During the recent National Biodiesel Conference and Expo, Arkansas farmer Robert Stobaugh heard about lots of exciting developments in the industry. The most gratifying was an update on how biodiesel continues to return the investment of soybean farmers back home.
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) recently announced that the industry produced a record of nearly 1.8 billion gallons of biodiesel, far exceeding its previous high. Soybean oil continues to be the primary feedstock for U.S. biodiesel production.
Since U.S. soybean farmers created the biodiesel industry through their soy checkoff more than 20 years ago, Stobaugh says soybean farmers should be proud of the industry’s growth.
“The farm dollars we used to develop the biodiesel industry are being brought through the marketplace and back full-circle to the farm,” says Stobaugh, a checkoff farmer-leader from Atkins, Ark. “The checkoff has dedicated millions of dollars to aggressive research and education to make sure everyone understands that our product is valuable in the marketplace.”
According to research commissioned by soybean farmers in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota through their state soy checkoff boards, biodiesel contributed to a $15 billion increase in soybean-oil revenues between 2006 and 2012. Over that period, this increased the value of soybeans by 74 cents per bushel.
In addition, the biodiesel industry’s demand for soybean oil supports the animal agriculture sector by increasing the supply of soybean meal. The study shows biodiesel decreases the price poultry and livestock farmers pay for feed by $25 per ton.
Among the updates Stobaugh received at the conference was from the Bioheat® industry, which blends biodiesel into traditional home heating oil to form a cleaner-burning, renewable fuel source for heating homes and businesses on the East Coast.
“I found it interesting that Bioheat compares very favorably with natural gas in terms of emissions,” says Stobaugh, who also serves on the NBB Governing Board, representing the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. “Heating oil users can use Bioheat without changing their heating system and improve air quality, which is very important in that part of the country.”
Whenever industries grow, however, they also encounter new challenges. Biodiesel is no exception, and Stobaugh says it’s important to continue to educate consumers on biodiesel’s benefits for the environment, economy and the nation’s energy security.
Source : unitedsoybean.org