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January 5, 2001
Producers in the Steamboat Rock, Iowa area have selected a site and are pulling together $20 million to build an ethanol plant. The plant would turn about 6 million bushels of corn into 15 million gallons of ethanol annually. The plant would also sell corn stillage to area cattle feeders.
There are currently four ethanol plants in Iowa. By the end of 2002, there could be as many as 11!
For the year, the U.S. is on its way to setting a new annual
production record and will produce well over 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol.
Source: Pro Farmer, Dec. 2, 2000
Farmland plans major changes
Farmland Industries, Inc. plans major strategic changes to regain profitability,
according to new CEO Robert Honse. The cooperative will sell a petroleum refinery,
exit livestock ownership, undertake major branding expansion, and make changes
in its grain business. It expects first-quarter fiscal 2001 to show a $40
million improvement over first-quarter 2000.
Source: Doane's Agricultural Report,
Dec. 8, 2000
Mandatory livestock reporting rules published
The final rule for livestock mandatory price reporting was published
in the Dec. 1 Federal Register. The new reporting will provide information
on 80-95 percent of all cattle, boxed beef, slaughter hog, sheep, lamb meat
and imported lamb meat transactions.
Under the new rule, packers who annually slaughter an average of 125,000 cattle or 100,000 swine or 75,000 lambs are required to report to USDA transaction details involving purchases and sales of livestock, boxed beef, boxed lamb and lamb carcasses. Importers who annually import an average of 5,000 metric tons of lamb meat products also must report.
New market news reports available to the public will include
information covering the prior day swine market, forward contract and formula
marketing arrangement cattle purchases, packer-owned cattle and sheep information,
sales of imported boxed lamb cuts and live lamb premiums and discounts.
Source: Speedline, AFBF, Government Relations
Bulletin, Dec. 4, 2000
Ted Turner largest U.S. landowner
Ted Turner, well-known environmentalist, vice chairman and largest shareholder
of Time Warner, owns 1.7 million acres in the United States—more than
any other individual.
Most of his holdings include ranches and farms in New Mexico, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, South Carolina, Florida and South Dakota. Many of the acres are devoted to providing pasture for Turner's expanding herd of 23,600 head of bison, easily the largest in the world.
His 2,600-plus square miles would cover an area equivalent
to more than half the state of Connecticut.
Source: Progressive Farmer, Dec. 2000
Wind energy a booming industry
Wind energy has become the nation's fastest-growing source of electricity,
and capacity is expected to double in the next 13 months. Utility companies
are racing to line up suppliers of wind energy, many of whom are farmers,
according to a story in the Nov. 27 issue of the New York Times.
Experts say technological advances are making it all possible. Bigger, more sophisticated turbines have helped lower the cost of wind-generated electricity, which at one time was cost prohibitive. By the end of next year, the Energy Department estimates that 4,600 megawatts will be in place for households in the United States.
Landowners in some parts of Minnesota are reporting that
they are earning about $2,000 a year from each of the 200-foot tall turbines
they have on their land.
Source: Speedline, AFBF Executive Newswatch,
Nov. 27, 2000
