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| Business Briefs |
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Deere expands into China<br>
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Deere & Co. said it is expanding its global presence with a joint venture in China.<br>
The Moline-based farm equipment maker has signed an agreement to own 50 percent of Xuzhou Xuwa Excavator Machinery Co. The Chinese company is a leading manufacturer of construction equipment and is a subsidiary of Xuzhou Bohui Science and Technology Development.<br>
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. A spokesman for Deere said the action allows the company to have a foundation in a rapidly expanding marketplace.<br>
The deal still needs a review by government authorities in China.<br>
Iowa wind project moves ahead<br>
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Houston company plans to move ahead with building a $600 million wind farm in northeastern Iowa.
The Iowa Utilities Board granted a regulatory waiver last week to Horizon Wind Energy for creating its Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm in Howard and Mitchell counties. The waiver allows two of the 12 lines receiving electricity from the turbines to be over the 25-megawatt limit.<br>
The company also received a waiver of property owner notification requirements. That means the company doesn’t have to get names and addresses of nearby property owners and inform them of plans. State regulators say it’s not necessary, since wind projects don’t have the same noise and environmental issues like gas or coal-fired facilities.<br>
Construction is expected to begin this year. The wind farm will have 182 turbines near the Minnesota border.<br>
Pioneer needs more detasslers<br>
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Pioneer Hi-Bred International announced last week it needs 30 percent more land this year for seed corn production – a significant jump even as some predict that corn plantings will ebb in 2008.<br>
The Johnston, Iowa-based company said the increase will mean more demand for a mainstay of corn production: Detasslers, whose ranks are usually filled by high school and college students looking to earn summer cash. They remove pollen-producing tassels from corn plants. They typically walk through cornfields removing the tops of corn plants that machines miss.<br>
“Detassling is something very familiar to a lot of people in the Midwest, especially,” said Pat Arthur, a spokesman for Pioneer. “It’s a great opportunity for school kids to make some money.”
Pioneer employed a little fewer than 30,000 detasslers in seven states and Canada last year and expects that number to swell this year. The same is expected in Iowa, where Pioneer employed nearly 7,000 detasslers last year.<br>
Because of competition concerns, Pioneer does not release the specific number of acres it plants each year. But outside sources said the increase in land requirements indicated a heavy investment in corn this year.<br>
“If you look at the national estimates for corn acres, they’re down about six percent nationwide this year,” said Roger Elmore, an extension corn specialist at Iowa State University. “We won’t know until it gets into the ground, but this news would suggest that they’re being very aggressive in trying to maintain or gain in their market share.”<br>
Elmore said the increased need was a positive sign. He said in some households, detassling is a family tradition.
“I did it back in the ‘70s, and today ... you know, kids still have to walk those fields and make sure that they get everything,” he said. “There’s a lot of automation in corn production, but that’s something that they still haven’t gotten around.”<br>
VeraSun, Kroger expand to Texas<br>
BROOKINGS, S.D. — VeraSun Energy Corp., one of the nation’s largest ethanol producers, and The Kroger Co. announced the opening of 20 VE85 fueling locations at existing E85 Kroger convenience stores in Texas. Kroger will offer VeraSun’s branded E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, for flexible fuel vehicles at 20 different locations in and around the Dallas and Houston metro areas.<br>
VeraSun has more than 140 retail fueling stations in 13 states and the District of Columbia. VeraSun and Kroger partnered in August 2007 to open fueling locations at 20 Kroger stores primarily in Ohio, making Kroger the first national retailer to sell VE85.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger operates almost 2,500 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states. The company also has more than 750 convenience stores and 650 supermarket fuel centers.<br>
According to the Texas State Energy Conservation Office, Texas has more registered flexible fuel vehicles than any other state, estimated by the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition to be more than 500,000.<br>
VE85 was launched in May 2005 in Sioux Falls, S.D., and is now available in Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Pittsburgh, in addition to the Ohio metro areas of Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo. |
| 3/5/2008 |
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