barrels per day. The March futures price for corn moved higher last week to close at $3.58 in large part due to strength in the ethanol sector. Ethanol production and exports returned strong numbers over the first quarter of the marketing year. Currently, the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report forecast for corn consumption for ethanol production is 5.3 billion bushels. According to University of Illinois agricultural economist Todd Hubbs, when taking into account an increase in projected gasoline consumption in 2017 and robust ethanol export levels, the ability to surpass this projection is a strong possibility.

“Domestic ethanol consumption in 2017 will be influenced by domestic gasoline consumption, due to the ethanol blending requirement and the biofuels volume requirement associated with the Renewable Fuels Standard,” Hubbs says. “The EPA final rulemaking for the Renewable Fuels Standard for 2017 was released on Nov. 23 and is discussed in greater detail in the farmdoc daily article posted Nov. 30. In brief, the renewable fuels volume requirement is set at 19.28 billion gallons for 2017, which is up from the 18.11 billion gallons required in 2016.

“The conventional ethanol requirement is set at 15 billion gallons for 2017, 500 million gallons larger than 2016 and equal to the statutory requirement level,” Hubbs says. “If the gasoline consumption forecast used by the EPA is correct, the E10 blend wall will be 14.36 billion gallons in 2017. The EPA believes an ethanol supply of 14.56 billion gallons is reasonably attainable in 2017. Within the 14.56 billion gallons, E15 and E85 blends are expected to be 107 and 204 million gallons respectively. The ability to attain the E15 and E85 blend levels remains to be seen, but the increase in ethanol requirements provides support for greater corn usage in 2017.”

U.S. retail gasoline prices averaged $2.14 per gallon in 2016, which is 12 percent less than the price experienced in 2015 and is the lowest price since 2004.  The December Energy Information Agency Short Term Energy Outlook projected an increase in gasoline prices for 2017 to $2.30 per gallon. Despite the projection of higher gasoline prices, gasoline consumption is forecast at 143.60 billion gallons in 2017, which is up from the 142.72 billion gallons consumed in 2016. Ethanol production is forecast to be 1 million barrels per day.

“If the EIA projection is correct, approximately 15.3 billion gallons of ethanol will be produced in 2017,” Hubbs says. “When considering the robust ethanol export trade currently in process, the U.S. ethanol industry is expected to produce a record level of ethanol in 2017.”

Ethanol export numbers are available from U.S. Census trade data for 2016 through November.  U.S. exports of ethanol thus far are at 948 million gallons, which is up almost 27 percent from the similar period in 2015.

According to Hubbs, for 2016, the prospect of ethanol exports exceeding 1 billion gallons is not unreasonable. 

Canada, China, and Brazil imported approximately 67 percent of the ethanol shipped from the U.S. through November. “The increase in ethanol exports is driven largely by increased volumes sent to China and Brazil,” Hubbs says. “China imported 179 million gallons through November, which far exceeds the 73.8 million gallons imported during the entirety of 2015. Brazil imported 224 million gallons through November, which is almost double from 2015. As we progress into 2017, the increases are expected to persist in Brazil because high sugar prices are expected to decrease ethanol production as mills allocate cane for sugar production in 2017. There is concern that China could raise ethanol tariffs and reduce ethanol imports in 2017 due to a possible trade dispute with the new administration.” 

Hubbs says the implications for corn consumption during the 2016-17 marketing year can be seen in the USDA Grain Crushing and Co-Product Production report released on Jan. 3. Grain crushing for fuel alcohol is available through November. For the first three months of the marketing year, 1.34 billion bushels of corn has been processed for ethanol. This is up 3.2 percent from 2015 processing numbers.

“If corn used for ethanol production maintains this pace, 5.37 billion bushels will be processed in the marketing year,” Hubbs says. “Using EIA weekly ethanol production numbers, December ethanol production averaged over 1 million barrels per day. These production levels place corn use for ethanol production in a range of 455 to 460 million bushels for the month if corn use maintains the pace of the three previous months. With a conservative estimate of corn crush in December, total corn consumption for ethanol production through the first third of the marketing year would be above the current WASDE projection.

“Lower corn prices, strong ethanol exports, and greater blending requirements combine to make 2017 appear to be a strong year for corn consumption in ethanol production,” Hubbs concludes. “If the U.S. ethanol industry produced over 1 million barrels per day for the entire year, the ability to blend at requirement levels under an expanded gasoline consumption scenario and meet potential export market demand bodes well for corn use in the sector for 2017.”

Read the original story: Prospects for Corn Consumption from Ethanol Production in 2017

The Daily Nonpareil

January 8, 2017

By Jon Leu

At a time when Iowa farmers produced a second consecutive record corn crop amid falling prices for their commodity, the state’s growing ethanol industry remains a stabilizing factor.

National crop production reports released in mid-December showed Iowa corn production in 2016 at 2.69 billion bushels, up from 2.51 billion bushels in 2015. But average statewide corn prices fell from $3.37 to $3.01 per bushel from November 2015 to November 2016.

Senator Chuck Grassley

January 5, 2017

Press Release

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today convened a meeting among several senators from biofuels-producing states and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency.  Grassley organized the meeting because he wanted to convey the importance of biofuels to job creation, energy security, the environment and meeting the country’s significant energy needs.  He has been disappointed by the Obama Administration’s lack of strong support in implementing the congressionally mandated Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).  Grassley made the following comment after the meeting.

“We got a very positive response on Mr. Pruitt’s support not just for the RFS but more importantly, for the rule of law.   The rule of law is that what Congress passed, the EPA is supposed to follow and not undermine it, the way the current administration has done with the RFS.   The purpose of the meeting was to convey the contributions that Iowa and other renewable energy-producing states contribute to the economy and otherwise.  From the standpoint of what President-elect Trump wants to accomplish, renewable energy supports a high number of jobs, 43,000 jobs in Iowa just with biofuels and another 7,000 jobs in wind energy.  We have to import less oil from the Mideast because we have a very vibrant ethanol industry.  As far as whether I’ll support the nomination, I tend to wait for nomination hearings before making up my mind.  We got a positive comment that the law’s going to be followed, and that’s very, very important.”

Read the original release: Grassley Welcomes Positive Statement on Renewable Fuel Standard, Rule of Law from EPA Nominee

KTIC Radio

January 5, 2017

By Renewable Fuels Association