Lets take back our industry!

[wd40]

U.S. Gas Woes: Can Brazil Teach Us a Lesson?
By Charlene Israel
CBN News Assoc. Producer

CBN.com – (CBN News) - Politicians and Americans are trying to find any kind of solution for those high pump prices.

Some are saying that the United States should research alternative energy sources. After all, Brazil did just that back in the 1970s, and it is paying dividends now.

When Americans fill their gas tanks, they usually get a blend that is 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol, made from corn.

Not so in Brazil. Brazilian drivers get what they call "white gold" – pure, high-octane ethanol made from sugar cane. Brazil produces five billion gallons a year, enough to power half of Brazil’s cars.

And it only costs about $30 a barrel to produce, about half the current cost of a barrel of oil.

At the Brazilian pump, ethanol is cheaper, burns cleaner, and is the leading reason that country no longer buys any foreign oil.

But the switch from gasoline to ethanol was not easy, and the government had to work hard to persuade drivers that ethanol was the fuel of the future.

Gasoline dealers were forced to offer ethanol at all their pumps. And car buyers got tax incentives to purchase flex-cars, built with technology to run on ethanol, gasoline, or any mix of the two.

The result: ethanol now outsells gasoline in Brazil, and three out of four new cars are flex-cars.

The United States has made some progress with ethanol. But here the focus has been on corn-based fuel, which is more expensive to produce. The U.S. is still decades behind Brazil on this alternative energy front.

Brazil is saving millions of gallons of gasoline every year and has shown the world that energy independence is a realistic goal.

[wd40]

America’s Newest Alternative Fuel: ‘Miracle Manure’
By Darla Sitton
CBN News

CBN News --(CBN News) – Sky-high gas prices have forced Americans to develop unique ways to fuel their cars.

And now, some innovative college students have found a way to convert cow power into horse power.

Making fuel from corn to power cars sounded a little wacky when it was first introduced, but now one unusual-looking car is fueled from an equally unusual source. That's right - a cow.

At an alternative fuel car show, students from Western Washington University showed off their novel invention to a younger group of school kids.

They explained that "Biomethane is made from cow manure...[but]...it doesn't smell bad, though."

So how do researchers convert the manure into biomethane? It all starts at a dairy in Lyndon, Washington.

Eric Leonhardt, director of the Vehicle Research Institute at Western Washington University in Bellingham, explained, “We are talking about dairy cows. So they are very well-trained. They go in one spot, and then that material is pumped into a holding tank."

The manure stews in an underground tank for about three weeks. Then workers siphon off the floating methane, make a few adjustments -- and voila. You have fuel that is ready to pump into a car that has been modified to use natural gas.

It takes 15 to 20 cows a day to produce enough waste to power a car for about 300 miles, and scientists say it costs a lot less than regular gasoline...

"The gas is currently being sold at 1/5th the pump price,." Leonhardt said.

And while there are not enough bovines to take care of America's entire fuel needs, it may one day supply part.

[wd40]

If we don't ADM and Husky will do it all for us and we will sink further into serfdom.

[grassfarmer]

The cow power sounds like a good idea but can you grow sugar cane in the northern hemisphere?

[wd40]

You can make this fuel from any organic product. The oil industry just dosn't whant us to know and ADM dosn't want us to get rich.

[coppertop]

This subject was discussed at a livestock seminar this week and the livestock producers that were present were opposed to any sort of biofuel that was derived from a source of livestock feed, because they felt it would drive up the price of feed.


The initiative that I have heard the Provincial government is toying with would see the byproducts of the biofuel be utilized for feed.

[gallard]

In a recent publication, it was stated that with the planned construction of ethanol plants in the U S that with existing incentives they will be able to pay $6 per bushel for corn and it will take until 2008 for the feeding industry to adjust and another couple of years to get back to being profitable. Do Cowman and his age group have enough time to set the younger generation on the right track?

[cowman]

If corn goes up to $6, where does that leave the cow/calf man? What could a feedlot afford to pay for that fall calf?
I like cows....I must because I sure ain't getting rich doing this now! The boy is actually the one who wants to keep them. Well I will admit I enjoy walking amongst them watching them raising their babies and somehow I still think this cow business is an honorable way to spend my time!
I think if feed prices go up, due to rising fuel driven prices, the cattle business as we know it will end. Maybe we'll all be raising grass cattle like grassfarmer?
Personally, I have never thought like "my generation"? I have a small investment in bio gas and intend to wade right in when the time is right! I am a true believer in alternate energy!

[grassfarmer]

Cowman, Joel Salatain outlined a dream of his that went along those lines. He hoped that by moving to entirely grass production in the beef sector you would need to pay farmers $8 a bushel for corn to even interest them in growing it! Once people realise how sustainable grass production can be with minimal fuel involved everyone would want to do it - of course it would take more acres to feed the cattle out when you don't use nitrogen forced corn. The beef job gets even better as the grain price rises as chicken and pork start to cost as much or more than beef. The beef consumption figures could increase hugely. Not saying it's going to happen any time soon - but I don't think feedlots are all that bright inventions really.

[smcgrath76]

We run a pretty laid back ship. But I can see that if Corn/grain gets high $, we will see a lot of grassland converted back into cropland.
It would/will be pretty interesting to see how the marketing chain that is present in the beef industry reacts.