Energy beets outperform corn for ethanol

                               HAVE A GREAT SATURDAY READERS!

I'm SORRY, but my webmaster was not able to turn on the newly re-designed website this afternoon.  He had pressing job and family issues to deal with.  He assures me that he will turn it on Saturday. 

Lots of good football game on Saturday.  I sure do hope that LSU can address their lingering mistakes in the game against Townson or they will have a very difficult time against upcoming Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama.  We'll know more next week when the Tigers so to the "Swamp" to play Florida.  Today's game against Townson is due to kick off at 7:00 pm on ESPNU.

This is an interesting article I ran across on the subject of the possibility of using "Energy Beets" to produce ethanol.  I've never heard of "Energy Beets" and do not know the difference between these and regular "sugar beets"?  Anything the ethanol industry can do to make ethanol from anything other than corn would be GREAT as it would reduce the pressure on food prices of products made from corn.

"Pete"
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Energy beets outperform corn for ethanol

Rich Keller, Editor, Ag Professional  |   September 25, 2012

  

“Energy beets” have proven to produce double the ethanol of corn per acre, but what are the economics and where should these beets be grown are questions still under research. Naturally, energy beets can be grown where sugar beets are grown, and that pulls North Dakota State University researchers into the analysis because of all the experience that farmers in the state have in growing sugar beets.

Beets grown in 2012 looked reasonable, especially compared to some other crops grown in short moisture situations and high temperatures, although harvest has not been completed on 14 test plots in 11 locations around North Dakota.

Previous research has shown yields from 28 tons per acre for dry land production up to 41 tons per acre on irrigated acres, according to Craig Talley, beta seed technology manager working with the NDSU Northern Research Extension Center near Minot. The research is being done under the Beets All Biofuel project, which is a partnership between the Green Vision Group (GVG) of Fargo, N.D., and Heartland Renewable Energy (HRE) Muscatine Iowa, with NDSU extensively involved with the research plot trials across the state.

The goals and participant quotes about the program are available by reading an online article of the Minnesota Farm Guide written by Sue Roesler by clicking here. 

The promoters of energy beet production see the potential for about a dozen ethanol plants and energy beets being part of nearly every farmer’s crop rotation in the Upper Midwest and parts of states east of the Rocky Mountains.

“Farmers who raise energy beets may see greater soil health because the tap root penetrates as deep as 6-8 feet, using nutrients, nitrogen and water that other crops don't reach,” Talley is quoted as saying by Roesler. “Growers who add energy beets into a three year rotation could expect a profitable income.”

Totally New and Redesigned Website Launches Tomorrow!

                                               TGIF FRIDAY READERS!

              GREAT NEWS TONIGHT READERS!                                                              

Tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, we're going "LIVE" with our totally re-designed PeteLandrysRealGas.com website!   We've been working on this for several months.

The new website will have a totally new look.  PLUS, we've added over 700 ethanol FREE gas locations in Mississippi's 82 Counties. Mississippi readers have been asking me for several years to add Mississippi ethanol FREE gas locations to our website.  We've also added two new pages, an "Ethanol Regulations" page and a "Retailer Q & A" page.  The new website is in a new software that allows me to post articles myself instead of having to wait for my webmaster to post them (in HTML format - very complicated).

SO, with both Louisiana and Mississippi, we'll have over 1,600 ethanol FREE locations total.  I sent out a press release yesterday to over 40 newspapers in Mississippi to let our fellow Mississippi readers know where they can find ethanol FREE gas in their communities.

I am very excited about the new site and hope you find it more interesting  and useful than the current site.  I'll be posting my "Daily Blog" on the "Home" page of the new site.

After you view the new site, give me some feedback to let me know what you think about it, or, if you have any suggestions to make it even more useful to you.  E-mail me at www.way2gopete@yahoo.com

The following article is from a National media - the Bloomberg Business News. It explains the extreme difficulties the ethanol industry is going through these days.

"Pete"
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Bloomberg News

Ethanol Plunges to Three-Month Low on Ample Supply and Economy
By Mario Parker on September 26, 2012

Ethanol fell to a three-month low on mounting concern that a global economic slowdown will reduce demand for the biofuel.
Futures moved lower with crude oil and corn as protests in Spain and Greece erupted over the region’s austerity measures. Separately, the Energy Department said total U.S. fuel use decreased 1.1 percent in the four weeks ended Sept. 21.

“All the markets seem to be down,” said Dan Flynn, a trader at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “There’s not too much positive news. We’re down hard on crude and the grains.”

(Read full article here:  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-26/ethanol-plunges-to-three-month-low-on-ample-supply-and-economy )

Minnesota Ethanol Producers Running on Empty

                                   HAPPY THURSDAY READERS!  

The predominate news I'm picking up on an almost daily basis these days is about how the ethanol industry has fallen on hard times.  Most are not even breaking even and many have shutdown or running their plants a much lower than full production rates.  Minnesota appears to have been hit especially hard.  That State has 21 ethanol plants in the State.  As you see from this article, they are trying any way possible to supplement their revenue by any and all means possible.  No doubt the severe drought has had a significant impart on the ethanol business because of the loss of a large percentage of the corn crop, driving up the price of corn, their basis feed stock.

I'd personally like to see the EPA ethanol mandate disappear and let the free marketplace determine who wants ethanol gas and who doesn't.  That would determine the production requirements for ethanol production.  BUT, this is a "VERY HOT POTATO" issue amongst politicians, ESPECIALLY in an election year.

"Pete"
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Minnesota Ethanol Producers Running on Empty 

September 25, 2012
High corn prices and lagging prices for ethanol lead to the second consecutive losing quarter for Minnesota’s ethanol producers.       
      
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Minnesota’s ethanol producers recorded their second losing quarter in a row, the Star Tribune reports. Their losses come amidst high corn prices and lagging prices for ethanol.  "The conditions are tough at best," said Brian Kletscher, CEO of Highwater Ethanol, whose plant in Lamberton, Minn., posted a net loss of $1 million last quarter.

According to Christianson & Associates, a firm that tracks ethanol producers, the production of ethanol is no longer a break-even proposition. "The big story is that the cost of the corn is higher on a per-gallon basis than what we can sell the ethanol for," said John Christianson, principal at Christianson & Associates. "That dynamic happened in the first two quarters of 2012."

To improve their fortunes, ethanol producers have been relying more on the sales of an animal feed byproduct, called distillers’ grains, and industrial corn oil. Some plants also sell carbon dioxide captured from fermentation.  Sales of these byproducts accounted for 23% of ethanol plant revenues in 2012, up from 16% in 2008, Christianson said.

One of Minnesota’s hardest hit plants is BioFuel Energy Corp. in Fairmont that reported nearly $11 million in losses on revenues of $123 million.

Small producers have also been hit hard, with Granit Falls Energy losing $566,000 in the second quarter, which followed a profitable first-quarter, the only company to report a profit in the Star Tribune’s first-quarter survey. Two other single-plant companies also reported losses.
Ethanol prices have dropped up to 16% compared with the year-earlier quarter, with part of the decline the result of fuel blenders who went on a buying binge at the end of last year in order to collect expiring federal tax credits. That created an oversupply in the market that had lasting effects into the second quarter.

Larry Johnson, an ethanol industry consultant, said corn prices recently dipped below $8, which bodes well for the industry. To save money on corn, many ethanol producers are purchasing directly from farmers and adding storage facilities to hold it.
Minnesota has 21 ethanol plants, including one that is closed.       

Ethanol, Facing Difficult Political Atmosphere, Steps up Lobbying Activity

                        HAVE A GREAT WEDNESDAY READERS!

We're getting closer and closer to November 6th!  This is what most people believe the MOST IMPORTANT election in our life time.  We have a choice of continuing the path we're on and likely have to declare bankruptcy in another 4 years or less, or we can give a different leader the opportunity to "right the ship"!   It is critical for our Country that we make the right choice.

The ethanol folks are starting to "panic" due to stronger and stronger efforts to either overturn the EPA's ethanol mandate or cut it way back.  Due to a number of factors I"ve discussed before, ethanol plants have fallen on "hard times".  Many are losing money and many have been forced to shutdown.  So, what does the ethanol industry do?  They lobby to try to put pressure on Congress NOT to change the EPA ethanol mandate.  I believe they need to let the free market dictate how ethanol is used.  Give the consumers a choice.  Currently, we DON'T have a choice..........it is being "shoved down our throats"!  It's interesting to see how they take credit for reducing our crude oil import by 10%, the amount of ethanol in gas currently.  BUT, they fail to take into account the reduced gas mileage (~8% highway/10-12% around town).  So, if you have to refuel your car more often due to the poorer mileage of ethanol gas, how do you account for reducing the crude oil imports by 10%?  They don't ever address that issue.

Here's an article on the ethanol industry's approach to their problem

"Pete"
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BY ANDREW HOLLAND ON SEP 13, 2012
Ethanol, Facing Difficult Political Atmosphere, Steps up Lobbying Activity

The ethanol industry has seen its position in Washington severely weakened over the last year. The modern ethanol industry is a creation of Congress; the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), the ethanol tax credit, and a tariff on imported ethanol were all responsible for creating the ethanol industry we see today. We should note that this industry has seen some remarkable successes: it has replaced almost 10% of the country’s gasoline fuel supply, with an impact on prices that is marginal at best.
It is important to note that more advanced biofuels still receive tax support: cellulosic ethanol receives $1.01 per gallon in tax credits, but that is set to expire at the end of this year. A Senate bill would extend that credit for a year, as well as retroactively re-instate the $1 per gallon biodiesel tax credit that expired at the end of last year. The fate of these credits is up in the air, as Congress will have to consider a broad range of tax policy questions before the ‘fiscal cliff’ coming this year.

Elimination of Tax Credit and Tariff
Back to traditional ethanol. The ethanol tax credit and the tariff were eliminated at the end of 2011. (See also: Understanding the Ethanol Tariff Issue) The tax credit provided a financial incentive for refiners to blend ethanol into fuel, while the tariff had the effect of allowing a domestic industry to grow without competition from more efficient sugar cane ethanol (most commonly from Brazil).
Now, with both of those gone, the sole remaining support for ethanol is the RFS. The RFS forces refiners to blend a certain amount of ethanol into the fuel supply (15.2 billion gallons in 2012), and includes penalties on refiners if they do not. Politically, this has had the effect of turning the refiners (represented in Washington by API, the American Petroleum Institute) against renewable fuel. They were never strongly in support of ethanol, but until last year they at least received tax credits for blending it.
Opposition is now starting to build against the RFS among ethanol’s usual opponents, ranging from API and the refiners to groups that compete with ethanol for access to corn like the American Meat Association or the Pork Producers. The ethanol industry sees this and realizes that the RFS will be in the crosshairs next year. So, as Congress has returned this week, the ethanol industry is trying to flex its muscles to head off any challenge.

Stepped-Up Lobbying
The Advanced Ethanol Council held a ‘fly-in’ this week to have its members meet with the Administration (including the White House) and Members of Congress. Growth Energy is also bringing in its members to support the industry – and the RFS specifically – on the Hill.
Even more interesting is a report that some major players in the industry have hired the Glover Park Group to craft a long-term communications campaign to support ethanol. Ironically, GPG is the lobbying/communications firm responsible for a 2008 campaign, supported by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which demonized ethanol for pushing food prices up. GPG is a strongly Democratic firm, and this is a clear signal that the ethanol lobby sees Republicans moving away from the RFS (even though the Romney Campaign does not support a repeal), and they are looking to shore-up support among Democrats.
Overall, I think this will boil down to an argument about economics and politics. Ethanol has always won on the politics, but its losses on economics have undercut it. Now – as we see the price of ethanol falling even though the drought has harmed corn crops, there is less of a problem with the economics. This is a mature industry. But, if this becomes a partisan issue, then they are starting to lose the political argument. (See also: How to Fix the Broken Cellulosic Ethanol Incentive System)

Biofuel Energy idles Minnesota ethanol plant

Well, yet another ethanol manufacturing plant "bites the dust"!  Loss of tax credits and subsidies, the severe drought in corn producing States and sky high corn prices are squeezing profits on many plants so much, many are operating in "the red" and are being forced to shutdown.  I lost count, but I think that well over 15-20 plants have either shutdown altogether or "idled" to minimum production capacity.

I do hope that with a new President and hopefully a conservative Congress and Senate after the November 6th elections, that inroads can be made in either eliminating this EPA's ethanol mandate madness or at least reducing it substantially.

"Pete"
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Biofuel Energy idles Minnesota ethanol plant

Sept 24 | Tue Sep 25, 2012 - Reuters

(Reuters) - Ethanol producer Biofuel Energy Corp said it has decided to idle its Fairmont, Minnesota, facility due to weakening margins as corn prices continue to soar.

"Commodity margins have continued to weaken as the impact of the drought in the Corn Belt continues and ethanol remains in surplus," said Chief Executive Scott Pearce.

Drought has ravaged this year's U.S. corn crop, which is used in food products, livestock feed as well as to produce ethanol, pushing up the prices of the commodity.

(Read full article here:  http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/24/biofuel-plantclosure-idINL4E8KO7DM20120924

SAINTS AND LSU - WHAT A SHOCKING WEEKEND!

   THE SAINTS 0-3?  WOW!  AND, LSU ALMOST GETTING BEAT IN AUBURN?

What a shocking weekend for our south Louisiana football teams!  Who would have ever thought at the beginning of the season that the Saints would be 0-3 after the first three games of the regular season?  Maybe the loss of Coach Sean Payton is having a much greater impact than first expected?   Only time will tell.

And then LSU!  Were it not for a a locker room speech by Sam Montgomery at half time that apparently inspired a great defensive 2nd half for the Tigers, Auburn would surely have defeated LSU.  Very sloppy game with far too many mistakes and penalties.  If Coach Miles can't get these things under control, it's going to be a very loooong season with a lot of question marks.  By the way, LSU dropped to #3, behind Oregon in today's two polls, with Bama still #1. I thought they might drop lower than that after the poor showing on Saturday in Auburn.

I had hoped to be able to announce that we would be launching our new and totally re-designed website today.  But, my webmaster is a little behind so we may not be ready until October 1st it now appears.

I've posted several articles in the past year about several very bad accidents with the transportation of ethanol to refiners and blenders.  Now, the ethanol industry is trying to focus these incidents on faulty rail car design.  I'm not sure everyone is aware that ethanol CANNOT be transported via pipeline like so many other hydrocarbon products.  This is due to ethanol's  corrosive properties.  It would damage pipelines, so it has to be moved by tank car and tank trucks.  Of course, this increases the risk of accidents and subsequent spills and fires.  Here's an article dealing with rail tank car design issues.

"Pete"
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Ethanol tankers have dangerous flaw

18 hours ago  •  By JASON KEYSER • Associated Press

CHICAGO • For two decades, one of the most commonly used types of rail tanker has been allowed to haul hazardous liquids from coast to coast even though transportation officials were aware of a dangerous design flaw that almost guarantees the car will tear open in an accident, potentially spilling cargo that could catch fire, explode or contaminate the environment.
The rail and chemical industries have committed to a safer design for new tankers but are pressing regulators not to require modifications to tens of thousands of current cars.
The pressure comes despite a spike in the number of accidents as more tankers are put into service to accommodate soaring demand for ethanol, the highly flammable corn-based fuel usually transported by rail.
Derailments have triggered chemical spills and massive blasts such as one in July in Columbus, Ohio, which blew up with such intensity that one witness said it "looked like the sun exploded."
Some towns with busy railways are beginning to regard the tankers as a serious threat to public safety.
"There's a law of averages that gives me great concern," said Jim Arie, fire chief in Barrington, a wealthy Chicago suburb where ethanol tankers snake through a bustling downtown. "Sometimes I don't sleep well at night."
He's not the only one. The town's mayor is trying to build a national coalition to push for safety reforms.

The tanker, known as the DOT-111, is a workhorse of the American rail fleet, with a soda-can shape that makes it one of the most easily recognizable cars on freight routes.
The tanker itself is not suspected of causing derailments, but the National Transportation Safety Board has noted several worrisome problems: Its steel shell is too thin to resist puncture in accidents. The ends are especially vulnerable to tears from couplers that can fly up after ripping off between cars. And unloading valves and other exposed fittings on the tops of tankers can also break during rollovers.
The flaws were noted as far back as a 1991 safety study.

An Associated Press analysis of 20 years' worth of federal rail accident data found that ethanol tankers have been breached in at least 40 serious accidents since 2000. In the previous decade, there were just two breaches.
The number of severe crashes is small considering the total mileage covered by the many tankers in service, and the rail industry's safety record on shipments of hazardous materials is strong. More than 99 percent of hazmat rail shipments arrive safely at their destinations.
But the accident reports show that since 1996 at least two people have been killed by balls of flame, with dozens more hurt. And the risk of greater losses looms large.

The rail and chemical industries and tanker manufacturers have voluntarily committed to safety changes for cars built after October 2011 to transport ethanol and crude oil. The improvements include thicker tank shells and shields on the ends of tanks to prevent punctures.
Under the industry proposal to regulators, the 30,000 to 45,000 current ethanol tankers — including many cars that have only recently begun their decades-long service lives — would remain unchanged.
In March, the NTSB asked for the higher standards to be applied to all tankers, meaning current cars would have to be retrofitted or phased out.
The industry's proposal "ignores the safety risks posed by the current fleet," the NTSB said in a report on safety recommendations.

GAME DAY READERS!

                                              GAME DAY READERS!  

                          GEAUX TIGERS! 

If you all don't follow the website "DandyDon.com", check it out for all LSU sports activities.

While LSU (3-0) opens a 20 1/2 favorite, all LSU fans should recall how LSU vs Auburn is ALWAYS a very crazy and unpredictable game!   But, Auburn (1-2) has not looked very good in it's first 3 games against the run.  And, we know the GREAT "stable" of running backs LSU has, even without Alfred Blue, who may be out 4-6 weeks from the injury he sustained in the last game.  This will be Zach Mettenberger's first test against an SEC defense. It will be interesting to see how he performs.  Should be a GREAT game!  The game kicks off at 6:00 pm CST on national television on ESPN.

Back to ethanol..........the ethanol plants continue to suffer and are having a very hard time making a profit since losing their taxpayer subsidies on Jan 1, 2012.  Here's an article on the ethanol plants in Minnesota and how they are continuing to report losses.  How much longer can  they survive reporting losses remains to be seen.  The "tides" are continuing to turn against ethanol.  The American public are finally beginning to see that this was the "worst scam ever perputated on the American public".  And, more and more Congressmen and Senators are turning against the EPA's "forced ethanol mandates", which are forcing food prices skyrocket.

"Pete"
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Ethanol takes a thrashing in Minnesota
Article by: DAVID SHAFFER , Star Tribune 
Updated: September 21, 2012 - 9:35 PM

High corn costs and low prices doubly crush state's producers.
Minnesota's ethanol makers are caught in an unprofitable squeeze.
Seven producers tracked by the Star Tribune have reported net losses for the quarter ending in June or July, the second bad quarter in a row.

Across the industry, companies are pressured on two sides -- high prices for corn, their single largest cost, and lagging prices for ethanol, their main product.

(Read full article here:  http://www.startribune.com/business/170784556.html?refer=y