News and Notes - May 9, 2008

US News

The attached document has some interesting comparisons of current grain and fuel prices/stocks to a year ago.

Canadian company nixes Idaho for ethanol plant (Iogen cancels plans for cellulosic plant in US, will build in Canada)
http://www.kivitv.com/global/story.asp?s=8291235
and http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jVhFVIjScxoTrAR8kwpFjTlEZrOg

Congress Agrees on Farm Bill as Bush Veto Is Threatened
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/washington/09farm.html?_r=2&ref=us&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Plow It Under: A farm bill larded with giveaways deserves President Bush's veto
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050802880.html

McCain’s uneasy return to Iowa (Says he would veto Farm Bill too)
http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/05/01/mccains-uneasy-return-to-iowa/

Dingell: Use EPA rulemaking process to correct RFS shortcomings
http://www.ogj.com/display_article/328187/7/ONART/none/GenIn/1/Dingell:-Use-EPA-rulemaking-process-to-correct-RFS-shortcomings/

Cellulosic Ethanol Focus at Hearing
http://domesticfuel.com/2008/05/07/cellulosic-ethanol-focus-at-hearing/

NREL Survey Shows 90% of Biodiesel Samples Met ASTM Specs in 2007
http://www.biofuelsjournal.com/articles/NREL_Survey_Shows_90__of_Biodiesel_Samples_Met_ASTM_Specs_in_2007-56906.html

Argonne National Lab updates GREET Model
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508115822.htm

Plant Utilization Slows February’s U.S. Ethanol Output
http://www.insidefutures.com/article/64991/Plant%20Utilization%20Slows%20February’s%20U.S.%20Ethanol%20Output%20.html

Ethanol reduces gas prices by $0.29-$0.40 per gallon, says downloadable study
http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/synopsis.aspx?id=1076

Food crisis provides opening for array of ethanol opponents
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/bba711c7db4069fc932a60fcb75fb94a.htm

Minnesota mandates B20 by 2015 (about 2/3 of the way through the article)
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/politics/index.cfm?page=article_bureau&id=43333&legislative_tag=1

Feedstock makes a difference in feeding distiller's grains
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/tau--fma050808.php

Corn Dogs: Gas prices keep rising. So why are ethanol producers hurting?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/135995

Crying Over Spilt Milk: Everyone's talking about the rising costs of food. But for most Americans, the reality isn't so dire.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/135379

Planting seeds for a bio future (Memphis BioWorks Foundation)
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/may/08/planting-seeds-for-a-bio-future/

Oil vs. ethanol: What's riskier?
http://www.minnpost.com/craigwestover/2008/05/07/1762/oil_vs_ethanol_whats_riskier

Big Ethanol Plant Proposed for Port: Developers Say New Technology Would Make It More Efficient Than Existing Facilities
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1376458/big_ethanol_plant_proposed_for_port_developers_say_new_technology/index.html


International News

UN Expert: Biofuels Production Adds to Global Food Crisis
http://english.cri.cn/2947/2008/05/07/1722@354381.htm