Loud and clear: Farmer spells out support for biofuel

National Sorghum Producers shared a high-altitude view of a policy priority with an aerial photo of a farm plot emblazoned with #SupportEthanol spelt out in giant letters of sorghum.
Rocky Ormiston, a farmer from Kismet, in Kansas, US, planted the message using the latest in precision agricultural tools and a mix of red and white/yellow sorghum varieties.
“Innovative tools not only help US sorghum growers lead the way on sustainable agriculture, they can offer a unique platform to share our support for low-carbon biofuels,” said NSP CEO Tim Lust. “One-third of the US sorghum crop is used to produce fuel ethanol, which protects our climate and lifts up rural communities struggling in the wake of COVID-19.
“Unfortunately, secretive exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard have threatened those markets, so farmers are using every tool available to remind President Trump why we need him to put a stop to biofuel demand destruction by the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Ormiston planted the design using customised equipment on a DB80 John Deere planter, which drops seeds in a pre-set pattern guided by satellite, aerial and drone imagery.
“We are investors in our local ethanol plant because it plays a large role in the continued success of our community and the corn and milo industries, both economic drivers for rural south-west Kansas,” Ormiston said. “I chose the #SupportEthanol design for one of my sorghum fields because ethanol is made from crops produced by American farmers and is a renewable resource that can be used by all, and we need to support that.”
Like much of the sorghum grown across Kansas, portions of the harvest are likely destined for one of 12Kansas ethanol plants, seven utilizing sorghum, which produce half a billion gallons a year.
“This is one message that would be hard to miss for lawmakers flying to and from Washington DC,” said NSP and Growth Energy board member Tom Willis, CEO and president of Conestoga Energy Holdings, which operates the nearby Arkalon Ethanol plant in Liberal, Kansas.