Wednesday night, millions of people watched President Barack Obama give the annual State of the Union Address and he touched on some great topics: jobs, education, economy, climate change, health care, the war on terror and clean, renewable energy.

Many of those issues could benefit from something already available and ready to expand…United States Ethanol. A clean-burning, home-grown fuel that is ready to replace our addiction to foreign oil.

 “We need to put more Americans to work building clean energy systems,” said Obama.

A move from E 10 to E 15 (which may be decided on sometime in June of 2010) alone would create 136,000 new jobs according to a University of North Dakota Study. Adding additional infrastructure like the proposed ethanol pipeline from South Dakota to New Jersey would create 80,000 temporary jobs and 1,100 full-time positions.

Wednesday afternoon, before President Obama’s speech,  Renewable Fuels Association CEO, Bob Dinneen, said, “America’s ethanol producers stand with the President, ready to provide good paying jobs and economic opportunity in a cleaner and more sustainable manner. “In just the past 10 years, ethanol production has helped create hundreds of thousands of new jobs for engineers, construction workers, chemists, accountants, maintenance supervisors, and countless others. With new technologies on the precipice of commercialization, this industry is once again poised to bring unparalleled economic opportunity to small, rural communities all across the nation.”

Obama went on to say, “No area is more ripe for investments than energy…”

Currently, Magellan and other partners are waiting on investments that would allow them to build a pipeline transporting ethanol from South Dakota to New Jersey. This additional infrastructure would allow an increase in production, not only in South Dakota, but all along the pipeline and expand the usage of clean energy from the Midwest to the East Coast. Other needed infrastructure investments for biofuels include additional ethanol blender pumps providing multiple blends of ethanol and non-ethanol fuel giving the consumer a choice when filling his or her tank.

Among the topics, Obama expressed his interest in making incentives for the users of clean energy.

“…To create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiencies and more incentives…”

Those incentives must include renewing VEETEC, sometimes referred to as the “blender’s credit,” a tax credit of 45 cents for every gallon of pure ethanol blended in the United States. This economically encourages more gas stations to sell clean-burning fuel that benefits our environment and is made right here in the United States.

“The nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the country that leads the global clean economy and America must be that nation,” said President Obama. “I will not accept second place.”

Ricardo Inc. made the ethanol community proud yesterday when it released its new Ethanol Direct Boost Injection engine at the Washington Auto Show. The engine is the first of its kind, using technology designed for diesel engines but taking advantage of the ethanol fuel properties.

 Ricardo put their engine in a one ton GMC pick-up as a test model for the auto show. The 3.2 V6 will be able to substitute any gas or diesel motor without losing performance or power.

“We think this could replace conventional engines, and could even replace diesels,” says Kent Niederhofer, president of Ricardo.

The optimum blend for the EDBI is between 30-50% ethanol, but can run on any blend of ethanol or regular gas. That fuel blend is becoming easier to find with the increase in ethanol blender pumps across the country.

The smaller 3.2 V6 EDBI engine will have an estimated cost of $4,500 more than that of the conventional gas, but will gain in efficiency. The one ton pick-up with a its normal engine averaged 12.7 miles per gallon with regular gas and 12.1 miles per gallon with ethanol. But when replaced with the EDBI engine, the vehicle got 15 miles per gallon on ethanol.

“People are likely to be amazed with the performance and fuel economy that can be delivered from a comparatively small displacement engine running on a renewable fuel such as ethanol,” said Rod Beazley, director of the Ricardo Inc.

Diesel Trucks usually cost around $8,000 more than conventional gas and the EDBI will weigh around 400-500 pounds less while maintaining the same torque and towing capabilities.

Advancements like the EDBI are solutions toward America lessening its dependence from foreign oil and strengthening its economy.

Right now in the United States more emphasis is being placed on health care than ever before. This seems to make a lot of sense since America has an increasingly notable weight problem. One ingredient that seems to be taking a lot of the blame is High Fructose Corn Syrup.

There is no evidence that HFCS is causing weight gain, but there is evidence linked to overconsumption of fast foods and sweetened drinks. HFCS may be used in those food items, but you can’t blame anyone but yourself for eating two double cheeseburgers and supersizing your value meal.

“This is a marketing issue, not a metabolic issue… The real issue is not High Fructose Corn Syrup, it’s that we’ve forgotten what a real serving size is. We have to eat less of everything.” David Klurfeld Ph.D., Human Nutrition USDA

Americans have evolved into an easy go life style, they have every right to eat as much and exercise as little as they like, but blaming HFCS is “scapegoat” when determining the cause of their health problems.

It’s seems like bashing High Fructose Corn Syrup is the trendy thing to do. Many columnist and bloggers have been taking their shots and filled their reader’s thoughts with outdated science and biased logic. Many of the studies used in these articles are flawed in that they used pure fructose when comparing to cane sugar. When in reality, HFCS is somewhere between 42-55% Fructose.

The American Medical Association stated that, “Because the composition of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that high fructose corn syrup contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose.”

FACT: High Fructose Corn Syrup is fine in moderation, but overeating is unhealthy.

To lean more check out sweetsurprise.com

Imagine pulling up to your grain bin full of corn with either your semi-trailer or gravity box and loading without having to even leave your seat. Not only can you start loading grain from your seat, but you can watch it load and stop it when complete, all from the screen of your smart phone.

How does it work? LoadOut works by having a control box (which includes a camera) mounted to a grain bin. The box is then synced to an application on your smart phone. While the application is open, it stops calls from coming through and will automatically stop the grain flow if left unattended. Both are very critical parts of the software to ensure smooth and safe transferring.

LoadOut Technologies, LLC was developed by a farmer from Indiana whose allergies bothered him enough that he just couldn’t handle all the dust of grain hauling. Besides avoiding the dust, LoadOut helps you reduce the amount of time spent around hazardous equipment, loud noises and lessens your chances of slips or falls, especially in low light conditions.

The number one aspect of the LoadOut Technology is efficiency. The equipment says it will allow you to both save time and require fewer personnel.

Production agriculture technology is changing every day.  Producers continue to advance technology and lead the world in efficiency. 

Check it out for yourself at: http://www.loadouttechnologies.com/

Sioux Falls first “Blend Your Own” ethanol pumps have arrived! Ethanol blends E 10 (10% ethanol+ 90% gasoline), E 30 (30% ethanol + 70% gasoline) and E 85 (85% ethanol + 15% gasoline) are now available at Kings Mart, located on the corner of Cliff Avenue and Benson Road.

Multiple efforts were made in order to make these new pumps available.  Investments by Kings Mart, South Dakota Corn Utilization Council, American Coalition for Ethanol and the Blend Your Own Ethanol Campaign helped contribute to the project.

 “Now motorists in Sioux Falls have more choices when they fuel their vehicles,” said Ron Lamberty, Vice President/Market Development for ACE.

Each blender pump installed in South Dakota is a huge accomplishment. More ethanol being consumed means more money being put right back into the local economy.

With South Dakota farmers producing another record corn crop in 2009, the resources are available to provide both feed and a source of home-grown, clean-burning, renewable fuel.

“Corn farmers take great pride in helping to produce over a billion gallons of ethanol in our great state, and installing infrastructure like this moves our industry in the right direction,” said David Fremark, President of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council.

Sioux Falls is now among 40 other locations across South Dakota and more than 150 nationwide that offer higher blends of ethanol.  The very first blender pumps in the nation were installed at the 4-Seasons Co-op in Brittion, SD and the Sioux Valley Co-op in Watertown, SD.

“We believe that when consumers are finally given these meaningful choices they will select the ethanol-blended fuels that work best in their vehicles,” said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President for ACE.

Ag Equipment burning what it harvests? Yes it’s really happening as you read. A group of Nebraskans are currently developing, CleanFlex Power System, an innovation designed to efficiently use ethanol in diesel engines. The idea was developed about a year ago when, Bob Dickey, of Laurel, Nebraska bought a new John Deere 150 HP four-cylinder turbo diesel irrigation system engine which he retrofitted to use an ethanol and diesel blend. The group showcased their new technology with a retrofitted diesel pickup that uses an ethanol-diesel mixture at a press conference in Sioux Falls this last Fall.

The group has developed a new hydrated-ethanol fuel called EM60 (a mixture of 60% ethanol and 40% water) to combine with diesel fuel to power diesel engines. The goal is to decrease pollution and increase efficiency in all diesel fueled vehicles.

“Just like oil and water don’t mix, ethanol and diesel don’t mix,” Dickey said. So, they have two lines run into the diesel engine. “The only time the ethanol, water and diesel are together is at the point of combustion and it really works well. The engine runs cooler, it runs more efficient and the emissions are reduced.”

Another use of the concept could be in diesel –powered freight trains, which the group has been discussing with BNSF Railway. Discussions have also taken place with John Deere.

“The bottom line is that we can become less dependent on foreign oil,” Dickey says.

Highlights and Benefits of EM60 include:

• Reduces NOx and particulate matter, which contribute to global warming.
• Burns cooler with less heat and friction for longer engine life.
• Adds lubricity to engines, increases horsepower and engine efficiency.
• Provides a long storage life that’s useable in all weather conditions, even at -100 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Retrofitting a diesel engine for the new technology can cost from $5,000 to $7,500, but could vary on the type of engine.

The fuel and retrofit can be purchased now, and CleanFlex is already marketing it. They think the potential for use could be staggering for any diesel engine, especially those needing to meet EPA Tier 4 emission standards.