Something new at A*L*O*T! To encourage and support higher education for our A*L*O*T Angus youth, A*L*O*T Angus Association is offering a $500.00 scholarship to an eligible recipient.
Scholarship deadline is April 15, 2009. The 1st recipient of the Scholarship Fund will be notified prior to and then introduced at the May 10, 2009 A*L*O*T Female Sale.
To qualify, applicants must be a high school junior, or a graduating high school senior through college junior year to apply. In addition to this requirement, the applicant must be a member in good standing of one of the A*L*O*T state’s Junior Angus Organization’s for 2 years, or have parents who have been members of the A*L*O*T Angus Association for 3 or more years. The applicant must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA.
The applicants are then judged on leadership roles, work experience, community involvement and essays. Scholarship applications may be mailed to: Bill Stone, President, A*L*O*T Angus Association, 909 West Highway 82, New Boston, Texas 75570. Applications may be obtained by request at the above address or downloaded from the A*L*O*T web site beginning March 1, 2009.
Ethanol plant construction has come to a halt, but the mandates by government are not declining, which could mean prices could jump again. Producers should prepare for Round 2, Steve Amosson, Texas AgriLife Extension economist, said.
“Expanded ethanol production is probably a given; however, the space is expected to show due to capacity limits and policy.”
Nationwide, 213 ethanol plants were in production or under construction in September 2007, with many more on the drawing table. Nine months later, some of the plants were under construction have come into operation, but no new plants have started construction.
The credit crisis and declining ethanol margins dried up financing for 11 billion gallons of “probable” projects, said Bill Tierney, former Kansas State University (K-State_ grain marketing economist. Recent analysis shows that ethanol plants are losing money given the current prices of ethanol and distillers’ grains byproducts, after taking into consideration the cost of the primary inputs natural gas and corn, Amosson said. The energy bill signed into law in December 2007 requires 36 billion gallons of ethanol to be available for use by 2022. Twenty-one billion gallons is supposed to come from feedstocks other than corn. The problem is that cellulosic ethanol production is not even expected to get off the ground until 2015 or after, and then it takes time to ramp up the industry.
“The renewable fuel standards will not hold up; it can’t, Amosson said. The amount gradually steps up from there. Penalties for blenders not meeting the mandates include having to return any profit from non-renewable fuels and a fine of $25,000 per day. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced January 16, that USDA Rural Development has approved the first-ever load guarantee to a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. The $80 million loan to Range Fuels Inc., Soperton, GA, comes from the Section 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill.
The investment in this facility, which will make cellulosic ethanol from wood chips, has the potential to significantly advance the timetable for second-generation ethanol production in this county. The Bio-refinery Assistance Program promotes the development of new and emerging technologies for the production of advanced bio-fuels, defined as fuels that are not produced from food sources. The USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Further information on rural programs is available at a local SUDA Rural Development office or online at www.rurdev.usda.gov.
The articles were written for Angus-e-List by Kay Ledbetter, Texas A & M University and from a USDA release
Fall Bull Sale Results