Minnesota ruled that biofuels will need to contain a mix of 20 percent soybeans or other renewable fuel sources, cutting the amount of emissions while boosting demand for soybeans, said MPR News. “This is an opportunity to add value to farmers’ products,” state agriculture commissioner Dave Frederickson said last Thursday, according to the report. “Given the fact that the first B10 mandate actually added about 63 cents per bushel, on every bushel sold, we’re hoping to double that as we move into a B20 mandate.”
The report said that 63 cents a bushel would boost in revenue for state farmers by $200 million at a time when corn prices are flagging and soybean prices are below the cost of production.
“In 2005, Minnesota became the first state in the nation to mandate biodiesel — a blend containing 2 percent soybean oil. The most recent mandate required 10 percent renewable sources,” the report said, with the new mandate moving that to 20 percent. Trucking interests objected to the action, worried that the infrastructure to carry it out was not in place. But the mandate only applies to summer months. During the winter the state requires only a 5-percent blend, the report said.