Farmers are bullish on biodiesel vs. ethanol, but biodiesel's five-year outlook is not as clear to them, Purdue reports

As demand for biodiesel increases, it may outpace ethanol as a renewable energy source. "Farmers are far more bullish about the chances of expansion of the renewable diesel industry than in ethanol, the dominant 'green' fuel in rural America, said a Purdue University poll on Tuesday," reports the Food & Environment Reporting Network. "The telephone survey for the monthly Ag Economy Barometer also found nine of 10 farmers expect higher soybean prices at the farm gate as more and more renewable diesel fuel reaches the market."

Farmers have differing views on what the biodiesel market will look like in five years. "Some 46% of farmers said they believed the renewable industry would be larger; a quarter said they believed the ethanol industry would be larger; 55% said they expected it would be 'about the same' size," FERN reports. "Larger production of renewable diesel would boost soybean prices, said the lion's share of producers polled by Purdue."

As an alternative fuel, "Renewable diesel is an infant industry with 2022 production of 2.6 billion gallons," FERN reports. "But the number of plants producing the fuel could double, to 32, by the end of 2025, which would raise production capacity to 6 billion gallons, said the farmdoc daily blog last week. 'The renewable diesel boom that began in earnest during 2021 looks to continue unabated over the next few years. Driven by policies in place to stimulate investment, another doubling of renewable diesel capacity by the end of 2025 appears to be feasible.'" The Ag Economy Barometer is available here.