These topics and more were covered at the 39th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo (FEW), which was held at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. Twenty-seven countries were represented, with approximately 2,400 attending throughout the three-day event June 12-14. Over 600 of the registrants were biofuels producers.

Industry leaders, production professionals and producers gathered at the world’s largest ethanol conference. Three events were held simultaneously: the Biodiesel Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Renewable Diesel; the Carbon Capture and Storage Summit; and the Ethanol 101 seminar.

In the Midwest, we are familiar with corn being processed for ethanol and converting soybeans into biodiesel. Speakers at the Biodiesel Summit referenced other feedstock used for creating energy, including animal fat, used cooking oil, grease and, as Scott Vincent of Strobel Companies said, “Everything that floats on water.” Vincent is involved in transporting these products to the material handling systems and production plants.

The movement of fuel is under great pressure as pipeline opponents become more active. A truck with flashing lights sat outside the CHI Health Center on the first morning of the conference, drawing attention to the boycott against the pipeline. Police arrived later in the afternoon to offset tension building within the conference.

The energy industry is facing many other global challenges from tightening regulations. Melita Kyriakou, senior consultant with Christianson PLPP, said that companies participating in the mandatory markets need to have a full-time employee managing oversight and keeping records.

“You really do need someone on your team who is dedicated to compliance,” Kyriakou said. “It’s no longer a part-time job for your controller or your CFO (chief financial officer).”

Christine Riedl, who works with the European-Austrian-based company BDI-BioEnergy International GmbH, explained the top two challenges facing her business: feedstock availability and quality. Moreover, as fuel production becomes more sophisticated, additional technology compounds another layer of complexity.

“There’s now a little bit of competition between the different technologies handling the feedstock, like UCO (used cooking oil) and animal fat, so getting the right qualities for the right technologies is a challenge,” Riedl said.

As a result of the new technologies used within the energy industry, new products are constantly entering the market. Companies are seeking innovative ways to use the products resulting from the production of ethanol and biofuels. This is positive for the industry as a whole, supporters said.

“Emerging distillers products bring opportunities for value creation and environmental sustainability,” said Ryan Mass, director of animal nutrition for ICM Inc.

In the session “Meet Your Customer: The Evolution of Animal Protein Production,” the “customer” is the animal consuming the bi-products from fuel production. Cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, poultry and fish each have unique nutritional requirements, and the energy industry is helping meet those needs. Precision feed has emerged as ethanol and biofuel companies improve their refining processes to extract even more concentrated products.

Rather than having one pile of distillers grains, the components within that pile can now be fractioned out, explained ICM vice president of animal feed development Matt Durler. Efficient product diversification acknowledges that bi-products contain separate components called fiber, protein, enhanced protein with yeast, solubles and distillers corn oil.

Livestock producers and energy companies should work together to determine the most efficient use for these feedstuffs. Extensive research is being conducted by energy companies to maximize fiber for dairy cattle, concentrate protein into pelleted products, increase nutrition for plant-based pet food and ferment fish meal for aquaculture.

Regenerative farmer and entrepreneur John Niemann shared his insight as a former president of Cargill. Another part of the “customer” equation are the people consuming the protein. He said that consumers want to feel good about what they are eating from a health standpoint and an environmental perspective. Each product from the ethanol or biofuel plant must have value and support sustainability, just as each aspect of animal production must follow suit.

“Agriculture is part of the solution—we aren’t the problem,” Niemann said.

For example, consumers must be educated about beef’s purpose in the ecosystem. Niemann said, “It’s amazing how efficient cattle are,” at breaking down fiber indigestible to humans, and then using that fiber to fertilize crops or grassland.

Energy companies and livestock producers share a role in creating more value and more sustainability in the eye of the consumer, Niemann said. By working together, they can reduce the carbon footprint of both industries.

People are searching for transparency, traceability and trust within their food and energy sources. Those in the Midwest can take for granted that consumers understand the how and why of agriculture, just as it might be assumed they understand energy production. The FEW made it clear that education is needed on a broad scale.

Energy companies, feedstock manufacturers, livestock producers and row crop farmers must come together if they are to continue to feed and power the world, speakers said.