“Global Ethanol Production Forecast”
The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance has released the global ethanol production forecast for 2010. According to data assembled by F.O. Licht – total ethanol production in 2009 was 19.5-billion gallons. GRFA predicts global production will reach 22.7-billion gallons in 2010 – a 16.2-percent increase from last year. That would displace the need for 370-million equivalent barrels of oil globally.
The U.S. still leads the world in ethanol manufacturing with more than 12-billion gallons of production projected this year. But many developing countries – like Nigeria and Malawi – are also turning to ethanol – looking to boost their economies and secure their future energy needs.
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“Joint Climate Change Prediction Research Program Announced”
USDA, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation have agreed to create a joint climate change prediction research program. The program will designate nearly 50-million dollars to develop climate system models that provide insights on climate variability and impacts on ecosystems. Roger Beachy – Director of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture – says it’s important to understand the potential impact of climate change on our world – and how we can proactively mitigate its consequences. He says the effects of climate change on the land, crops and animals raise some of the most serious issues faced by producers.
NIFA, DOE and NSF will release a request for proposals for the program in Fiscal Year 2010. USDA says the program seeks proposals that couple climate models at different spatial and temporal scales to erosion, geomorphic change, land use, water management and food production. The Department of Ag will support research to develop climate models that can be linked to crop, forestry, aquaculture and livestock models to assess the adequacy of potential outcomes of risk management strategies so that development and yields can be projected reliably at different spatial and temporal scales.
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“Researchers Find Ways to Cut the Cost of Keeping Broiler Houses Warm”
Research conducted by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service scientists and university cooperators could help producers reduce the cost of keeping broiler chickens warm. Ag Engineer Joseph Purswell worked with a retired Mississippi State University professor to investigate ways to reduce the energy costs of heating chicken houses and found that the air that gathers in broiler house attics can be as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the air outside.
Insulating, ventilating and heating broiler chicken houses can be expensive – so the two developed a ventilation system that uses ceiling inlets to redistribute the solar-heated attic air – rather than bringing in the cooler, outside air. They concluded that this reduced the demand for heating fuel by about 20 to 25-percent. The ventilation system also improves air quality by reducing moisture and ammonia inside the houses.
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“Child Nutrition Reauthorization Mark-Up This Week”
The Senate Ag Committee will meet to consider the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 this week. The committee will hold a business meeting on the measure to reauthorize child nutrition programs at 8:30 Central time tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. The bipartisan bill would provide 4.5-billion dollars in new child nutrition program funding over 10 years – a significant increase over previous efforts.
