URBANDALE, Iowa - Bosselman Travel Center in Altoona, Iowa, is a truck-stop hot spot in the Des Moines metro area. Road-weary truckers can stop by for a cold soda, sweet snacks and a stretch break. And now they can stop by for a soy biodiesel fill up.

That’s because Bosselman began offering the B2 soy biodiesel blend (2 percent soy biodiesel, 98 percent No. 2 diesel) in July. Not only that, but the Polk County Farm Bureau is helping truckers and drivers get acquainted with the environmentally friendly fuel by providing a reduced price of soy biodiesel at Soy Biodiesel Appreciation Day. Normally, a B2 blend is cost-competitive with No. 2 diesel. But with support from the Polk County Farm Bureau, the biodiesel will actually be 8 cents cheaper per gallon than the No. 2 diesel.

The Soy Biodiesel Appreciation Day will take place at Bosselman Travel Center on August 25 from 10 am to 2 pm. Beverages and snacks will be provided, and representatives from the Iowa Soybean Association and Polk County Farm Bureau will be on hand to answer questions. Information on soy biodiesel will also be handed out.

The Iowa Soybean Association has played a monumental role in moving biodiesel into a successful industry that’s supporting Iowa’s farmers. Soybean checkoff dollars were used to put soy biodiesel through a rigorous testing process. And the Association was heavily involved in lobbying to get a biodiesel tax incentive passed.

Ed Ulch, director and governing board member of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), and farmer near Solon, Iowa is a big supporter of biodiesel and the efforts made by Bosselman Travel Center, the Iowa Soybean Association and the Polk County Farm Bureau.

“Farmers were among the first to use soy biodiesel,” Ulch says. “Half of Iowa’s farmers are using biodiesel, and they found it works so well that many have started using levels higher than B2.

“Truckers are quickly becoming aware of the many benefits of soy biodiesel. They get the direct benefits of 65 percent added lubricity, even at the B2 level. Everyone benefits from other biodiesel attributes, which include lower harmful exhaust emissions, less dependence on foreign oil, less harmful to the environment and it is a renewable fuel.”

Soy biodiesel helps improve the farm economy, and boosts our nation’s economy, Ulch adds.

“Truckers are quick to understand these benefits,” Ulch says. “But biodiesel is not available at enough locations. We need more biodiesel offered at retail locations. Bosselman is leading the way in the Des Moines area by now offering B2 at their pumps.

|Bosselman Travel Center is located at 3231 Adventureland Drive in Altoona, Iowa; at Exit 142 off Interstate 80, just east of Des Moines. For more information about the event at Bosselman Travel Center, please contact Grant Kimberley at 800-383-1423. For more information about ISA, please visit our Web site at www.iasoybeans.com.

The Iowa Soybean Association develops policies and programs that help farmers expand profit opportunities while promoting environmentally sensitive production using the soybean checkoff and other resources. The Association is governed by an elected board of 21 volunteer farmers.