Leaders of the Chariton Valley Biomass Project, which is developing technologies for harvesting and processing switchgrass for energy.In an Agriculture Online story yesterday, Business Editor Dan Looker reported that Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is making the case for switching some federal farm program funds to support production of crops for cellulosic ethanol. Harkin is looking at a plan that would give direct payments to farmers for crops like switchgrass, a native tallgrass prairie species that has been planted on a lot of Conservation Reserve Program acres.
We planted switchgrass on our Nebraska farm some 20 years ago, and aside from some encroachment by cedar trees, maintaining the stand has mainly meant letting nature take its course. Still I've wondered what will happen to the stand when our CRP contract comes to an end. Would I really want to return those highly erodible acres to row crops? Wouldn't it be logical to find a commercial use for the grasses, which are perfectly suited to the soils and climate of Buffalo County, Nebraska.
Harkin's proposal notwithstanding, cellulosic ethanol has at least one big hurdle to clear--the farm-level technology for harvesting, storing and and handling bulky plant materials like switchgrass.
It's encouraging, though, that there is work already underway to make the dream of cellulosic biofuels practical at the grassroots.
Check out this slideshow by Successful Farming Managing Editor, Gene Johnston:
A look at the future of growing biofuel crops
Take a look at that equipment. Switching to switchgrass is more than a policy maker's pipe dream.
4 comments:
I have been producing Switchgrass for 40 plus years. Its an amazing crop for biomass production. I am involved in a startup company here in Kansas that will take biomass like switchgrass, cane hay, and other organic materials and process them into a powdered fuel that replaces natural gas. Unfortunately there is no Govt. money for this yet, we are doing it on our own privately. But it is a way to provide another revenue stream to farmers.
Dan: Thanks for the update on your work in Kansas. I'd like to learn more about your operation. Seems like it would be a good story for Successful Farming and Agriculture Online. -- John
I think the US will have to compete effectively with Brazil on cellulosic ethanol as well as sugarcane ethanol. The article on Biopact renewed my excitement over cellulosic ethanol, and so I analyzed the business side of this development and how "Brazil’s Biofuel Empire is About to Grow in a Big Way".
I would love to hear from the enzyme guys on this one.
I comment regularly on the business/investor side of alternative energy on Energy Spin: Alternative Energy Blog for Investors-Served Daily
Cheers,
Francesco DeParis
Francesco: Thanks for passing along these comments. We'll check out your blog as a source for future magazine/web site coverage of the industry. I'm still wondering how much thought has been to the farm-level technology needed to advance cellulosic ethanol.
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