Soybean grower hopes to increase use in fuels

With the nine-eleven anniversary behind us, one of Iowa’s top soybean growers says the nation needs to dedicate itself to using more homegrown, natural fuels to improve our global independence. Charlie Pike is the Iowa Soybean Association’s representative to the National Biodiesel Board.He says if the U-S used renewable fuel for four-percent of its energy needs, it would displace two-point-nine BILLION barrels of crude oil over 14 years while creating up to 300-thousand new jobs in all sectors of the economy. Pike says if the U-S truly wants to reduce its reliance on foreign oil, we need to seriously pursue alternatives like biodiesel, a clean-burning fuel made from soybeans and other vegetable oils or animal fats.Pike farms in western Iowa’s Monona County near the town of Whiting. He says several Iowa-based companies; trucking firms and a state agency have vowed to use biodiesel.Pike says studies show biodiesel exhaust has up to 90-percent fewer cancer-causing compounds than petroleum diesel exhaust.