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New Study: Ethanol Saves U.S. Drivers Over $50 Billion Each Year

With a Middle East crisis once again roiling global oil markets, a new report shows that American-made ethanol keeps gasoline prices down saving drivers well over $50 billion each year, or 39 cents per gallon.

In the report, George Hoekstra of Hoekstra Trading LLC, an expert in petroleum refinery process research and technology management, analyzed the economics of substituting ethanol for refinery-derived gasoline, considering the effects on both octane value and energy content. Ethanol is a high-octane, low-cost component of the fuel supply. The report estimates the cost of refinery-derived octane to be 4.5 times higher than that of ethanol-derived octane.

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Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?