New York Farm Viability Institute Website Press Releases 

Date: April 27, 2007

Contact: Rebecca Schuelke, public relations specialist
(315) 453 3823 extension 103
(315) 427-2714

rschuelke@nyfarmviability.org

Cornell, Farm Viability Institute bio-fuel initiative explores grass as New York energy crop

As bio-fuel continues to capture the imagination of US consumers and policymakers, producers, particularly those in the Northeast states, are scrambling to determine how they can participate in growing feedstock that ``green’’ fuel companies will be demanding.

Is corn ethanol the only option? Are grasses and woody shrubs feasible alternatives? If so, which biomass is best suited to the Northeast’s weather and land conditions?

An effort launched earlier this year by Cornell University and the nonprofit research funding group New York Farm Viability Institute aims to answer these questions and others with an initiative to grow grasses for bio-fuel.

The project will work with growers throughout the state to evaluate which feedstock produces high yields economically as part of conventional field rotation and on marginal lands. Researchers said they would keep an eye directed at how these plants might be used to improve poor-soil lands or rehabilitate field and vegetable crop land.

Additionally, researchers will coordinate with ongoing conversion studies, including those at Cornell, to identify grasses best suited for growing, harvesting and converting for transport and use as fuel, including ethanol, stove pellets and others.

``The value in this project is in providing funding for another piece of the puzzle. There’s ongoing research conducted through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering,’’ said Michael P. Hoffmann, director of the Cornell University Agriculture Experiment Station. ``Some of our research has focused on techniques for converting cellulose into ethanol, including fermentation processes and identifying appropriate organisms for conversion.

``New York Farm Viability Institute’s commitment dovetails perfectly. The University and the Institute will contribute an important step forward in creating a body of research that’s needed on-farm to produce these crops all the way through conversion of plants into energy feedstock.’’

Stressing farmer interests is a priority for the Institute.

``Can producing feedstock for bio-fuel be a profitable, alternative enterprise for farmers? How can a bio-fuel feedstock fit into my rotation? Can bio-fuel feedstock be a good alternative for underutilized and/or marginal land? These are the questions the Institute hopes to study can shed some light on,’’ said John Lincoln, chair of the Farm Viability Institute board of directors.

The Farm Viability Institute has committed $300,000 for a two-year study of bio-fuel feedstock. Cornell University will hire an extension associate to work on the project.

``We anticipate this research produces recommendations to guide farmers and investors to the most promising renewable grasses,’’ said Cornell agriculture college Associate Dean Donald R. Viands. A professor of plant breeding and genetics, he is a project leader for the bio-energy initiative. ``We want to promote and establish use of these grasses around the state, so that as more and more bio-fuel plants are built, New York farmers will have the feedstock.’’

Co-project leader Cornell Cooperative Extension Associate Director Christopher B. Watkins added, ``Cooperative Extension educators are frequently being asked for guidance about what to plant and for information about the cost of production. This project will connect innovative farmers with the efforts of Cornell faculty, Extension educators and other players involved in bio-energy initiatives.’’

Cornell researchers have explored both growing feedstock for bio-fuel and converting biomass into fuel on and off for the past 20 years, including a few small research plots of grasses planted last summer in Ithaca. The Farm Viability Institute-led initiative brings more resources and greater focus to the effort.

Beginning this spring, researchers will work with producers on a two-year plan to put into the ground more than 1,000 acres of switch and reed canary grass and other feedstock in strip trials in farm fields, as well as larger, farm-scale plots to examine various plants grown in various soils.

Researchers will reach out to county Cooperative Extension educators to identify growers to participate in the project, as well as promote the potential benefits of growing grass feedstock.

Farms in the Northeast tend to be located on hills and the soil is often acidic with poor drainage, conditions that are not ideal for producing cash crops, such as corn, Viands said.

``There is a lot of marginal land around New York. Using grasses may provide farmers an opportunity to expand and diversify their business,’’ he said.

In addition to enjoying new markets for new products, bio-energy feedstock may offer a low-cost alternative for producers. For instance, studies suggest that an established perennial grass will yield quality feedstock for 10 years without re-planting. Grasses could offer other cost-cuts and environmental rewards, including low-till plowing, establishing fibrous root systems that prevent erosion and leaching of soil nutrients, and lessened requirements for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Because it can take up to two years for perennials to establish themselves, researchers are unsure there will be much biomass to harvest until the second or third year of the project.

As bio-fuel efforts are relatively new, there is little data related to how many farms or acres are already in grass bio-fuel production. Cornell scientists plan to conduct an inventory of existing grass fuel crops around the state.

Production-oriented questions from producers to the county Cooperative Extension offices, as well as consumer interest in alternative energy, suggest profitable opportunities exist for producers.

``There is a tremendous level of interest among many farmers but a great deal of uncertainty as to how to proceed. We hope this project fast-tracks getting information out there,’’ Watkins said.

Lincoln, of the Farm Viability Institute, said, ``We are committed to increasing farm profits, and we are excited to see the bio-energy effort take a greater farm-level focus. Growing grasses for bio-fuel could be an opportunity for New York producers to diversify their businesses and increase sales in the very near future.’’

New York Farm Viability Institute is an independent, farmer-led nonprofit organization that directs and funds farm-level research to increase profits, reduce costs and other barriers, create jobs and encourage practical innovation on the farm.