Farm Energy Breaking News

Sweet sorghum may pose a solution to the food versus biofuel dilemma, according to a Reuters news story on Planet Ark. The plant's tall stalk can be turned into ethanol, while the grain at the top can be harvested for food or livestock feed. Sweet sorghum grows well in dry areas, and could produce as much as eight units of fuel for every unit used to grow it, say experts at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture has developed a Web page devoted to energy and agriculture. The site provides an overview of some of the types of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, state and federal incentive programs, and technical services available to Oregon's agricultural producers. The site links to sources of information and success stories for agricultural uses of biofuels, solar, wind, small hydropower, and geothermal energy.

Purdue Extension farm business management specialist Allen Miller is recommending 10 strategies to maximize efficiency and reduce fuels costs. Miller comments, "At Purdue, we've estimated it will cost farmers $10 more this year to produce an acre of corn just due to fuel for machinery operation. To plant an acre of soybeans, it will cost farmers $4 more per acre than last year, and for wheat, $6 more per acre." Nonetheless, Miller noted that machinery fuel is a relatively small part of the total cost of producing corn and soybeans compared to the rest of the operation, at approximately 7 percent.

Increasing production of crops for biofuels is exacerbating agriculture's impact on biodiversity in many parts of the world, finds a new report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. The report, "Biofuel and Global Biodiversity," is by Dr. Dennis Keeney and Claudia Nanninga and is available online. The paper includes case studies of three regions that have been growing much of the feedstock for biofuels around the world: the U.S., Brazil and Malaysia/Indonesia. The report found that in the U.S., increased corn planting is reducing the diversity of crop rotations and threatening wetlands and acreage set aside for conservation.

The Biofuels Center of North Carolina will hold its grand opening May 9 in Oxford, North Carolina. The Biofuels Center of North Carolina was funded by a $5 million appropriation from the 2007 General Assembly to implement North Carolina’s Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership. The grand opening event will include walking tours and exhibits. In April, the Biofuels Center approved $2.55 million in biofuels grants and loans for projects in the state.

Puget Sound Energy announced the company has reached a memorandum of understanding with Farm Power Northwest, LLC, of Skagit County to develop a dairy digester facility to produce electric power from manure. The agreement is a first step toward generation of up to 1.5 megawatts of electric power—enough to meet the needs of 1,000 households. Farm Power has manure commitments from four dairy farmers west of Mount Vernon and is permitting a site located near them. By-products will include sanitary bedding for use with dairy cattle and a liquid fertilizer product with more plant-available nitrogen than unprocessed manure.

Dairy farmers in Allegany, Carroll, Frederick and Washington counties of Maryland are eligible for a program that brings an energy auditor to their farm for just $250, says the Frederick News-Post. Even that amount is refundable if the farmer implements recommendations from the audit report. The audits are conducted by EnSave, a Vermont company that performs audits across the United States. Audits evaluate a farm's lighting, milking equipment, water heater, and fans, and can reveal low-cost or no-cost ways to improve energy efficiency. More costly improvements may be supported by state or federal funding.

Debate is raging over the role that increasing ethanol production is playing in rising food prices. According to coverage on CNN Money, some food producers say renewable fuels standards that mandate corn ethanol production are driving food prices too high. Some members of Congress are asking the EPA to exempt states from renewable fuels standards if they can be shown to cause an unreasonable economic burden. Texas Governor Rick Perry is already asking for such an exemption, says KVUE.com. Meanwhile, supporters of the standards say state exemptions from them would do little to curb escalating food prices.

This year the conjunction of Earth Day and growing interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through purchase of locally grown foods led to the unveiling of several new websites designed to help consumers reduce food miles. These include The Eat Well Guide's new blog called The Green Fork, a site from the Small Planet Institute called "Take a Bite out of Climate Change," and a "Find Local Food" feature on the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's redesigned website.

Farm Foundation is making available online an Executive Summary of a January 2008 workshop that explored ways to measure and evaluate the lifecycle carbon emissions of the growing biofuels industry. In addition, an audio file of the April 8, 2008, Farm Foundation Forum on the lifecycle carbon footprint of biofuels is available online.

A project to research sustainable production of bioenergy crops has received funding from North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, reports the Sioux City Journal. "Bioenergy and Diversity from Sustainable Systems and Crops" involves Dordt College's Agriculture Department, Practical Farmers of Iowa and Marshalltown Community College. Researchers will plant field comparisons of continuous-corn and a three-year "gateway to sustainability" rotation of corn, soybeans and winter/spring small grain/forage with legume underseeding. According to the story, "the project intends to demonstrate a basic, practical cropping system that uses a fraction of the energy inputs [of] continuous corn and provides a net energy output that can be essentially the same while also supporting a diversity of farm enterprises in a sustainable way."

An effort by Iowa NRCS and crop consultants to develop an energy audit spreadsheet has revealed corn drying and nitrogen fertilizer as major energy users on the farm, according to Agri News. More significant savings in energy were possible by reducing the amount of corn drying needed than by switching to no-till, the spreadsheet revealed. The spreadsheet also highlighted the energy savings possible by using livestock manure for fertilizer instead of anhydrous ammonia.

Farm energy audits performed by the Iowa Soybean Association's Certified Environmental Management Systems for Agriculture program were performed on 51 farms last year, reports Agri News, to compare energy costs of different systems of corn and soybean production. All energy use was converted to a gallon standard for comparison. The study revealed remarkable variation in energy use: while the lowest energy user consumed just 5.29 gallons of diesel fuel equivalent per acre of corn produced, the highest used 64.81 gallons. For soybean production the use ranged from 1.6 gallons of diesel fuel equivalent per acre to 7.11 gallons. Because individual farm situations vary, the program isn't drawing general conclusions from the results, but did note the impact that nitrogen efficiency can have on overall energy use.

With fuel costs for farmers at record highs, the University of Kentucky is offering recommendations to growers on saving fuel, in a Southeast Farm Press article. Probably the most effective means of saving fuel is reducing field work, either through shifting to no-till farming or combining operations in a single pass through the field. The article also offers suggestions on matching tractor and implement sizes, and operating tractors for maximum efficiency.

An Agricultural Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Workshop recently held in Wagner, South Dakota, drew 70 participants, and five other workshops are scheduled across the state in April and May, says South Dakota Ag Connection. Energy Estimator tools, devices, web sites and energy audits are featured in the workshops spearheaded by the State Agriculture Energy Committee and tailored to local needs by local RC&D sponsors. The Wagner workshop topics included small wind opportunities, geothermal heating and cooling, bio-gas energy production, solar energy production, managing high fertilizer costs, grazing management and adopting energy-saving measures in a cow/calf operation.

Missouri Ruralist notes that with commercial fertilizer costs rising, farmers may opt for natural options such as poultry litter and manure. A University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist points out that there are considerations involved with making the switch. Nutrients aren't as readily available, and timing is important. Experts advise testing fields to know just what nutrients are needed, and testing fertilizer sources to make sure the nutrients provided are appropriate.

Biodiesel Magazine reported recently on developments in efforts to make biocrude from algae. The New Zealand company Aquaflow has announced that it can harvest wild algae from sources such as oxidation ponds, and use it to make biofuels. The process not only harvests algae, but cleans water, meaning that it could have application in food processing, feedlot and dairy operations, if biorefineries could be built nearby. Meanwhile the U.S. company PetroSun is turning an old shrimp farm in Texas into an algae farm, cultivating algae that shrimp farmers had to control.

Farmers facing high fuel prices are saving money by changing tillage practices and adopting new technologies, according to a story in Siskiyou Daily News. Fresno County farmer Jim Couto has developed an implement that lets him till and plant his cotton, alfalfa, and corn in one pass. He and other farmers are also implementing strip tillage and conservation tillage practices that reduce the number of passes their equipment makes through the field. Farmers are also using cover crops to improve yields and conserve moisture. New and more efficient irrigation practices are are also saving energy. Some farmers are looking to solar power for irrigation, and hydrogen generators for tractors, as other ways to save on fuel costs in the long run.

Twenty Kentucky farmers are establishing 5-acre plots of switchgrass with help from University of Kentucky College of Agriculture forage specialists, says Kentucky Ag Connection. The effort is part of a four-year study to determine whether switchgrass can be sustainably and economically grown and marketed. UK researchers will examine switchgrass' ethanol and pelleting potential. Seven of the farmers established plots last year, despite drought conditions in the area. The other participants will be establishing their plots in 2008.

U.S. EPA Region 7 has compiled a publication titled Environmental Laws Applicable to Construction and Operation of Ethanol Plants. The 104-page publication is available online in PDF (3.2 M). This compliance assistance manual serves as a road map of information on federal environmental programs and federal and state agency roles. It is designed to help both ethanol facility operators and the public understand ethanol facility obligations under environmental laws.

A new Greenhouse Energy Cost Reduction Strategies website developed by horticulture researchers at Michigan State University is designed to help improve the profitability and sustainability of the state’s greenhouse industry. The site includes a compilation of studies on how to reduce energy costs conducted by researchers from MSU and other universities. Though the site is targeted at Michigan growers, the information is applicable to many other regions of the northern United States with similar climate patterns. Visitors to the website can locate timely information on a variety of topics, such as greenhouse lighting, temperature and scheduling, energy-saving technologies, alternative fuels, and energy grant and loan programs.

A study released by the Steel Tank Institute reports that low carbon steel typically used for underground storage tanks has excellent corrosion resistance to biodiesel and biodiesel blends, according to a USAgNet story. The study results confirm years of field experience, according to study sponsors. Fiberglass tank industry representatives at the National Tanks Conference and Expo, where the study was presented, also endorsed the use of biodiesel in their tanks.

No-Till Farmer has posted the first in a series of informational online video presentations from the National No-Tillage Conference held in January, reports USAgNet. "This new video feature will enhance the value of our Web site to both our loyal readers and visitors seeking the latest no-till information," says Frank Lessiter, editor of No-Till Farmer.

The National Biodiesel Board announced the members of its inaugural Sustainability Task Force on March 13. Under the leadership of Emily Bockian Landsburg of Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel, the Sustainability Task Force will work to ensure that the U.S. biodiesel industry continues to protect the environment, while producing jobs and reducing dependence on foreign oil. The 9-member volunteer task force will be charged with overseeing the development and implementation of a comprehensive sustainability roadmap for the U.S. biodiesel industry.

In celebration of Ohio Agriculture Day, March 20, Ohio Agriculture Director Robert Boggs will be visiting the Ralph Dull Family Homestead near Dayton and talking with local farmers and community leaders, reports Ohio Ag Connection. The Dull Family operation enjoys renown for being progressive. The Dull Homestead uses six wind turbines to power a portion of its property and to provide energy to surrounding Dayton citizens. The family also achieves efficiency in its seed corn production by burning waste product instead of using propane to dry new corn.

The on-farm cost of producing switchgrass for cellulosic ethanol averages about $60 per ton, according to a new study by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural economist and others. The study, which contracted 10 farmers in Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota to grow switchgrass commercially for five years, gives a real-life look to farmers interested in growing and contracting switchgrass. The joint USDA-Agricultural Research Service and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources study will be published in the March issue of BioEnergy Research.