Senator introduces bill proposing 5 percent biodiesel standard in fuel sold in Missouri

Nevada Daily Mail

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Good news for a local biodiesel facility could be in the works in the Missouri legislature. Prairie Pride, Inc., a soybean processing and biodiesel facility in the works in the Eve area could reap benefits if the move is successful.

On Tuesday, the Missouri State Senate took the first step toward making Missouri the national leader in biodiesel consumption by hearing Senate Bill 204 in the Senate Agriculture Committee.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator Bill Stouffer (R-District 21), would require that all diesel fuel sold in the State of Missouri on or after Jan. 1, 2009, contain a minimum of five percent biodiesel. The standard would be waived in the event that the price of biodiesel exceeds the price of petroleum-based diesel fuel.

"We want to thank Senator Stouffer for sponsoring the B-5 standard," said Warren Stemme, Missouri Soybean Association president. "He has been a visionary supporter of agriculture and we could not be more pleased that he has taken the lead on this issue."

"We appreciate the Senate Agriculture Committee's support of this B-5 standard," said Dale R. Ludwig, Missouri Soybean Associa-tion executive director and CEO.

"This will revitalize our rural economy more than perhaps anything else we could do. I am excited to see our farm fields being turned into the oil fields of the 21st Century."

Promoters of the renewable resource, biodiesel, say a clean-burning renewable fuel typically made from soybeans, can be used in any diesel engine. It offers enhanced lubricity for longer engine wear as well as numerous environmental and human health benefits.

According to a press release from the Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri is currently home to three farmer-owned biodiesel production facilities, with several more on the way before the end of the year, including Prairie Pride.