Biodiesel, a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement, has been named the official fuel of the inaugural
Delmarva Tractor Pullers Association’s Super Pull. The event will take place on March 8 and 9 at the Harrington Fair Grounds in Harrington, Del.
“The
Delaware Soybean Board
is proud to partner with the Delmarva Tractor Pullers Association by
providing biodiesel fuel for featured farm equipment and vehicles during
the event,” said Travis Hastings, chairman of the Delaware Soybean
Board. “This is the perfect venue to show that biodiesel is a powerful
product with absolutely no compromise in performance.”
Biodiesel is a diesel replacement made from soybean oil and other
types of fats and oils, such as recycled cooking oil. Biodiesel is safer
for attendees to breathe as it dramatically reduces nearly every toxic
air pollutant compared with traditional diesel. Plus, it poses the
perfect opportunity for farmers to create demand for the crops they
grow.
With five divisions and 39 classes, attendees will experience an
array of equipment coming from across the United States and Canada.
Beginning on Saturday at 8 a.m., the antique tractor pull will include
as many as 600 hooks including various king of the hill classes. The pro
farms, hot farms, V8 classic modified, and 4x4 truck classes will
commence on Sunday at 10 a.m.
“A majority of the pullers are farmers. So by fueling their equipment
on biodiesel, they’re using a product they possibly made,” said Jay
Baxter, soybean farmer, charter member of the Delmarva Tractor Pullers
Association and vice chairman of the Delaware Soybean Board.
“Biodiesel is a fuel that is made sustainable through farmers’ efforts
to grow soybeans. It’s fitting that it’s the official alternative fuel
of the Super Pull.”
Baxter and other soybean farmers pay a small assessment called a
“checkoff” when they sell their soybeans. The checkoff, administered in
Delaware by the Delaware Soybean Board and nationally by the United
Soybean Board, is sponsoring the use of biodiesel at the Delmarva
Tractor Pullers Association’s Super Pull. The soybean checkoff helped
develop biodiesel and supports marketing of biodiesel as a way to
increase demand for soy.
Biodiesel is the first and only commercial-scale fuel produced
nationwide to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
definition as an advanced biofuel under the agency’s Renewable Fuel
Standard, which is spurring development of sustainable alternatives to
imported oil. More than a
billion gallons of biodiesel were produced and
sold in the United States last year.
The EPA has determined that biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas
emissions by up to 86 percent compared with petroleum diesel, depending
on the feedstock used. Biodiesel also has the highest energy balance of
any domestic liquid fuel, yielding five and a half units of energy for
every unit of fossil energy it takes to produce it. The EPA also says
biodiesel dramatically reduces nearly every toxic air pollutant compared
with traditional diesel.
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