Renderers are, or will be, affected by much of what is happening in both the marketplace and in future policy decisions made by government. For this reason, the National Renderers Association (NRA) Board of Directors has approved the establishment of a new standing committee to address biofuels. The new NRA Biofuels Committee will hold its first meeting at the annual NRA spring meeting later this month in Chicago, IL. NRA Chairman David Kaluzny II will appoint members of the committee from nominations submitted by NRA active members.
The Biofuels Committee will address both policy and technical issues and make recommendations to the NRA Board of Directors.
High corn prices have gotten the attention of the livestock and poultry industries, with representatives meeting with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders. They are seeking ways to get relief from the ethanol-fueled rise in corn prices. Some of them have asked for the end of or phasing out of government blenders tax credits and import tariffs for ethanol. They also want to make more acres available for corn production. On that point, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is projecting the highest year in corn plantings in more that 60 years, up 8.7 million acres over last year. They are also advocating an incremental early release – without penalty – by USDA of Conservation Reserve Program acres back into crop production.
The increase in corn acreage is causing the soybean acreage to fall five million acres to 70.5 million, the lowest in more than 10 years. This surely will have an impact on the soybean industry’s ability to provide ample feedstock supplies for biodiesel production. If this is so, there may be greater demand for rendered fats and oils for biodiesel production.
One thing is for sure. Corn and soybeans are no longer being produced for just food and feed. Biofuels are having a dramatic effect in the marketplace for these crops. Some have compared this change to what happened in the grains sector when the Russians started buying from the United States 40 years ago.
The 110th Congress is falling all over itself trying to figure out how to capitalize on all of the attention with biofuels. We will see a major title in the upcoming USDA farm bill addressing numerous energy issues. It will address grants for production, conservation programs, research proposals, education initiatives, and more, all related to energy.
In addition to the farm bill deliberations, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee will be considering tax breaks for alternative fuels. Some tax breaks that benefit renderers are already in place. It will be important to make sure rendered products are included with other feedstock sources whenever these government-initiated programs are either developed or extended.
President Bush devoted an inordinate amount of his State of the Union address to alternative energy, including ethanol and biodiesel. He made significant proposals putting a lot of emphasis on cellulose as a source of energy. This is a little farther down the pipeline in accomplishing energy independence. However, Department of Energy grants of $385 million investing in projects designed to help producers with upfront capital costs associated with the construction of six cellulosic ethanol biorefineries illustrates the administration’s commitment.
The recent annual meeting of the National Biodiesel Board in San Antonio, TX, was another indicator of just how much interest there is in biodiesel. This group had their first annual meeting and trade show three years ago with 600 people in attendance. It was considered a great success. This year, about 3,800 people were in attendance at the annual meeting, with many different special interests attending. There were farmers, biodiesel producers, investors, equipment manufacturers, researchers, and a lot of other people just trying to figure out how to capitalize on the current boom. This included several people visiting the Render booth telling how they plan to get into the restaurant grease collection business or asking about renderers as a source of feedstock.
NRA members and staff have actively been involved in biofuels issues for several years. The Fats and Proteins Research Foundation was in the lead several years ago researching rendered products as a biodiesel feedstock. The establishment of an NRA Biofuels Committee will help us to better focus our efforts on the many biofuels related issues that are sure to arise.
From the Association - April 2007 Render