The rising costs of diesel fuel prices have the manager of a St. Joseph trucking company wishing for greener days.

But the Missouri Legislature for two years has sent him and other biodiesel supporters a message: Don’t hold your breath.

The Senate voted up a 5 percent biodiesel fuel standard at all Missouri gas stations, but the issue never made it out of committee in the House or onto the floor for final debate this year — similar to a 2007 scenario.

A 10 percent ethanol standard on regular unleaded gasoline went into effect in January.

Local biodiesel producers say they’ll manage just fine without a standard, while a group that represents Missouri soybean farmers vows to push the effort in 2009.

In the meantime, drivers for KARS Transport will continue to fill their tanks with regular diesel, as Missouri gas stations rarely offer biodiesel blends, manager Aaron Shuster said.

Diesel ran about $4.62 a gallon in St. Joseph Tuesday, according to AAA. Area stations sold the fuel for as much as $4.71. A month ago, diesel fuel cost $4.07 a gallon, AAA reported. It cost $2.74 per gallon one year ago.

“We had to hit up our customers for help,” Mr. Shuster said.

He charged customers an extra 10 cents a mile to offset fuel costs in 2005. Now he charges 70 cents a mile to cover recent diesel hikes.

He looked to soy-based alternatives such as biodiesel as a possible remedy to increasing fossil fuel prices.

“The reality is the biodiesel blends cost more than regular fossil fuels,” said Byron Fink, an Oregon, Mo., farmer who serves as a board member of Terra Bioenergy.

The company is building a biodiesel plant on the Stockyards Expressway. It should be completed by December.

Two biodiesel plants already operate in St. Joseph.

“There’s a role to be played in a mandate, though,” Mr. Fink said. “And that is to force major blenders to at least make gas stations have access to biodiesel. The only reason you want a mandate like that is to open the door.”

When biodiesel prices were cheaper than regular diesel several years ago, few gas stations in Missouri could offer the less expensive fuel to customers, Adam Buckallew of the Missouri Soybean Association said.

This year’s proposal included a price trigger Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, added to the legislation, which would’ve required the 5 percent blend only when regular fuel cost more than biodiesel.

“We feel the standard is important because it will increase the availability of the fuel,” Mr. Buckallew said. “... We don’t want to make anything more expensive for consumers.”

He said he believes this year’s failure came from publicity surrounding ethanol’s possible link to soaring animal feed prices.

The animal feed prices have forced the Terra Bioenergy operation to bypass soy as a fuel base. Instead, the 30 million-gallon-capacity plant will use animal fat, he said.

Opponents of biodiesel also criticize the fuel for its instability at low temperatures.

With all of the international desire for ecofriendly fuel, Mr. Fink said the standard’s failure in the Legislature should pose no threat to the new business.

“The production is in such demand despite the negatives,” he said. “We’re going to be able to move everything we make. We might not move it in Missouri like we would’ve with a standard, but it’ll move.”

A representative from St. Joseph’s Ag Processing biodiesel plant, which since 2007 has produced biodiesel exclusively from the soybean oil produced at AGP’s crush facility next door, echoed the sentiments.

“We were in business long before legislation was proposed,” John Campbell, the company’s senior vice-president in Omaha, Neb., said. “It would’ve been nice.”

The soybean association will pursue the standard next year.

Alyson E. Raletz can be reached

at alysonraletz@npgco.com.