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The zoo is home of an Asian elephant breeding program, and the zoo's six elephants produce more than 1,000 pounds of dung per day. This waste, as well as waste of many other animals, is composted by a local farming operation.
Although the economics are
being evaluated, the waste could be used to produce methane or hydrogen
for powering a fuel cell or generator.
Source: AFBF; Executive
Newswatch; May 6, 2005
Anheuser-Busch reaches agreement with Ventria
Anheuser-Busch officials have agreed to continue purchasing rice grown and processed in Missouri, following an agreement between Anheuser-Busch and Ventria Bioscience, the biotechnology company, with plans to grow the rice.
Anheuser-Busch said recently that it would discontinue purchases of Missouri rice if pharmaceutical grains were grown in the state. However, the two companies came to an accord with the agreement that Ventria would move the pharmaceutical plantings 120 miles from the nearest rice field in the Bootheel rice-growing region.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; April 2005
Animal activists
attack executive
Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a radical animal rights group, is continuing a series of attacks on the family of a Long Island, N.Y., executive who works for Forest Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company. Most recently, ALF activists followed the executive's wife to her job, broke into her car and stole several credit cards, which were later used to fraudulently charge $20,000 in donations to charitable organizations.
The activists have attacked about 30 employees of Forest Labs recently, because one of the lab's contractors, Huntington Life Sciences, conducts animal testing on household products and medicines in Britain. Protests at people's homes, vandalism, thefts and threats are all being used to intimidate the employees.
Although group members have not harmed people, at least in the United States, the FBI estimates that ALF supporters have committed 700 criminal acts and caused about $112 million in property damages over the past 10 years.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; May 9, 2005
Minnesota to require
20 percent ethanol gas
State lawmakers in Minnesota passed legislation requiring all the gasoline sold in the state to contain at least 20 percent ethanol by 2013. The governor is expected to sign the legislation into law, as it passed both the state house and senate by large margins.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; May 6, 2005
Smart Nitrogen has a unique, semi-permeable polymer coating that allows water to enter the urea granule and dissolve the nitrogen. The nitrogen release rate is controlled by soil temperature, which similarly determines plant growth and nutrient demand.
Therefore, ESN technology provides for a better matching of nutrient availability in the soil with plant nutrient requirements. The companies say the result is increased productivity per pound of nitrogen, providing an economic advantage for growers while reducing nitrogen loss to the environment.
Source: Doane's Agricultural Report;
Vol. 68, No. 14-1; April 8, 2005
Brazil's grain exports
expected to drop
After reaching record levels last year, Brazil's grain exports are now expected to drop to the lowest level in five years.
Corn exports, which had surged because of expanded production, are now dwindling due to a drought -affected crop and expanding domestic demand. Shrinking supplies and high prices have made Brazilian corn uncom-petitive in the world market. The rapid growth in domestic demand, led by the poultry and pork sectors, has outstripped production this year and will even necessitate significant corn imports. Brazil's history as a net corn exporter may be coming to an end if production fails to keep pace with demand growth.
Brazilian wheat exports have also disappeared this year because prices are once again uncompetitive in Mediterranean markets, especially against larger supplies of low and medium quality wheat from the Black Sea region. Sorghum exports of nearly 400,000 tons last year were likely a one-shot deal because of a return to normal, smaller demand from the EU-25. Transportation costs from Brazil relative to commodity value make significant wheat and sorghum exports unlikely in most years.
Source: USDA; Grain: World Markets and Trade; April 2005
'OPEC' of natural gas considered
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum members met recently, and speculation is that the 15 natural gas-producing countries would like to form an organization similar to OPEC so that they can generate more value out of their natural gas reserves.
The ability to liquefy large volumes of natural gas gives these countries options for transporting natural gas other than pipeline contracts, and more freedom to control supply.
The United States is an importer of natural gas. A new cartel for controlling natural gas supply and price would likely cost U.S. consumers, especially farmers, significantly.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; April 28, 2005
