Domestic Fuel

Former Texas Congressman Charles Stenholm was the moderator for our second session here at the Farm Foundation Global Trade & Policy Issues conference. I don’t think you’ll find anyone more knowledgeable about the policy side of this discussion.

He says that it’s clear to everyone that the price of our basic commodities which was extremely beneficial to our producers has had a tendency to increase the price of food. He says that it’s had a major affect on our livestock producers. He thinks Congress has a difficult challenge in front of it. He’s all for alternative biofuels but he wonders about subsidizing biofuels for example. One thing he thinks we should have looked at is a counter cyclical program. We’ve heard it said before but he said it again, that the price of corn will be set by the price of oil.

You can listen to my interview with Mr. Stenholm here:

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You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.4MB)

Providing us with a “Technical Global Biofuels Analysis” here at the Farm Foundation Global Trade & Policy Issues conference was Thomas Alfstad, Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Thomas was on the program to speak about a technical global biofuels analysis.

He says that last year they completed a study on biofuels. They looked at the U.S. importing fuels to meet the RFS. He says their findings were that there are strong incentives for producers to expand production of biofuels. He says that biofuels producers may have short term concerns but that their findings should be encouraging for the long term.

You can listen to my interview with Thomas here:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.7MB)

Michael Schaal is with the Energy Information Administration which is part of the U. S. Dept. of Energy. He spoke early on the program at the Farm Foundation conference about the global outlook for energy.

He says they were actually looking at trends through 2030. He says that developing countries will be significantly increasing their fuel consumption which will be driven by the increase in the number of vehicles they have. All sorts of fuel production will be needed to meet this growing need. He says that with low world oil prices the production of biofuels is low and conversely, if we see higher oil prices then we’ll see greater production of biofuels. So the uncertainty of the price of oil is key to the development of biofuels. This is something all the speakers have mentioned today.

You can listen to my interview with Michael here:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.3MB)

I’m live covering the Farm Foundation Conference below. Feel free to comment. I’ll save it later when done. I’ll be off and on depending on when I need to take photos and do interviews on breaks.

Update: I’ve closed the session but it’s archived for you to “replay” if you’d like. I’ll be posting speaker interviews over the next several hours.

You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Today and tomorrow I’ll be covering the Farm Foundation, Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global Trade and Policy Issues. Biofuels is the main topic of discussion.

Wally Tyner is an energy economist with the Dept. of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. He’s one of the first speakers on the program. I was able to speak with him before things get started this afternoon here in Washington, DC.

Wally says Farm Foundation decided to host a series of conferences a couple years ago. There are to be five in all and this is the fourth one. You can find out information about them on the Farm Foundation website.

This conference will focus on biofuels from a global perspective with participation from the European Union and Brazil. We’ll hear some contrasting viewpoints since Wally says that the EU has taken a different approach to requiring biofuels than the US. In his presentation he’ll focus on cellulosic or second generation biofuels. The hope is that the conference will incite or promote discussion even though Farm Foundation itself doesn’t take positions. He says they believe they’ve accomplished the objective with the conferences so far.

The next one in the series will focus on extension and it’s role across the country in biofuels production. It will be held in Arkansas in June.

You can listen to my interview with Wally here:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You can download the interview with this link (mp3).

You will be able to find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.6MB)

Domestic Fuel will be there as the Farm Foundation hosts the next in its series of meetings to talk about what needs to be done for this country… and the world, for that matter… transition to a bioeconomy.

In the fourth in the series of “Transition to a Bioeconomy” conferences, our friends at Farm Foundation will facilitate conversation focusing on global trade and policy issues, March 30-31 at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center Hotel:

“The developing bioeconomy is creating diverse and complex issues for public and private decision makers, particularly in the area of policy and trade issues,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “This conference is an opportunity for conference participants to gain broader understanding, as well as new perspectives, of the issues and challenges.”

Conference speakers include:
· Michael Schall, Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
· Laurent Javaudin, Delegation of the European Commission to the United States
· Al Mussell of the George Morris Centre
· Seth Meyer of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute
· Joel Velasco of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association
· Paul Willems of BP Energy Biosciences Institute
· Mark Willers of Minwind Inc.
· Mark Dietzen of INEOS Bio
· Thomas Alfstad of Brookhaven National Laboratory

The Farm Foundation has teamed up with the USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses and the farm agency’s Economic Research Service. Like the previous three Transition to a Bioeconomy conferences, organizers promise this one will “provide public and private leaders with objective information and analyses they can use to make more informed decisions as they address these issues.”

I’ve been lucky enough to make it to a couple of these, and they are really well worth the trip. I strongly suggest you make plans to attend this conference March 30-31 at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center Hotel. Registration information is available here.

But if you can’t be there in person, let Domestic Fuel and AgWired.com give you the next best thing. We’ll be covering the events as they happen on both of our ZimmComm New Media Web sites. Either way, don’t miss it!

The world faces some serious challenges… as pointed out in a Farm Foundation report released last December (see my post from December on AgWired.com). That report identifies six major areas of challenges with a role in agriculture’s ability to provide food, feed, fiber and fuel to a growing world: global financial markets and recession; global food security; global energy security; climate change; competition for natural resources; and global economic development.

To help find solutions to these problems, Farm Foundation has announced a competition to award $20,000 in prizes for the most innovative and public policy options coming from the public:

“Agriculture globally faces the challenge of how to provide food to a world that is expected to have 9 billion people by 2040,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “This challenge exists at the same time that we are already seeing pressures on global resources, as well as increased demand for agriculture to provide not only food, but feed, fiber and fuel.

“It is not clear that today’s public policies-designed to deal with issues of the last century-provide appropriate tools and incentives to address the challenges of the next 30 years,” Conklin continues. “Farm Foundation is offering this competition as a catalyst for innovative ideas and approaches.”

If you have an idea, get it into the Farm Foundation through this Web site (more information is also available there) by June 1, 2009.

The project is directed and led by Farm Foundation with financial assistance from the Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Pork Producers Council, and the United Egg Producers.

As you might remember from our multiple posts back in October and December , Farm Foundation has been hosting a series of meetings that add some important talk about the issues surrounding biofuels (just search “Farm Foundation” on this Web site to get an idea of some of the discussion). At the end of this month, the organization will be hosting another conference in that same vein.

The latest “Transition to a Bioeconomy” conference will be March 30-31 at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center Hotel:

“The continued development of the biofuels and renewable energy industries is creating energy, investment and trade policy challenges for nations worldwide,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “Most bioenergy-related policies have a domestic, rather than a global orientation. Yet the impacts of those policies are often global.

Organized by Farm Foundation, USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses and USDA Economic Research Service, this conference will examine:
Global Energy Markets
Global Impacts of Biofuels Policies
Industry Perspectives on the Future of Energy and Public Policy
Trade in Energy Technologies

I’ve been able to attend a couple of these Farm Foundation events, and I can tell you that it is well worth the price of admission for the thought-provoking conversation that brings all sides to the table. You can even save some money if you sign-up by March 10th. If you can, I strongly suggest you make the trip to DC to take in this one. Click here for registration information.

Last summer, crude oil prices were skyrocketing to around $150 a barrel, and we were all sweating the $4-$5 a gallon fuel prices every time we pulled up to those gas pumps. It was during this time of anxiety that the debate around the role biodiesel and ethanol were playing in food price spikes that were also hitting everyone hard in the pocketbooks. Our friends at Farm Foundation took on this debate when they released in July 2008 the report, What’s Driving Food Prices?

What a difference eight months make, as oil prices have fallen back below $40 a barrel, and gas is a lot closer to a buck-and-a-half per gallon than the summer’s highs. Funny… food prices seem to have remained high… hmmmmm.

Well, in their never-ending quest to continue the conversation, the Farm Foundation folks have asked the report’s authors, Purdue University Economists Phil Abbott, Chris Hurt and Wally Tyner, to update their analysis of the drivers of food prices. Their findings will be the subject of a March 11th Forum at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, in Washington D.C. The forum runs from 9 to 11 am, and they’ll even serve up a cup of joe starting at 8:30 am.

Contact my friend, Mary Thompson, Farm Foundation Director of Communications at mary@farmfoundation.org to RSVP by noon CST, Monday, March 9th. The forum is free.

Wind energy is an important resource for the country, and our friends at Farm Foundation are sponsoring another important conversation on the subject.

The Farm Foundation Forum: Wind Energy Issues and Challenges will be held Tuesday, February 10, 2009 from 9 to 11 am (coffee starts at 8:30 am) at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, in Washington D.C.:

Presenters will be: Ian Baring-Gould, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Peggy Beltrone, Commissioner, Cascade County, Montana; Mark Willers, MinWind, Luverne, Minn.; and John Holt, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

There is no charge for attending, and everyone is invited. As always, Farm Foundation hopes to get a wide variety of opinions at this forum to make sure they’re hearing real solutions… not just everyone singing from the same page. These conversations are challenging, because these days we really need ideas that challenge the norm.

If you want to attend, please RSVP by noon CST, Friday, Feb. 6, to Mary Thompson, Farm Foundation Director of Communications, mary@farmfoundation.org.