The argument will always be about demand even if there are backhanded methods of locking fuel suppliers into a certain fuel stream. We need to bolster demand and low price cannot help if demand is fickle and willing to change when in a few cents change.


I've long wondered if there was a way to modify our Farm Bill and payments to encourage a certain level of participation amongst farmers. Likely everyone here knows one farmer who doesn't use ethanol or bio-diesel. Perhaps payments should be tied to the level of farm based renewable energy a farm uses. It would be getting us to use our own product... it would create a stable demand base that an cooperative would have to address.

I don't use Cenex but it surely has a huge farm delivery fuel portion of their business? If farms needed a biofuel to qualify for federal support and if Cenex didn't cater to them, they would lose business. Those fuel suppliers would also have to be able to handle the surge in fuel needs during certain parts of the year... which means adding handling capacity... a capacity that would exist year round. And once that capacity exists it would make business sense to spread fixed costs over a greater demand base by servicing consumers.


Now the question is how much bio-fuel can farms use. Soy is certainly usable but what about ethanol? There is more demand for ethanol on a consumer level than for diesel. I don't know if soy and ethanol can be blended and used without harm.

I ran across a study from 1979 regarding a 90% diesel 10% 'gasohol' blend. It found greater engine wear and fuel use. It also deals with economics. I'll drop the study here cause I haven't studied it much.


http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/13066/1/er78010s.pdf

I don't know if modern technology is studying this yet or if there are solutions that allow a blend to be used on a farm scale.