RFA Says Carbon-Negative Ethanol Achievable Within Decades

Jan 25, 2022

By Kellan Heavican

Geoff Cooper says one plan to help create zero-carbon ethanol would be to “connect ethanol facilities together via pipeline – to take that CO2 from fermentation and sequester it underground,” he says. “That would have a significant impact on the carbon intensity of corn ethanol.”

He says farmers are already using climate-smart practices. “They can drive down the carbon intensity of the feed stock to the point where we’re getting low carbon or zero carbon corn coming into the front gate of the ethanol plant.”

And, he says there are opportunities to replace natural gas with biogas at refineries. “In many cases, we have some plants doing it today. They’re using renewable electricity to meet their electricity needs at the biorefinery in leu of fossil-generated electricity.”

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.