Illinois Soybean Assn. encourages biodiesel use to fuel ag producers’ bottom line

Photo: United Soybean Board

Elliott Uphoff, the Illinois Soybean Association’s District 10 director and board secretary, is in the thick of the harvest season and is proving that biodiesel can fuel farmers’ bottom lines all year long. Uphoff fuels up with B20, a blend of 20 percent biodiesel, in his semi-trucks and B11 in his farming equipment to get through the early morning and late harvest nights. He has used B11 in his trucks for nearly four years and year-round for two. In the past year he made the switch to B20 and has continued to have consistent fuel mileage with no issues. “Biodiesel and the farming operation go hand in hand,” Uphoff said. “It’s something we help produce and that we need to fuel our operation. I never think twice about using biodiesel. It’s safe and proven on our farm. Farmers should be champions of a product they help produce.” In a recent rebranding effort, ISA created a truck wrap for Uphoff’s grain truck to promote the use of biodiesel to farmers across the state. Farmers in central Illinois have likely seen Uphoff’s truck on the road as it’s played an active role this harvest delivering soybeans from the field to the elevator. “The quality of biodiesel is very important, and I’ve had a good conversation with my supplier,” Uphoff said. “My B20 supplier sources all of its oil directly from soybeans, which makes me feel even better about using it.” ISA is working to educate farmers and overcome preconceived notions about biodiesel including quality and equipment-integration challenges. B20 and lower biodiesel blends can be used in any diesel vehicle without any modifications. For more information on biodiesel, check out ISA’s new farmer-facing biodiesel resources available at ilsoy.org/farmer-resources-biodiesel.

The ISA checkoff and membership programs represent more than 43,000 soybean farmers in Illinois. The checkoff funds market development and utilization efforts while the membership program supports the government relations interests of Illinois soybean farmers at the local, state, and national level through the Illinois Soybean Growers.