ST. LOUIS (April 4, 2012) – Partnerships Help Increase
Availability and Use of Soy Biodiesel to Diesel Users. U.S. biodiesel
production reached an all-time record in 2011, and the United Soybean Board
(USB) and soy checkoff want to help it repeat that feat in 2012.
As part of a larger strategy to promote soy biodiesel’s
benefits among diesel users, the checkoff will once again co-sponsor the
National Tractor Pullers Association (NTPA) season of approximately 80 tractor
pulls across the United States. The checkoff partners with the NTPA to increase
biodiesel availability and use among pulling fans, many of whom work in the
agricultural and trucking sectors.
“Pulling tractors perform so well on biodiesel, it’s a
perfect way to show farmers biodiesel’s benefits,” says USB Communications
Chair Jimmy Sneed, a soybean farmer from Hernando, Miss. “It’s important to
remind farmers that using soybean oil for biodiesel is one of the components
that determines the value of each bushel we grow. It makes sense for soybean
farmers to use their own products and promote biodiesel.”
Under the co-sponsorship, tractors in the NTPA’s Light Pro
Stock division will run on biodiesel. So these pullers will put biodiesel to
the test all season long.
According to millions of miles of checkoff-funded testing,
biodiesel can stand up to those tests. It offers excellent horsepower, mileage,
cetane and lubricity. And, since it can be made from U.S. soybean oil, it’s the
only diesel fuel that can help declare freedom from foreign oil.
Check the NTPA schedule to find out if Light Pro Stock “Powered by
Biodiesel” hooks will be in your area.
The soy checkoff also established other partnerships to
promote biodiesel. Later this year, the checkoff will sponsor the National
Truck Driving Championships, a trucking competition that attracts tens of
thousands of representatives from that industry. Additionally, the checkoff
partners with Clean Cities coalitions; assorted state, county and regional
fairs; and the tractor pulls at the National Farm Machinery Show to promote the
use of biodiesel, Bioheat® and other soy-based products.
The soy checkoff funds most of the biodiesel research and
promotion efforts through the National Biodiesel Board to help increase the use
of U.S. soybean oil. Soybean oil remains the dominant feedstock for U.S.
biodiesel production.
These efforts helped push production of America’s Advanced
Biofuel to a record of nearly 1.1 million gallons in 2011. This exceeded the
Environmental Protection Agency’s 800-million-gallon requirement and surpassed
the industry’s previous record of 690 million gallons set in 2008.
The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of
the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers.
These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of
U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have
the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy’s
customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and
Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight
responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.
For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
For more news go to: www.agri-pulse.com
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