The Food versus Fuel argument...

We realize that oil seed crops have a special place in the food chain so that sale of diesel on the open market is not intended.  The business model focus is only processing enough of a crop harvest to cover a growers’ on-farm energy requirements.

For Our business it’s all about oilseeds, which funnily enough are not grown for the oil, but for the protein.  Conventional cereal grains like wheat, barley, and sorghum hold 10-14% protein versus oilseeds like Canola, Sunflower, Safflower, Soybeans, Peanuts, Flax, Mustard, Hemp, and Cotton holding 16-36%, which is increased in the meal when the oil is extracted.  Monogastrids (chickens and pigs) can handle 10% oil in their diet, and ruminants (cattle, sheep and goats) can only cope with 5%.  Any more negatively impacts gut biome and digestion efficacy.  Oilseeds hold oil concentrations of between 20% to 50%.  Livestock nutritionists have to blend oilseeds with other material in order to access the protein within.   Extracting the oil allows livestock producers to present more vegetable protein to their livestock, increasing productivity.

Farmers are price takers, not price setters.  Our farmers must be supported to maximise the economics of their operations. AgForce Grains Policy pertaining to Fuels, Energy and Renewables, specifically asks governments to assist getting growers fuel self-reliant. 

Some may argue that farmland should be dedicated to food and fibre production.  Indeed the Queensland State Government brought in legislation to stop coal mines digging up productive farming land, a commendable action; However the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), a Federal government body, are supporting solar PV projects buying up and paving productive farmland, because the electrical infrastructure (substation) is nearby.  If farmland is being used for energy production, why shouldn't a farmer be able to make energy for their own use? In effect we are helping a farmer to solar power their agricultural equipment.

Food security is dependent on fuel security. Reports from Air Vice Marshal John Blackburn AO (retired) compiled for the NRMA detail Australia's fuel security vulnerability - John Blackburn report Part 1 ; With John Blackburn report Part 2 identifying that by 2030 there will be no crude oil refining capacity at all.