New Energy Blue launches farmer-owned biomass business

Dec 05, 2023

New Energy Blue, a clean-tech creator of biomass refineries that turn crop residues such as corn stalks into low-carbon fuels and chemicals, has announced the formation of New Energy Farmers LLC, which will be headquartered in Mason City, Iowa in the US.

New Energy Farmers is a biomass aggregation company jointly owned by Iowa farmers and New Energy Blue.Its purpose is to supply clean, sustainable feedstock to the New Energy Freedom Biomass Refinery, also in Mason City, and support the build-out of other New Energy Blue biomass refineries throughout Iowa and the American Midwest.

New Energy Blue has just completed the engineering of New Energy Freedom, scheduled to break ground in early 2024 and begin operation in late 2025.
Because top-quality biomass is critical to efficient refinery operation and delivery of climate-healing products, over the past decade the New Energy Aggregation System was developed to assure a continuous supply of clean, dry stover in tight, compact bales, according to New Energy Blue.

During the Iowa corn harvest this past autumn, the New Energy Aggregation System was again tested by chopping, baling and stacking excess stalks across extensive acreage.

Click here to see more...

Video: Not only is corn getting sweatier, it's getting smarter

Over the past several weeks, much of the U.S. Midwest has experienced prolonged episodes of extreme heat, a trend also observed in other major corn-producing regions of North America such as eastern South Dakota, southern Ontario, and parts of Kansas and Missouri. These high-temperature events can place significant physiological stress on maize (Zea mays L.), which is cultivated on approximately 90 million acres across the United States, with leading production in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Like all maize, Bayer’s PRECEON™ Smart Corn System is subject to transpiration-driven water loss under high heat. However, this system incorporates agronomic traits designed to improve standability through enhanced stalk strength, thereby reducing lodging risk during stress conditions. Furthermore, the system supports precision agriculture practices by enabling more targeted fertilizer and crop protection applications. This approach not only helps to optimize input efficiency but also contributes to maintaining or increasing yield potential under variable environmental stresses such as heat waves, which are becoming more frequent in corn belt and fringe production regions.