STATE OF THE ONION

[cottonpicken]

Might be worth watching, lots of ethanol talk, if of course all the clapping doesnt drive you crazy.

[melvill]

Course, like onions, it might make one shed a few tears!

[nashty]

Increasing The Supply Of Renewable And Alternative Fuels By Setting A Mandatory Fuels Standard To Require 35 Billion Gallons Of Renewable And Alternative Fuels In 2017 – Nearly Five Times The 2012 Target Now In Law. In 2017, this will displace 15 percent of projected annual gasoline use.

Where will we go from here? Stay tuned...

[IAMTHEMOLE]

Bush didn't talk about renewable energy as much as I would like him to. Another glaring omission was the mention of corn as part of the future to attain these large goals of biofuel usage. He mentioned grasses, wood chips and waste. Should we be concerned?

[cowman]

I wonder if the rapid construction of biofuel plants in the US and the increasing demand for corn to fuel them will bring about a new attitude towards Canadian grains and oilseeds?
Will there be a big demand for Canadian grain and oilseeds to help fill that demand?
If Bush is saying 15% of fuel will be replaced by biofuel by 2017 what does that mean? I read somewhere if every available acre of land in the USA was put into biofuel production it would replace 25% of the needed fuel! If that is true, and the USA target is 15% by 2017...I would suggest the food acreage is going to be pretty slim?
It looks good in my opinion!

[joedales]

Here is some additional detail - this should be bullish for all agri commodities for the next few years...

Joe

President Addresses Alternative Energy Sources and Immigration Reform - 1/24/2007



OMAHA (DTN) -- One might call it "No Alternative Energy Source Left Behind."
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President George Bush
mentioned electricity and battery research, solar and wind energy, nuclear
energy, hybrid engine research, clean biodiesel and coal energy and, last,
but not least, new methods of producing ethanol.
All these will play a part, Bush said, in reaching his goal of reducing
gasoline usage in the U.S. by 20 percent in the next 10 years. The plan for
reaching that goal includes a mandatory renewable fuel standard of 35 billion
gallons by 2017, "nearly five times the current target," Bush said. Currently
the nation has a 7.5 billion gallon RFS by 2012 goal.
Bush said the country "has made a lot of good progress" toward building
a stable supply of energy that keeps America's economy running. Now, "we must
continue to invest in new methods of producing ethanol" using "everything
from wood chips to grasses to agricultural wastes," Bush said.
In addition to increased emphasis on renewable fuels, Bush proposed reforming
and modernizing fuel economy standards for all vehicles, stepping up domestic
oil production in environmentally sensitive ways and doubling the current
capacity of the strategic petroleum reserve.
Another issue that directly affects some in the ag industry is immigration
reform. Bush said the nation needs "laws that are fair and borders that are
secure."
Bush said Congress needs to "uphold the great tradition of the melting
pot that welcomes and assimilates" immigrants and "resolve the status of illegals
already in our country without animosity and without amnesty."
Toward that end, he suggested a temporary guest worker program and encouraged
Congress to craft a bill so "that you can pass and I can sign comprehensive
immigration reform into law."

[ado089]

I'm going to have to agree with cowman. We in Canada are way too far behind in the biofuel game to be a viable player. In my opinion we should move forward with specialty oils and grain markets. Grow the food products, not commodities, that the consumer will be willing to pay a premium for. I myself would see the value in growing less and getting more, after all who really wants to be croping 20,000ac, it would be nice to have a life too.

[AdamSmith]

Leading onion producing states and acres

Washington 20,000
Idaho & Eastern Oregon 19,600
New York 12,700
Colorado 12,390
Western Oregon 5,000
California 4,750
Michigan 3,800

Source: National Onion Association, 2000