by Lesetja Malope (City Press) ... Thabang Mabapa is a self-confessed curious social entrepreneur who might just have a viable alternative to the country’s current fuel price crisis. He makes biofuel from castor oil extracted from castor trees and its growing demand is
farming
Back TO HOMEConservation Helps the Ag Economy, but Farmers Bear All of the Costs
by Scott Henry (Des Moines Register) ... A study from Environmental Defense Fund and managerial accounting firm K·Coe Isom AgKnowledge finds that conservation can boost farm profitability. The analysis includes detailed financial case studies of three Midwestern corn, soy and wheat farmers
September 14, 2018 Read Full Article
Japanese Startup Cultivates E-Money Platform for Asian farmers
by Akane Okutsu (Nikkei Asian Review) Japanese startup Nippon Biodiesel Fuel is set to launch its AgriNet website that connects farmers with other sectors -- such as agrimarkets, equipment dealers and banks -- transforming the way agricultural regions do business. Among other functions,
August 16, 2018 Read Full Article
Soil Health Policy Resources Now Available: A Catalog of Academic, State Agency and Legislative Policies and Programs to Advance Soil Health
(The Soil Health Institute/Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire) Soil health policies are growing in number and importance across the United States but are widely dispersed across a variety of academic institutions, state agencies and legislative bodies. This catalog brings these policy efforts together to
August 01, 2018 Read Full Article
Kelp Farming Sees a Rise In Interest On the Cape
by Sarah Tan (WCAI) Kelp farming is on the rise around the Cape and Islands, as more growers are finding reasons to love this ocean crop. From researchers like Scott Lindell at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute who want to farm the crop
May 14, 2018 Read Full Article
A Sit Down with Conrad Rautenbach from Green Fuel
(The Herald) Fuel prices shot up recently before Government intervened by reducing import duty on fuel to stem the price madness that rose as a result. Questions have been raised as to the contribution of the multi-million dollar investment by Green
February 19, 2018 Read Full Article
Expected Drop in Farm Income Highlights Need for Biofuels, RFS
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The USDA’s February 2018 Farm Income Forecast predicts net farm income will decline by or 6.7 percent this year. According to Growth Energy, the expected drop underscores the need for a strong Renewable Fuel Standard. The
February 19, 2018 Read Full Article
Unilever and PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) Reach Agreement to Accelerate Production of Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia
(Unilever) Unilever and Indonesian government-owned palm oil plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together in Indonesia to support local mills and smallholder farmers to produce palm oil according to the standards of no
February 19, 2018 Read Full Article
Developing Climate-Smart Ag Farm Groups Meet to Examine Role of Agriculture in Building Climate Resiliency
by Chris Clayton (DTN The Progressive Farmer) Farm organizations are beginning to talk about the evolution of climate-smart agriculture and the need to ensure the U.S. remains at the table as the United Nations begins developing an agricultural framework for climate
January 17, 2018 Read Full Article
Vegetable Oil as Fuel in Agriculture
(OWI (Google Translation)) Retrofitting of tractors for multi-fuel use -- In agriculture, widening the use of vegetable oil as fuel in tractors could contribute to greater sustainability and climate protection within the framework of a resource-conserving bioeconomy. However, the compatibility of fuel-carrying components
October 17, 2017 Read Full Article
There's More than Corn in Indiana – Corn Uses That Is
by Kitty Conley (Chicago Tribune/Post-Tribune) Indiana Corn Farmers are keeping their products close to home, at least as far as farmer Larry Bucher is concerned. He farms about 1,200 acres of land, most of which is in LaPorte County. He does farm
August 01, 2017 Read Full Article
Meeting Needs, Maximizing Benefits
by Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Farmers continuously implement new environmentally friendly techniques to raise their crops. -- Corn farmers—and with them, the ethanol industry—are growing more sustainable. Farmers in corn states are embracing a variety of sustainable agriculture production practices,
June 27, 2017 Read Full Article
Pioneering Iowa Sustainable Agriculture Research Center Hangs On, Barely
by Amy Mayer (High Plains Public Radio) A leading research center focused on local farmers and environmental conservation is hanging on by a thread, even as the movement to diversify agriculture, which it helped launch, continues to thrive. The Iowa Legislature
June 05, 2017 Read Full Article
Film About the Farm Crisis of the 80s Sets the Stage for What’s to Come
by Siena Chrisman (CivilEats.com) 'Homeplace Under Fire,’ The new film from Farm Aid, profiles the heroes of 1980s Farm Crisis and sets the stage for the next round of farm losses. -- ... A New Farm Crisis on the Horizon? Though Homeplace Under
June 05, 2017 Read Full Article
EU Biofuels Policy: What Is the Impact on Rural Development?
by Sarantis Michalopoulos (EurActiv) EU farmers are “very concerned” about the impact of the European Commission’s change of heart on biofuels, claiming the EU’s restrictive policy is putting thousands of rural jobs at risk. Yet, the EU executive defended its proposed
May 08, 2017 Read Full Article
‘Zero Net Energy Farm’ in California Draws Midwest Farmer Interest
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, farmers from the Midwest are in California’s Central Valley touring the first-of-its-kind Zero Net Energy Farm, or “ZNEF,” to learn how to generate all electrical and heating power needs from on-site renewable resources,
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Nigeria’s Ethanol Production to Hit 75m Litres by 2020
(Naija247 News) Allied Atlantic Distilleries Limited, the only ethanol manufacturing company in Nigeria, says the company will improve ethanol production in Nigeria from nine million to 75 million litres annually by 2020. The Managing Director of the company, Mr Rajavelu Rajasekar,
September 19, 2016 Read Full Article
CNH Industrial Brands Reveal Concept Autonomous Tractor Development: Driverless Technology to Boost Precision and Productivity
(CNH/Case IH/New Holland/PR Newswire) Better use of labor, integration into current machinery fleets, plus the flexibility to work unmanned around the clock with real time data monitoring – and, in the future, the ability to automatically respond to weather events.
September 12, 2016 Read Full Article
Ag Carbon Credits Go to Market, Just as Cap and Trade Is Questioned
by Barbara Grady (Green Biz) ... Letting the fields temporarily dry has reduced the methane released from that rice field by 50 percent, compared to an adjacent field that was flooded all through the growing season, according to measurements taken by the
August 23, 2016 Read Full Article
In Pitting Biofuels against the Environment, Only Clear Winner Is Oil
by Jessie Stolark (The Hill/Environmental and Energy Study Institute) ... The total amount of U.S. land under production by American farmers is down-- not just over the last 50 or 100 years, but also over the last decade according to the U.S. Department of
August 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Earth Gen-BioFuel Inc. to Sponsor International Industry Symposium for Using Castor Bean Oil as a Biofuel Feed Stock
(Earth Gen-BioFuel) Earth Gen-BioFuel (OTC PINK: EGBB), "EarthGen" or "the Company," today announced that EarthGen is taking a leadership role to support the company's expansion plans and to promote the use of castor bean oil in the manufacture of biodiesel. EarthGen is
August 08, 2016 Read Full Article
Farmers Do More than Feed the World
by Katie Heger (Farm & Ranch Guide) ... It is just so cliché and doesn’t nearly cover all that agriculture is about. On our family farm, we do so much more than feed the world. Now, let me explain. Yes, my farm
May 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Biofuels, Plastics and Drugs: Is This the Future of Our Farms?
by John Vidal (The Guardian) Climate change and poor returns on wheat and dairy drive rural revolution in ‘future-proof’ agriculture -- ... In Essex, David Eagle is growing acres of sea buckthorn, a salt-tolerant plant that grows wild in Siberiacorrect and
April 18, 2016 Read Full Article
EWG Blasts Ethanol for Making Iowa’s Waterways Toxic
by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the Environmental Working Group has released a new blog alleging corn produced for ethanol is responsible for increased amounts of toxic water pollution due to runoff of fertilizers and manures into waterways. It
January 22, 2016 Read Full Article
How Biofuel from Corn Stover Could Impact Grain Markets
(Farm Futures) Biofuel from stover could favor continuous corn, other production changes -- ... If technology and government support become economically viable, converting corn stover to biofuels would affect farmers' planting decisions and crop rotation practices across the Midwest. Corn
November 16, 2015 Read Full Article
EPA's RFS Proposal Risks Ending America's Rural Renaissance
by Jonathan H Harsch (Agri-Pulse) When President George W. Bush signed the law creating the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in 2005 to support biofuels production, he explained that “Using ethanol and biodiesel will leave our air cleaner. And every time we use
October 23, 2015 Read Full Article
British Firm Partners Government to Set up $150mln Ethanol Plant
(The Source/New Zimbabwe) ... Sunbird Bioenergy has partnered government to set up a $150 million ethanol operation in Zimbabwe next year, an official has said. The deal will see the establishment of an ethanol plant with capacity to produce up to
October 20, 2015 Read Full Article
Biofuels Production Plan already in Action
by Boyd Webb (IOL News) Once home to millions of displaced black South Africans, former homelands are expected to become the heart of the country's biofuels production. Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulama Xingwana said on Tuesday the presidential commercial
October 19, 2015 Read Full Article
Future Farm, Future Crop: Utopia or Dystopia? Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of 5
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As America’s farmers hit retirement age and technology options explode, what comes next? ... The average age of the US farmer reached 58.3 years in the USDA’s 2012 Census of Agriculture. For sure, farmers have been
August 10, 2015 Read Full Article
The Revolution in AgTech – The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 1. Huge deal volume. A site worth knowing is AgFunder, here — whose slide deck on the transformation of agricultural technology is digested here. Bottom line, whether it is drones & robotics, precision ag, crop & soil
August 06, 2015 Read Full Article
Technology No Silver Bullet for Africa’s Farming Challenges, Says Entrepreneur
by Dinfin Mulupi (How We Made It in Africa) Africa is seeing a surge in mobile phone-based solutions promising to revolutionise the agricultural industry. Technology entrepreneurs have developed mobile platforms offering a variety of solutions, including online livestock and produce
August 04, 2015 Read Full Article
Sustainable Feedstock Contracts
by Todd A. Taylor (Biodiesel Magazine) If you are a biodiesel producer, you already believe in sustainability and taking care of our natural resources. You already have your renewable fuel standard (RFS) pathway and are making the best biodiesel you can
June 17, 2014 Read Full Article
Letter: Don’t Blame Ethanol
by Greg Krissek (Lawerence- Journal World) To the editor: Kansas University biologist Chip Taylor has brought ethanol to the top of his list of enemies to monarch butterflies in an article published on March 31. Over the years, Taylor has blamed global
May 13, 2014 Read Full Article
New Holland Launches MyNewHolland.com
by Chuck (DomesticFuel.com) ... This new virtual community is set up to provide a meeting place to share information, contribute to farming related discussions and access premium contents and services. It is very simple to create your account by visiting MyNewHolland.com. Then
April 25, 2014 Read Full Article
Scientists Help Adapt Brazil Farming to Climate Change
by Moises Avila (Phys.Org) Hundreds of scientists are helping Brazil's giant agricultural sector prepare for the effects of climate change and anticipate pests that hit neighboring countries. Spearheading the effort is the Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation (Embrapa), a state agency
December 17, 2013 Read Full Article
Ethanol Fuelling Growth
by Peter Hemphill (Weekly Times Now) ...While ethanol production has become the largest use of the corn crop, it has also developed a high protein byproduct - dried distillers grains with solubles - now highly prized around the world as