Farmers Help Prove Biodiesel’s Sustainability For California

Mar 18, 2016

sustainability_barn

It was a beautiful summer day when soybean farmer Ron Heck climbed up to the top of his 45-foot grain bin in Iowa with a group of somewhat skeptical Californians.

They were skeptical about biodiesel – specifically about whether biodiesel is sustainable when it’s made from soybean oil.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) had spent years searching for a solution to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and biodiesel was a contender … if it could prove to be sustainable.

At first, Heck couldn’t understand where their sustainability concerns were coming from. But after having conversations with them, both in Iowa and in California, he began to see things from their point of view.

“They were experiencing a major drought, so it makes sense that they’d be concerned about how much water we’re using,” said Heck. “We need to show them that we’re sustainable.”

When Heck went to California with the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), he was able to have more discussions about sustainability.

“It turned out that they had been referencing some outdated information when determining the carbon score of biodiesel,” said Heck. “For example, while many farmers used to till their fields, the figures the Californians had been working with didn’t reflect how much our tillage has reduced over the years. That, combined with how our yields have improved, affects the carbon score dramatically.”

With funding from the soy checkoff, NBB conducted research to provide CARB with the most accurate data on biodiesel. The efforts proved to be worthwhile.

On Sept. 25, 2015, California affirmed that biodiesel reduces greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 50 percent, allowing for its use under the state’s Low Carbon Fuels Standard. It was a major win for America’s Advanced Biofuel considering California is the biggest diesel-using state in the country.

But there’s still work to be done.

“It was great to see how excited the Californians were about biodiesel,” says Heck. “But we haven’t gotten the message out to everyone.”

Heck believes that U.S. soybean farmers need to continue showing the world how sustainable they really are. He notes that giving that group of Californians a tour of his farm was a key turning point.

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