Farm Energy Breaking News

Last year an energy audit helped 50 farmers evaluate the energy use of their crop production practices and look for potential savings, reports Progressive Farmer. The audit effort is a project of Iowa Soybean Association's Certified Environmental Management Systems for Agriculture, which plans to add 100 more audit participants and make the program available in other states, as well. The audit focuses on savings potential in fertilizer application, tillage, and drying.

Ohio State University agricultural engineers are reacquainting farmers with natural-air grain drying—a low-energy drying system that boosts grain quality by increasing test weights and potentially cuts energy costs by as much as two-thirds, compared to more commonly used high temperature drying systems. A natural-air grain drying system involves transferring wet corn (20-24 percent) directly to bin storage that includes a perforated floor and letting natural-air drying fans dry the grain to an optimum 14-16 percent moisture over a 25-30 day period. Robert Hansen, an Ohio State University agricultural engineer with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, said that natural-air grain drying is a good option for farmers looking to store corn on their farm long-term either for livestock feed or to compete in the marketplace as a shelled corn supplier to an ethanol plant. For more information on natural-air grain drying, contact Robert Hansen at (330) 263-3860 or hansen.2@osu.edu.

Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland, and Deere and Co., have announced that they will collaborate on research to help farmers utilize corn stover for biofuel and animal feed production, according to the St. Louis Business Journal. U.S. famers' corn production this year will result in about 290 million tons of stover, and the companies want to help farmers find markets for this organic matter that is usually left in the field.

USDA has announced that 639 individuals and businesses in 43 states and the Virgin Islands have been selected to receive $35 million in grants and loan guarantees for renewable energy systems or to improve energy efficiency in farm and business operations. The grants and loan guarantees are being awarded through USDA Rural Development's Section 9006 Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements program. Of the $35 million announced, $27.5 million are grants and $7.4 million are guaranteed loans. The funding will support a variety of energy-production and energy-saving efforts. A complete listing of recipients is available online.

Leaders in agribusiness, agricultural and biorenewable research and development, education and the ethanol industry throughout the Midwest announced the formal organization of the American Ag & Energy Council. The American Ag & Energy Council is a coalition formed and devoted to promoting the common link between all sectors of agriculture, agribusiness, and the renewable industry. USAgNet reports a major focus of the coalition will be to bring these various segments of the ag sector together and educate the American public on the positive narrative being created throughout rural America that blends together the strengths across the various segments of the ag sector.

The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, AgMRC, has released a new Renewable Energy section of its website. In this section, agricultural economist and AgMRC co-director Don Hofstrand considers whether U.S. crop production can meet the growing demand for biofuels while still meeting the needs of the food industry. In addition, AgMRC will offer a free monthly newsletter that serves as an electronic forum in which current issues impacting agriculture and the renewable energy industry are analyzed.

Michigan State University (MSU) Extension says that setting up and operating a tractor properly can save fuel. A Michigan Ag Connection story summarizes tips for set-up with ballast, inflating tires properly, gearing up, reducing tillage, and guiding a tractor. More information is available in the new fact sheet "Improving Tractor Performance and Fuel Efficiency," available online in PDF (106K) from MSU Extension.

USDA will hold a public meeting on Sept. 4, 2008 on how to implement renewable energy programs authorized under the recently enacted farm bill. According to Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr, "This meeting is an opportunity for business owners, citizens and agricultural producers to discuss the best ways to harness the untapped renewable energy resources in rural areas." Details on the time and location for the meeting, and registration instructions for making a presentation, are posted online.

The United States EPA has denied a request submitted by the State of Texas to reduce the nationwide Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). As a result, the required total volume of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, mandated by law to be blended into the fuel supply will remain at 9 billion gallons in 2008 and 11.1 billion gallons in 2009. Current law authorizes EPA to waive the national RFS if the agency determines that the mandated biofuel volumes would cause “severe harm” to the economy or the environment. The agency recognizes that high commodity prices are having economic impacts, but EPA’s extensive analysis of Texas’ request found no compelling evidence that the RFS mandate is causing severe economic harm during the time period specified by Texas.

The Texas Agricultural Technical Assistance Program, a new project overseen by the Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), will provide the agricultural producers of Texas with the technical assistance they need to make cost-effective, energy efficient choices. SECO will host four program information workshops throughout the state. A Stephenville session September 18-22 will focus on dairy and greenhouses. A Lubbock session August 25-29 will focus on beef feedlots and cotton irrigated field crops and dairy. The Nacogdoches session September 15-19 will focus on poultry and greenhouses. A San Antonio session on irrigation and field crops is scheduled for September 22-26.

Farmers interested in finding out whether building a windmill to generate energy or income might be feasible for their operations can apply for Michigan State University's (MSU) anemometer loan program. Ten anemometers (devices used to measure wind velocity) are available to qualified farmers from MSU in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy. MSU Extension will select the borrowers, manage the lending of the anemometers, and provide technical support for installation, operation and analysis of the wind speed data collected over the loan period. Applications for the program are due August 31.

More than 2,300 farmers and ranchers will receive checks in the mail for capturing and storing carbon dioxide in their soil through the National Farmers Union Carbon Credit Program. National Farmers Union President Tom Buis said total earnings from no-till and seeded grassland offsets generated $5,876,825 in income for 2006 and 2007 practices. To date $8 million has been earned by producers since the voluntary program began in late 2006. This pool of enrollments sequestered carbon dioxide from 2.8 million acres using no-till cropping practices and by converting cropland to long term grass stands.

The North Dakota State University Extension Service has a new publication to help crop and livestock producers make their operations more energy efficient. The free publication, "Farmstead Energy Audit," (587 KB) is meant to be a reference guide and starting point to look at ways to save money and resources on the farm and ranch. Topics covered include tractor and field operations, grain drying, indoor and outdoor lighting, irrigation, livestock watering, livestock buildings, farm shops and the home. Each section contains simple tips to reduce costs and more involved management suggestions that farmers and ranchers can try in their efforts to get more money out of their energy budget.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer addressed the Florida Farm to Fuel Summit held recently in Orlando. A transcript of his remarks at the event is posted online.

Sustainable farming practices such as crop rotation can help deliver high yields with lower input costs. But an article posted on theadvertiser.com notes that high corn prices may prove a disincentive to farmers adopting sustainable practices. Growers eager to cash in on high prices are planting more acreage in corn and not rotating their fields into other crops. Sustainable farming advocates, however, say the setback is temporary, and that as ethanol subsidies diminish and fertilizer and fuel prices rise, farmers will become more interested in learning sustainable practices.

As a follow-up to the successful Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008), the United States has announced the launch of the WIREC Conference Report. The WIREC 2008 Report is a comprehensive overview of the three-day March conference which focused on cross-cutting renewable energy policy issues: research and development; market adoption and finance; agriculture, forestry, and rural development; and involvement of sub-national authorities. In addition, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has published a preliminary impact assessment of the pledges submitted to the Washington International Action Program.

Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts has issued a call for papers for the conference set for October 15-16, in St. Louis, Missouri. This conference will be the third in a series that is a collaboration of Farm Foundation, USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, and USDA Economic Research Service. The conference program will feature presentations by industry and government experts and invited academic papers. Of specific interest are reports on research highlighting four topics of significant importance for understanding the bioeconomy: the lifecycle carbon footprint of biofuels, water quality, land use and other environmental challenges of the bioeconomy; jobs and income in rural communities; and the bioeconomy as a long-term community development strategy. Submissions are due by August 8, 2008.

Climate change will carry a price tag of billions of dollars for a number of U.S. states, says a new series of reports from the University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research. Eight studies project the long term economic impact of climate change on Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey and Ohio. The studies include assessments of the agricultural impact of climate change, and offer lessons for agriculture derived from the researchers' analysis.

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer recently announced that 27 individuals and businesses in seven states have been selected to receive $6.9 million in loans and grants for renewable energy systems or to increase energy efficiency in farm and business operations. The funds are being provided under USDA Rural Development's Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program. The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency loan and grant program was established under Section 9006 of the 2002 Farm Bill to encourage agricultural producers and rural small businesses to install renewable energy systems and energy efficient improvements. The program's funding can support a wide range of technologies encompassing biomass (including anaerobic digesters), geothermal, hydrogen, solar, and wind energy, as well as energy efficiency improvements.

The state of Texas will invest nearly five billion dollars in electricity transmission lines to carry power generated by new wind farms in West Texas and the Panhandle to metropolitan areas of the state such as Austin, Dallas and Houston, reports Environment News Service. Texas is already the leading wind energy producer in the United States. Within 5 years the new lines are expected to transmit a total of 18,456 megawatts of wind power to customers.

With rising fuel costs causing higher food prices, consumers and farmers are both modifying their practices, according to a feature in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Consumers are not only looking for bargains, but growing and preserving more of their own food, and buying locally grown foods in season. Farmers are looking at cutting processing and transportation costs for crops, among other savings measures. Some experts predict growth in organic farming that avoids costly petroleum-based inputs, and say fertile farmland might be reclaimed from development.

A recent field day at the North Central Research Extension Center was crowned by a presentation on biofuel opportunities in North Dakota, according to a report in The Minot Daily News. Agriculture economist Cole Gustafson discussed new developments in manufacture of biofuels, such as using field peas and switchgrass in ethanol production. Another presentation at the field day, by Extension energy educator Carl Pedersen, focused on actions farmers can take now to save energy and reduce costs.

Farmers involved in biodiesel production in Washington state have received federal grants to aid their efforts, reports HeraldNet. The Sno/Sky Agriculture Alliance has received a grant that will help six farmers build facilities to store oilseed crops. The crops will go to a facility that Snohomish County is developing for processing oilseed crops for conversion to fuel at another site. Meanwhile, another grant will fund a feasibility study on developing a business to coordinate planting and harvesting crops to supply the processing facility.