Back in the late 1980s, Dan attended his first Iowa Soybean Association meeting, and he's been on the board for more than seven years and served as president in 2003. Through his work with the Iowa Soybean Association he has also been involved in the National Biodiesel Board.

On his own farm, Dan has used biodiesel in his CR970 combine, a TR™98 combine, and his New Holland 9682 4WD, 8970, 8870 and 8770 tractors. He first started using biodiesel in his two semi trucks with 855 Cummins engines after a seal wore out on the fuel pump of one of the rigs. "With the added lubricity of biodiesel, I might have avoided that," he says.

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Runs slick

Nebraska farmer and biodiesel supporter Greg Anderson encourages farmers to ask their fuel suppliers to offer biodiesel.

Speaking of lubricity, it's one of biodiesel's greatest assets. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, using B2 will increase fuel lubricity by up to 66%. Coincidentally, the Environmental Protection Agency has recently mandated that all sulfur be eliminated from fuel. "The drawback is it's a lubricating agent that makes it easy on the injectors to prevent wear and tear. This makes it critical to find an agent to replace it, and that's where biodiesel comes in. Even at 2%, biodiesel virtually solves the lubricity problem," says Greg Anderson, a farmer from Newman Grove, Nebraska.

The Anderson farm spans five generations, and Greg currently farms with his dad, Layton. They raise several hundred acres of soybeans and some alfalfa for their cow/calf operation. They run some older New Holland equipment including a New Holland TR86 combine, 8260 tractor for planting and a New Holland 8630 tractor, and they use biodiesel on their farm.

The Andersons decided to do continuous soybeans in the early 1990s. "It has worked well for us, but it's not for everyone," says Greg. "It fits our region of the country really well."

Nebraska is fairly dry, so there is no real white mold or stem rot problems with planting soybeans year after year like there are in wetter regions. Other pluses are no drying costs, less volume to handle and store than corn, and fewer equipment and fertilizer costs. Greg says in the past 10 years, soybean production in Nebraska has almost doubled to 5 million acres.

Because of his commitment to soybeans, Greg has been very involved in the Nebraska Soybean Board and in biodiesel promotion. In fact, he is currently the vice-chairman of the United Soybean Board. "Biodiesel is a real success story that started at the grassroots," he says. "In 1999 all consumers, but mostly ag, used 1/2 million gallons of biodiesel. Just last year we used 25 million gallons. It's a market that's taking off faster than we ever imagined. The industry is seeing that we can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

Iowa farmer Dan Beenken supports and promotes the biodiesel industry by using the fuel for his farm equipment.

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Get pumping

Even though biodiesel burns cleaner, is better for the environment, and lets farmers use their own product, it still takes a lot of work and effort to get people to start using it. One problem is price. At a 2% blend, it costs 2 to 3 cents more per gallon. Many city transit systems and government vehicles use it at a 20% blend, which is much better, but also more expensive. The biggest problem though has been availability.

"That's one of the real issues that boards are pushing and struggling with," says Dan Beenken. "Suppliers aren't offering it until they know they can sell it, and farmers aren't buying it because it's not offered. We need to develop the infrastructure to have biodiesel available right at the pipeline terminals."

There are ways to get things moving, though. "We're taking a creative approach," says Greg Anderson. "We've told farmers to ask for it. When fuel suppliers hear from 20 or 30 people they start supplying it. It shows that farmers still have a voice if they make enough noise."

For more information on biodiesel, go to www.biodiesel.org