The Bioeconomy Blog

Ethanol Expansion in the United States: How Will the Agricultural Sector Adjust?

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 20:45:00 +0000

Ethanol Expansion in the United States: How Will the Agricultural Sector Adjust?

By Paul Westcott | Washington, D.C.: USDA Economic Research Service, 2007.
Outlook Report No. (FDS-07D-01) 20 pp, May 2007

Introduction
Ethanol production in the United States totaled almost 5 billion gallons in 2006, about 1 billion gallons more than in 2005. While this was a significant increase, further expansion in the industry is continuing, with production expected to exceed 10 billion gallons by 2009. This large and rapid expansion of U.S. ethanol production affects virtually every aspect of the field crops sector, ranging from domestic demand and exports to prices and the allocation of acreage among crops. Many aspects of the livestock sector are affected too. As a consequence of these commodity market impacts, farm income, government payments, and food prices also change. Adjustments in the agricultural sector are already underway and will continue for many years as interest grows in renewable sources of energy to lessen dependence on foreign oil.

Full Text Available
[http://tinyurl.com/2hrfnu]

Slide Show
[http://www.ers.usda.gov/multimedia/EthanolMay2007/]

Slide Show Transcript
[http://www.ers.usda.gov/multimedia/ethanolmay2007/Ethanol.pdf]

Emerging Biofuels: Outlook of Effects on U.S. Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:30:00 +0000

Emerging Biofuels: Outlook of Effects on U.S. Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Markets

Simla Tokgoz, Amani Elobeid, Jacinto F. Fabiosa, Dermot J. Hayes, Bruce A. Babcock, Tun-Hsiang (Edward) Yu, Fengxia Dong, Chad E. Hart, John C. Beghin
| Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) | May 2007 | 07-SR 101 |

Projections of U.S. ethanol production and its impacts on planted acreage, crop prices, livestock production and prices, trade, and retail food costs are presented under the assumption that current tax credits and trade policies are maintained. The projections were made using a multi-product, multi-country deterministic partial equilibrium model. The impacts of higher oil prices, a drought combined with an ethanol mandate, and removal of land from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) relative to baseline projections are also presented.

The results indicate that expanded U.S. ethanol production will cause long-run crop prices to increase. In response to higher feed costs, livestock farmgate prices will increase enough to cover the feed cost increases. Retail meat, egg, and dairy prices will also increase. If oil prices are permanently $10-per-barrel higher than assumed in the baseline projections, U.S. ethanol will expand significantly. The magnitude of the expansion will depend on the future makeup of the U.S. automobile fleet. If sufficient demand for E-85 from flex-fuel vehicles is available, corn-based ethanol production is projected to increase to over 30 billion gallons per year with the higher oil prices. The direct effect of higher feed costs is that U.S. food prices would increase by a minimum of 1.1% over baseline levels. Results of a model of a 1988-type drought combined with a large mandate for continued ethanol production show sharply higher crop prices, a drop in livestock production, and higher food prices. Corn exports would drop significantly, and feed costs would rise. Wheat feed use would rise sharply. Taking additional land out of the CRP would lower crop prices in the short run. But because long-run corn prices are determined by ethanol prices and not by corn acreage, the long-run impacts on commodity prices and food prices of a smaller CRP are modest.

Cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass and biodiesel from soybeans do not become economically viable in the Corn Belt under any of the scenarios. This is so because high energy costs that increase the prices of biodiesel and switchgrass ethanol also increase the price of corn-based ethanol. So long as producers can choose between soybeans for biodiesel, switchgrass for ethanol, and corn for ethanol, they will choose to grow corn. Cellulosic ethanol from corn stover does not enter into any scenario because of the high cost of collecting and transporting corn stover over the large distances required to supply a commercial-sized ethanol facility.

Full Text Available
[http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/DBS/PDFFiles/07sr101.pdf]

Appendix B: Scenario Results [889 pp.]
[http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/DBS/PDFFiles/07sr101_appendix-b.pdf]

Source
[http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/synopsis.aspx?id=1050]

Ethanol and Biofuels: Agriculture,Infrastructure, and Market Constraints Related to Expanded Production

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 18:59:00 +0000

Ethanol and Biofuels: Agriculture,Infrastructure, and Market Constraints Related to Expanded Production

| Brent D. Yacobucci, Specialist in Energy Policy, Resources, Science, and Industry Division | Randy Schnepf, Specialist in Agricultural Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division | Congessional Research Service | March 16, 2007 | RL33928 |

Summary:
High petroleum and gasoline prices, concerns over global climate change, and the desire to promote domestic rural economies have greatly increased interest in biofuels as an alternative to petroleum in the U.S. transportation sector. Biofuels, most notably corn-based ethanol, have grown significantly in the past few years as a component of U.S. motor fuel supply. Ethanol, the most commonly used biofuel, is blended in nearly half of all U.S. gasoline (at the 10% level or lower in most cases). However, current biofuel supply represents less than 4% of total gasoline demand. While recent proposals have set the goal of significantly expanding biofuel supply in the coming decades, questions remain about the ability of the U.S. biofuel industry to meet rapidly increasing demand. Current U.S. biofuel supply relies almost exclusively on ethanol produced from Midwest corn. In 2006, 17% of the U.S. corn crop was used for ethanol production.

To meet some of the higher ethanol production goals would require more corn than the United States currently produces, if all of the envisioned ethanol was made from corn. Due to the concerns with significant expansion in corn-based ethanol supply, interest has grown in expanding the market for biodiesel produced from soybeans and other oil crops. However, a significant increase in U.S. biofuels would likely require a movement away from food and grain crops. Other biofuel feedstock sources, including cellulosic biomass, are promising, but technological barriers make their future uncertain. Issues facing the U.S. biofuels industry include potential agricultural "feedstock" supplies, and the associated market and environmental effects of a major shift in U.S. agricultural production; the energy supply needed to grow feedstocks and process them into fuel; and barriers to expanded infrastructure needed to deliver more and more biofuels to the market.

This report outlines some of the current supply issues facing biofuels industries, including the limitations on agricultural feedstocks, infrastructure constraints, energy supply for biofuel production, and fuel price uncertainties.

Conclusion
There is continuing interest in expanding the U.S. biofuel industry as a strategy for promoting energy security and environmental goals. However, there are limits to the amount of biofuels that can be produced and questions about the net energy and environmental benefits they would provide. Further, rapid expansion of biofuel production may have many unintended and undesirable consequences for agricultural commodity costs, fossil energy use, and environmental degradation. As policies are implemented to promote ever-increasing use of biofuels, the goal of replacing petroleum use with agricultural products must be weighed against these other potential consequences.

Contents
Introduction ..... 1
Issues with Corn-Based Ethanol Supply ..... 3
Overview of Long-Run Corn Ethanol Supply Issues ..... 3
Agricultural Issues ..... 4
Feed Markets ..... 5
Exports .... 5
Food vs. Fuel ..... 6
Energy Supply Issues ..... 6
Energy Balance ..... 6
Natural Gas Demand ..... 7
Energy Security ..... 7
Infrastructure and Distribution Issues ..... 8
Distribution Issues ..... 8
Higher-Level Ethanol Blends .... 9
Sugar Ethanol ..... 10
Biodiesel ..... 11
Cellulosic Biofuels ..... 11
Conclusion ..... 12

List of Tables
Table 1. U.S. Production of Biofuels from Various Feedstocks .... 3

Source
[http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/RL33928.pdf]

Dissertation: Cost to Deliver Lignocellulosic Biomass to a Biorefinery

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:35:00 +0000

Cost to Deliver Lignocellulosic Biomass to a Biorefinery
by Mapemba, Lawrence Daniel, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University, 2005, 275 pages | Jan 2006 | AAT 317955 |

Abstract
Scope and method of study
The purpose of this study was to determine the cost to deliver a continuous flow of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) to a biorefinery that can process 1,000, 2,000 or 4,000 tons of biomass per day.

The study also sought to determine how the method of modeling harvest and procurement cost of biomass changes the cost to deliver a steady flow of biomass to a biorefinery. Lignocellulosic biomass includes agricultural residues (e.g. corn stover and wheat straw), herbaceous crops (e.g. alfalfa, switchgrass) and improved pastures (old world bluestem, tall fescue and bermuda grass).

A mixed integer mathematical programming model was developed to determine the optimal size and location of a biorefinery, the quantity and types of biomass to be used, sources of biomass feedstock, monthly harvest and storage quantities, number of harvest machines to be used, and the cost to deliver a steady flow of biomass to a biorefinery, among other variables of interest. [snip]

Findings and conclusions.
Based on this study an LCB biorefinery business is expected to develop in concert with well coordinated biomass feedstock harvest units. [snip]. A total of 26 harvest units at an average investment of $15.34 million would be required to harvest biomass feedstock for a large plant (i.e. plant with capacity to process 4,000 dry tons of biomass per day). These harvest units would result in a per ton harvest cost of $10.72.

The biomass industry may use a variety of biomass feedstock species that mature at different periods during the year. [snip]. A variety of biomass feedstock types would result in a harvest season of nine months. This would result in a lower cost to deliver LCB to a biorefinery than a shorter harvest season. Since the plant would operate throughout the year a short harvest season would result in large storage reserves for long periods leading to high storage costs. For the assumptions used it was determined that feedstock would be hauled from an average radius of 106 miles to the biorefinery.

The ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database (PQDT)
[http://www.proquest.com/products_pq/descriptions/pqdt.shtml]

DSM Register: SOIL - Increase Corn Acres Could Worsen Erosion

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:43:00 +0000

Erosion: Drive to increase corn acres could damage soil
By PERRY BEEMAN | REGISTER STAFF WRITER | Des Moines Register | June 3, 2007

Plowing trees and native grasses on land held in conservation to plant more corn will reverse decades of work to prevent crop-related pollution, scientists say.

State researchers suggest that Iowa farmers will put 500,000 acres now in the Conservation Reserve Program back into production, as a result of the demand for corn-based ethanol and rising corn prices.
[snip]
"These are historic changes that have people worried about the environmental consequences," said Bruce Babcock, director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University. "We will have more soil erosion, more chemical runoff and less habitat. ... There is no free lunch."

[snip]

In fact, 20 pounds of soil washes away for every gallon of ethanol made, according to Duane Sand, a consultant to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit conservation and land-preservation group. His soil-loss figure is based on erosion data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Resources Inventory, and industry data on corn yields and ethanol production per bushel.

[snip]

Additionally, ethanol producers' move toward making more cellulosic ethanol from cornstalks won't necessarily benefit the environment. Cornstalks help replenish the soil and sweep heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the sky, said Spencer Tomb, a biology professor at Kansas State University.

On the other hand, the switch to cellulosic, done right, could be a boon to wildlife and to water quality, various scientists have reported. Growing switchgrass or other alternative crops to make ethanol could cut soil erosion. In addition, the year-round ground cover would reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Source
[http://tinyurl.com/2yuws5]

DSM Register: WATER USE - Biofuel Plants' Thirst Creates Water Worries

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 18:14:00 +0000

Water use: Biofuel plants' thirst creates water worries
State regulators fear some parts of Iowa won't have enough water to handle the booming biofuels industry.

PERRY BEEMAN |REGISTER STAFF WRITER | Des Moines Register | June 3, 2007

Plant operators say they have reduced the amount of water needed to produce ethanol, but the facilities still need abundant local water supplies. A single plant producing 100 million gallons of ethanol a year - a capacity quickly becoming the norm - uses as much water as a town of approximately 10,000 people, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports. That's 400 million gallons of water a year for one plant - and scientists aren't sure the state has enough water to handle the ethanol boom and other expanding industries.

The last statewide water-use inventory was a dozen years ago. Back then, biofuel plants used less than 5 percent of the state's water. The percentage is 7 percent now and could grow to 14 percent by 2012, after planned expansions and new plants come online, according to an October study by the Minnesota-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

"It frankly is one of our important natural resource issues," said state geologist Robert Libra of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. "We haven't paid attention to the water supply in a long time. We need to do so before there is a panic." The Legislature this year allocated $480,000 so the DNR can update water records that haven't had a full review since the mid-1990s.

Those studies suggested water resources were already poor in most of west-central and southern Iowa, fair in the state's northwest corner and good in the northeast.

Meanwhile, local water supplies are dictating industry growth in Iowa and other states.

In Buena Vista County near Alta, Oregon Trail Energy recently requested permission to pump up to 788 million gallons of water a year for a 120 million-gallon-a-year ethanol plant. State officials approved the request, which includes water for future expansion.

In Minnesota, plans to build a plant in Pipestone were abandoned because the area lacked the 350 million gallons of water a year that was needed to make 100 million gallons of ethanol, a report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found. Plants built in Heron Lake and Atwater moved from locations with water supply problems.

In Grand Island, Neb., an ethanol plant won approval only after its water demand was offset by cutbacks in water use in an agricultural area 15 miles away, the trade and policy institute reported.

"Ethanol won't dry up the state," Libra said of Iowa. "But it raises local questions, especially with other development." Power plants, the state's largest water users, consume far more than ethanol plants. But while power plants return water to streams and rivers, ethanol plants are a different story. They recycle some water, but export much of it in steam.[snip]

Ethanol plants use so much water that the DNR plans to study how much water the state's rivers and underground supplies can provide under various conditions. The supply changes significantly with rain and with drought.
[snip]

"Today, biofuels are a small part of the groundwater demand, but a growing one," Libra said.

[snip]

"We are lacking the scientific basis for some of our water-supply decisions," Gieselman said.

Greg Krissek, director of governmental affairs for Kansas-based ICM, an engineering firm that has worked on many Iowa plants, said the industry has become more efficient in its water use. Producing a gallon of ethanol took six gallons in 1998, compared with six to 11 gallons for gasoline. Water use dropped to three to four gallons per gallon of ethanol produced by last year, and is expected to drop below three gallons this year, Krissek said.

Production of biodiesel fuels uses even less water: An average of one to two gallons of water per gallon of fuel, he said.

Plants are looking for ways to use wastewater from municipal plants, and maybe even livestock operations, to reduce the amount needed from underground supplies. However, Krissek said limits on chloride and other salts in discarded water may make that recycling difficult.

Dennis Keeney, a senior fellow at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy who led an analysis of the issue last fall, offers another warning. "We don't know what's out there and what the water table is" in Iowa, said Keeney, who once ran the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. "This is true for all development. We need to know what's out there before we go willy-nilly into something."
[For full details concerning biofuels and water issues visit The Bioeconomy Blog posting for PowerPoint presentation(s) and a radio interview with Dennis Keeney.]
[http://tinyurl.com/2h29x4]

Source
[http://tinyurl.com/28n78z]

DSM Register: WATER QUALITY - River Pollution

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 17:55:00 +0000

Water quality: Wastewater often pollutes rivers

PERRY BEEMAN | REGISTER STAFF WRITER | Des Moines Register | June 3, 2007

Eleven biofuels plants have been cited by the state Department of Natural Resources for wastewater violations that include polluting streams based on permit limits under the federal Clean Water Act, according to the Register's analysis of state records for 34 plants in operation during six years.

Ethanol production requires purified water. When plants treat the water, their sewage discharges can include toxic salt levels and high iron levels. That kind of pollution can harm fish and cattle that drink from streams.

According to the Iowa Environmental Council, the concentrations of chloride and other suspended solids, mainly salts, coming from ethanol plants are among the highest of any industry in the state.

One plant that's had repeated water pollution problems is Siouxland Energy & Livestock Coop in Sioux Center.
[snip]
The problems included emitting 13 times as many salts and other dissolved solids as its permit allowed. Siouxland has continued to have environmental infractions. In February 2006, the plant was cited for discharging sewage with five times more iron than allowed by its permit.
[snip]

Other plants have had discharge problems.

Voyager Ethanol in Emmetsburg reported iron discharges at 30 times over the permit limit last year, a problem the plant had battled in 2005, too.
[snip]
Western Iowa Energy in Wall Lake discharged water last year with nine times the iron allowed.
[snip]

Overwhelmed in Iowa Falls
Plants have released large amounts of wastewater that is toxic to fish and plants. The waste means more chloride in the water, which harms aquatic life and livestock.

Iowa Falls' municipal sewage treatment plant found wastewater from Cargill's biodiesel plant was so high in organic matter - ammonia and oxygen-depleting compounds - that the plant couldn't treat it.

[snip]

Chemicals: From field to streams
Ethanol plants are driving Iowa farmers to plant more corn and seek higher yields. More acres of corn will mean more fertilizer applications. Biologists say the loss of grasslands and woods would mean less filtering of fertilizer runoff as it heads to water supplies. Those factors lead to more nitrates in waterways. Nitrates are a colorless, odorless compound that forms when fertilizers break down. Nitrates also come from animal manure.

In untreated water, nitrates have been associated with "blue-baby syndrome" - in which a baby's blood is stripped of its ability to carry oxygen - and a variety of cancers. A survey last year by the University of Iowa found 10 percent of rural water wells had nitrates at levels above the drinking water standard, but the contamination comes from a variety of sources.

[snip]

Source
[http://tinyurl.com/ysd5ul]

DSM Register: AIR - Bioethanol Plants Emit High Level of Toxins

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 17:32:00 +0000

Air: Plants emit higher levels of toxics than expected
Facilities have run key tests at less-than-full capacity and exceeded limits for harmful emissions.
By PERRY BEEMAN | REGISTER STAFF WRITER | Des Moines Register | June 3, 2007 |

Six plants in Iowa have released more lung-harming particles than their permits allow.
[snip]

Air pollution from the plants can irritate lungs and contribute to smog that threatens people's health. Some chemicals released by ethanol plants are classified as cancer-causing compounds. The Register analyzed 34 plants operating over six years.

The infractions are perhaps the most surprising in biofuels plants' environmental performance, said Wayne Gieselman, Iowa's environmental-protection chief. That's because as the industry grew in Iowa, no one expected the levels of cancer-causing chemicals emitted by both combustion and the production processes at the plants.

Peter Weyer of the University of Iowa Center for the Health Effects of Environmental Contamination said that the air risks are typically an acute, short-term issue. Often, the emissions would affect only those who are particularly sensitive, like those with asthma or other lung ailments.

Among the most serious violators in Iowa has been Quad County Corn Processors Cooperative in Galva. In 2000, the company said in its construction permit application that it would emit less than 70 tons a year of volatile organic compounds, the solvents and chemicals that can irritate lungs and cause pulmonary problems. Tests later showed that the distiller's grain dryer alone was capable of emitting 732 tons.

[snip]

Air emissions "caught us off guard," said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. But plants moved quickly to add pollution-control equipment, at a cost of $2 million per plant, he said.

[snip]

The state also has found several biofuel companies testing their emissions when the plant was running at low capacity, resulting in lower estimates of air pollution.

Siouxland manager Bernie Punt said the plant has hired an environmental safety officer, an engineer who has worked for the Department of Natural Resources. Changes in state regulations on sewage and a new water supply have made it easier for the plant to comply with discharge limits. The plant added iron filters and reverse-osmosis water treatment.

[snip]

Tests at the Lincolnway Energy plant in Nevada [Iowa] during December 2006 and January 2007 showed the plant emitted 11 times the particulate matter allowed by its permit in one part of the plant. Emissions of chemical compounds known as volatile organic compounds were double the limit.

[snip]

The Central Iowa Renewable Energy plant in Goldfield also has been cited for potentially underreporting emissions by running tests during times when production was lower, instead of at full capacity as required.

Biofuels plants send greenhouse gases and toxic compounds into the air, and an even greater amount when plants burn coal instead of natural gas.

In Iowa, six ethanol plants burn coal: Lincolnway Energy in Nevada, ADM in Cedar Rapids and Clinton, Corn LP in Goldfield, and Cargill in Eddyville.

[snip]

Brian Hutchins of the state air-quality bureau said many biofuels plants are nearing the point where they would require more pollution-control equipment and techniques, and more elaborate permit requirements.
[snip]

Source
[http://tinyurl.com/2g5hag]

DSM Register: Biofuel Plants Generate Environmental Problems for Iowa

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 17:02:00 +0000

Biofuel plants generate new air, water, soil problems for Iowa
Can ethanol and biodiesel production rise without bigtime damage to resources?

By PERRY BEEMAN | REGISTER STAFF WRITER | Des Moines Register | June 3, 2007

Iowa's ramped-up ethanol and biodiesel fuel production led to 394 instances over the past six years in which the plants fouled the air, water or land or violated regulations meant to protect the health of Iowans and their environment.

In addition, many biologists consider the industry's most prevalent environmental issue the water pollution and soil erosion that will accompany the increased corn production needed to meet ethanol's soaring demand.

[snip]

But along with the benefits, the biofuel boom has brought environmental problems - and the total impact isn't yet known - to Iowa, a Des Moines Sunday Register analysis shows.

[snip]

"One of the things about ethanol and the biofuels is they impact every arena: air, water, drinking water, construction wastes. It seems like they cut across every program we have."

Regulators and scientists say that as biofuel production grows, more focus is needed on the impact on natural resources.

[snip]

Widespread violations found

The Register's analysis of state inspections shows the range of challenges the industry faces. The numbers listed here count each offense only once. Because federal regulations consider each day that a violation occurs as a separate offense, the actual number of violations could have been higher.

The biggest problem at the plants is meeting sewage pollution limits and preventing wastes from spilling into waterways. There were 276 violations in that category, involving 11 plants, one-third of all Iowa's plants in operation during the analysis and covered in the documents. Much of the sewage trouble came from too much iron in water withdrawn from local aquifers. Iron discharges were 30 times the allowable limit in one case. Some plants, like Lincolnway Energy in Nevada, installed iron filters to correct the problem.

- The state recorded 27 instances at six plants in which emissions exceeded limits for various hazardous air pollutants. The plants had four other air-related offenses.

- In 21 instances at eight locations, the plants failed to properly test the plant to see if it met environmental guidelines.

- Three violations at three locations were for open burning or illegal dumping.

- One biodiesel plant, Cargill in Iowa Falls, was cited for a fish kill caused by the improper spreading of liquid wastes. Another plant, Siouxland Energy & Livestock in Sioux Center, was cited for releasing contaminated wastewater in an attempt to dilute a manure spill from a neighboring cattle operation.

- In 17 cases at 10 plants, the facilities either didn't apply for a permit before building or operating regulated equipment; or failed to build the plant as outlined in the permit; or failed to apply for the stricter permits needed for larger emitters of pollution. One company, Quad County Corn Processors in Galva, received two $10,000 fines in 2005 for failing to get the more elaborate permits required for larger emitters, which often call for additional control equipment.

[snip]

The Register's analysis shows that of the 34 ethanol and biodiesel plants in operation in Iowa over the past six years, 22 have been cited by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for violations. There are now 38 biodiesel and ethanol plants in operation.

[snip]

Industry leaders say plants have improved their environmental controls.

"If you look at the effect on the environment overall, we have a very good record," said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. "We take it seriously. ... We want to be friendly to the environment."

However, the Register's analysis shows 13 of the 21 officers and board members of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, whose job is to promote the industry, are associated with plants that have been cited for environmental offenses by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Shaw said many of those offenses involved paperwork violations. He added that there was confusion on the part of plant managers, and even state environmental inspectors, as the industry matured.

The industry has grown to 28 ethanol plants, producing 1.9 billion gallons, with 19 plants under construction or expansion that will mean another 1.4 billion gallons a year. The 10 biodiesel refineries produce 165 million gallons a year; four more, with a combined capacity of 150 million gallons, are on the way.

[snip]

For example:

- Neither the state nor federal government measures how much carbon dioxide the biofuel plants emit, although a new Iowa law passed this year will establish a panel that is supposed to find a way to collect carbon emissions data from industries, including biofuels plants, for the first time.- The state has yet to determine the full extent of water use by the industry, largely because of a lack of money for a full range of sampling and monitors.

- One of Iowa's greatest environmental challenges - damage to soil and water from more corn production - will increase if the additional acres needed to meet ethanol demand don't have pollution controls such as grassy buffer strips along waterways, scientists and state regulators say.

- Finally, no one has compiled a comprehensive study of the biofuel plants' water pollution, although the state's list of seriously polluted waterways, as defined by the federal Clean Water Act, will increase to 274 river stretches and lakes this year, up from 225 in 2004. Silt and farm chemicals are two of the main reasons.

INTERACTIVE
Biofuels and the Environment
[http://tinyurl.com/ys5ad9]

Biofuel Plants in Iowa | Ownership/Violations
[http://data.dmregister.com/ethanol2/index.php]

Source
[http://tinyurl.com/24sbwl]

Scientific Challenges in Sustainable Energy Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 20:54:00 +0000

Scientific Challenges in Sustainable Energy Technology
Nathan S. Lewis
George L. Argyros Professor of Chemistry |California Institute of Technology | Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering | Department of Chemistry |

This presentation will describe and evaluate the challenges, both technical, political, and economic, involved with widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies.

First, we estimate the available fossil fuel resources and reserves based on data from the World Energy Assessment and World Energy Council. In conjunction with the current and projected global primary power production rates, we then estimate the remaining years of supply of oil, gas, and coal for use in primary power production. We then compare the price per unit of energy of these sources to those of renewable energy technologies (wind, solar thermal, solar electric, biomass, hydroelectric, and geothermal) to evaluate the degree to which supply/demand forces stimulate a transition to renewable energy technologies in the next 20-50 years.

Secondly, we evaluate the greenhouse gas buildup limitations on carbon-based power consumption as an unpriced externality to fossil-fuel consumption, considering global population growth, increased global gross domestic product, and increased energy efficiency per unit of globally averaged GDP, as produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A greenhouse gas constraint on total carbon emissions, in conjunction with global population growth, is projected to drive the demand for carbon-free power well beyond that produced by conventional supply/demand pricing tradeoffs, at potentially daunting levels relative to current renewable energy demand levels.

Thirdly, we evaluate the level and timescale of R&D investment that is needed to produce the required quantity of carbon-free power by the 2050 timeframe, to support the expected global energy demand for carbon-free power.

Fourth, we evaluate the energy potential of various renewable energy resources to ascertain which resources are adequately available globally to support the projected global carbon-free energy demand requirements.

Fifth, we evaluate the challenges to the chemical sciences to enable the cost-effective production of carbon-free power on the needed scale by the 2050 timeframe.

Finally, we discuss the effects of a change in primary power technology on the energy supply infrastructure and discuss the impact of such a change on the modes of energy consumption by the energy consumer and additional demands on the chemical sciences to support such a transition in energy supply.

PowerPoint Presentation
[http://nsl.caltech.edu/files/energy.ppt]
Transcript for Earlier Version of Presentation
[http://nsl.caltech.edu/files/Energy_Notes.pdf]
Streaming Audio Version
[http://nsl.caltech.edu/files/energy.ram]
Caltech Streaming Theater
56k | Broadband | Cable/DSL

Source
[http://nsl.caltech.edu/energy.html]

Community Futures: The Small Town in the Bioeconomy

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Tue, 29 May 2007 21:28:00 +0000

Community Futures: The Small Town in the Bioeconomy
April 10, 2007 | Iowa State University, Scheman Building, Ames, Iowa

A one-day conference that explored the impact and implications of the emerging bioeconomy for Iowa's small communities, with a keynote address by Governor Chet Culver. It also featured presentations, panel discussions and breakout sessions with economists, sociologists, designers, extension staff and local officials.

Schedule
9:00 AM,
Welcome
Mark Engelbrecht, Dean, College of Design, Iowa State University
9:10 AM
Opening Remarks
Gregory Geoffroy, President, Iowa State University
9:30 AM
Keynote Address | Leading a 21st Century Iowa Expedition
Chet Culver, Governor, State of Iowa
10:00 AM
Facets of the Bioeconomy Affecting the Small Towns in Iowa
Bruce Babcock, Director, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University
10:30 AM
The Bioeconomy: Visual Aspects, Quality of Life, and the Rural Landscape
Paul Anderson, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Agronomy, Iowa State University; Julia Badenhope, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University; Christopher J. Seeger, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University
11:45 AM LUNCH
12:45 AM
Panel: The Opportunities and Issues of Small-town Life in the Bioeconomy
Jack Payne, Vice President for Extension and Outreach, Iowa State University, Moderator; John Allen, Director, Western Rural Development Center, Utah State University; Robert Gramling, Director, Center for Socioeconomic Research, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Tom Johnson, Frank Miller Professor of Agricultural Economics and Director, Community Policy Analysis Center, University of Missouri
2:00 PM Breakout Sessions(
Each will have a facilitator, design professional and expert on the individual topic
*Aesthetics and the Landscape
*Economic Development
*The Environment
*Local Government (Taxes and Finance)
*Planning and Land Use
*Transportation and Infrastructure
3:45 pm General Sessions and Report
4:30 pm Adjourn
[http://www.extension.iastate.edu/bioeconomy/communityfutures/Schedule.html]

Speaker Bios
[http://www.extension.iastate.edu/bioeconomy/communityfutures/Speakers.html]

General Sessions Audio/Visual
Conference Welcome and Keynote
***ISU College of Design Dean Mark Engelbrecht
***ISU President Gregory L. Geoffroy,
***The Honorable Chet Culver, Governor of Iowa
[http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p96713206/]

Facets of the Bioeconomy Affecting the Small Towns in Iowa
***Bruce Babcock, Director, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University
[http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p98733408/]

The Bioeconomy: Visual Aspects, Quality of Life, and the Rural Landscape
***Julia Badenhope, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University
***Christopher J. Seeger, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University
***Paul Anderson, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Agronomy, Iowa State University
[http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p36246159/]

The Opportunities and Issues of Small-town Life in the Bioeconomy
***Jack Payne, Vice President for Extension and Outreach, Iowa State University
Moderator
***John Allen, Director, Western Rural Development Center, Utah State University
***Robert Gramling, Director, Center for Socioeconomic Research, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
***Tom Johnson, Frank Miller Professor of Agricultural Economics and Director, Community Policy Analysis Center, University of Missouri
[http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p49047439/]

Sponsored by Town/Craft: Iowa State University College of Design / Hometown Perry, Iowa / Iowa State University Extension

Source [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/bioeconomy/communityfutures/]

Leopold Center 20th Anniversary Celebration Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:04:00 +0000

Leopold Center 20th Anniversary Celebration Conference
Iowa State University | July 10-11 2007

The event will begins July 10 with a selection of five pre-conference tours. Keynote speaker, Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Secretary of State, will open the July 11 conference conversation with keyonote titled "Sustaining Agriculture, Sustaining Democracy." Discussions will continue throughout the day in more than 20 breakout sessions.

The conference will include a mid-day outdoor festival with demonstrations, interactive displays, and a locally sourced meal.

Source [http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/leopold/home.html]

Pre-conference Tours (July 10 2007)

Participants can register for a wide variety of full day and half day tours. These tours highlight some of the Leopold Center's work throughout Iowa. The full-day tours will depart from the Scheman Building at 7:30 a.m.; cost includes transportation, lunch and afternoon treats. Half-day morning tours will leave at 8:00 a.m. The Half-day afternoon tour leaves at 1:00 pm. Half-Day tours include transportation, water and snacks. Space is limited ... .

***A Look at the Culture in Agri-culture: Tours of the Whiterock Conservancy and The Homestead.
Explore what could become Iowa's largest nature preserve and research center -- more than 5,000 acres of rolling pastures, timbered bluffs and patches of native prairie and oak savannah along the banks of the Middle Raccoon River near Coon Rapids.

***Homemade Pie, Dairy-Fresh Ice Cream... Heaven in Iowa
The Leopold Center has been a key force behind development of a stronger local food economy in northeast Iowa. Last year, 27 institutional food buyers in Black Hawk County purchased $671,000 in local foods from nearby farms and processors. On this tour you will meet the farmers, grocery owners, restaurant managers and processors who are building new economic relationships around local foods.

***Water Quality is Everybody's Job: From Streamside Buffers to Urban Rain Gardens
At the nationally recognized Bear Creek Watershed, you'll see one of the nation's oldest riparian research projects established by the Leopold Center's Agroecology Issue Team in 1990. Mature streamside plantings have transformed the area, adding wildlife habitat, diversity and now a potential source for biomass. In a unique partnership, Iowa State University researchers worked with eight farmland owners to restore both sides of Bear Creek.

***Biomass for Biofutures - Homegrown Industry for Iowa?
A morning tour [that] includes a visit to the Biomass Energy Conversion Center (BECON) in Nevada [Iowa] followed by a field crop walk. At BECON [vistors] ... will see and learn about new technologies for products and processes beyond corn ethanol and learn about key biomass issues that influence Iowa's bioeconomy choices. Following ... [visit], attendees will take ... a walking tour of possible future biomass crops, ... viewing ... plots with different kinds of crops that may form the backbone of our Iowa biomass future ... .

***Black Soil and Purple Lips: Growing & Enjoying the Fruits of the Land
... [An] afternoon [tour] ... [of] an on-farm viticulture research [facilty] and local organic winery. During the first part of the tour, [visitors] ... will stop at the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station to see grape cultivar trials and various management techniques ... [and] [t]hen ... travel to a commercial production facility at Prairie Moon Winery [to] ... experience first-hand the production intricacies of a successful vineyard - from soil to bottle.

Source
[http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/leopold/about.html]
Brochure
[http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/_repository/2007/leopold/pdf/tours.pdf]

Conference (July 11 2007)
Break-out Sessions
Sessions by Time
Breakout Session 1 (10-11:00 a.m.)
4. Fish Bowl Discussion: On-Farm Energy Conservation
7. Healthy People and Landscapes: Iowa's Future Food System
12. Maintaining the Land's Capacity for Self-Renewal
17. Rethinking Agriculture for Healthier Soil and Water
20. Twenty Years of Organic Agriculture: Sustainable Impacts
22. America's Lost Landscape, the Tallgrass Prairie

Breakout Session 2 (12:30-1:30 p.m.)
2. Ash Recovery: Closing the Loop in Biofuel Production
8. Developing a Vibrant, Sustainable Regional Food System: The Case of Northeast Iowa
11. Building Local Food Networks in Iowa: Progress and Potential
13. Opportunities for Beginning As Well As Begin-Again Farmers
14. Fish Bowl Discussion: Diversification on the Farm, in Rural Communities
18. Rethinking Agriculture for a Living Land
23. Telling the Sustainable Agriculture Story

Breakout Session 3 (1:45-2:45 p.m.)
3. New Cropping Systems for Cellulosic Feedstock Production and Environmental Stewardship
6. Planning an Energy-Efficient Landscape for Iowa: A Systems Approach
9. Fish Bowl Discussion: A Walk Across the Food System
15. No Child Left Inside: Helping the Next Generation Discover a Sense of Place
19. Rethinking Agriculture for Healthier Plants and Animals
21. Learning from the Legacy of Aldo Leopold
22. America's Lost Landscape, the Tallgrass Prairie

Breakout Session 4 (3:30-4:30 p.m.)
1. Harnessing the Wind
5. Create Your Own Virtual Farm for Biomass
10. Food Preparation Demonstration: Iowa Local Foods Show
11. Building Local Food Networks in Iowa: Progress and Potential
16. Policies to Help Farmers Move toward Ecologically Sound, Profitable Farming
23. Telling the Sustainable Agriculture Story

Sessions by Track
The Bioeconomy
1. Harnessing the Wind
2. Ash Recovery: Closing the Loop in Biofuel Production
3. New Cropping Systems for Cellulosic Feedstock Production and Environmental Stewardship
4. Fish Bowl Discussion: On-Farm Energy Conservation
5. Create Your Own Virtual Farm for Biomass
6. Planning an Energy-Efficient Landscape for Iowa: A Systems Approach
Food and Health
7. Healthy People and Landscapes: Iowa's Future Food System
8. Developing a Vibrant, Sustainable Regional Food System: The Case of Northeast Iowa
9. Fish Bowl Discussion: A Walk Across the Food System
10. Food Preparation Demonstration: Iowa Local Foods Show
11. Building Local Food Networks in Iowa: Progress and Potential
People on the Land
12. Maintaining the Land's Capacity for Self-Renewal
13. Opportunities for Beginning As Well As Begin-Again Farmers
14. Fish Bowl Discussion: Diversification on the Farm, in Rural Communities
15. No Child Left Inside: Helping the Next Generation Discover a Sense of Place
16. Policies to Help Farmers Move toward Ecologically Sound, Profitable Farming Natural Resources
17. Rethinking Agriculture for Healthier Soil and Water
18. Rethinking Agriculture for a Living Land
19. Rethinking Agriculture for Healthier Plants and Animals
General
20. Twenty Years of Organic Agriculture: Sustainable Impacts
21. Learning from the Legacy of Aldo Leopold
22. America's Lost Landscape, the Tallgrass Prairie
23. Telling the Sustainable Agriculture Story

Source
[http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/leopold/moreinfo.html]
Brochure
[http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/_repository/2007/leopold/pdf/breakout.pdf]

BREAKOUT SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
BIOECONOMY
***1. Harnessing the Wind | 3:30-4:30 p.m.
This energy source is a dependable, safe, efficient, clean and environmentally sound way to meet some of agriculture's needs without adding to greenhouse gas emissions. Bill Haman from the Iowa Energy Center will discuss the latest research in this area.

***2. Ash Recovery: Closing the Loop in Biofuel Production | 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Robert Anex, associate director of the ISU Office of Biorenewables Programs, will provide updates on the latest innovation in biofuel production: returning processed ash to the land. This partial systems approach would recycle nutrients and decrease reliance on other fossil fuel-based inputs.

***3. New Cropping Systems for Cellulosic Feedstock Production and Environmental Stewardship | 1:45-2:45 p.m.
Producing biomass for conversion to liquid fuels and other industrial chemicals may offer economic opportunities for Iowans. However, removal of large quantities of crop materials also creates challenges in protecting the land. Iowa State agronomist Matt Liebman will explain his research on new crops and management systems that addresses these concerns.

***4. Fish Bowl Discussion: On-Farm Energy Conservation | 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Researchers and farmers interacting in a fishbowl discussion format will lead the audience in an engaging overview of Iowa's on-farm energy conservation projects. Dialogue will focus on adaptation and transition as well as the inherent challenges and opportunities of these systems. The audience will be challenged to use this session to rethink their own energy use and discover new ways to address energy consumption.

***5. Create Your Own Virtual Farm for Biomass | 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Learn how to use I-FARM, a free, web-based farm modeling program. I-FARM can predict economic returns and ecosystem impacts of farm operations, while integrating both crop and livestock components. Scenarios for biomass production will be demonstrated.
Rob Anex, ISU Office of Biorenewables Programs; Associate Professor, ISU Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

***6. Planning an Energy-Efficient Landscape for Iowa: A Systems Approach | 1:45-2:45 p.m.
Any plan or vision for a sustainable future must take an integrated approach to energy use. Experts will paint a picture of an energy-efficient Iowa and alternatives to achieve it.
Panelists:
Fred Kirschenmann, Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow
Teresa Opheim, Practical Farmers of Iowa Executive Director, Ames
Duane Sand, policy consultant, Des Moines, Iowa
Representative, Iowa's new Office of Energy Independence [invited]

FOOD AND HEALTH
***7. Healthy People and Landscapes: Iowa's Future Food System | 10-11 a.m.
This session will provide both national and Iowa perspectives on the need to redesign our food system to address concerns about health, food security, farmer profitability, food safety and the environment.
Presenters:
Joan Dye Gussow, Professor Emeritus at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY; and author of This Organic Life;
Angie Tagtow, M.S., R.D., consultant

***8. Developing a Vibrant, Sustainable Regional Food System: The Case of Northeast Iowa | 12:30-1:30 p.m.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation chose northeast Iowa for funding as part of its new Food and Fitness Initiative. Learn about innovative collaborations that already link community-based food systems with health, fitness and conservation. The Leopold Center's Regional Food Systems Working Group has partnered with this group over the last two years.
Panelists:
Lora Friest, Northeast Iowa RC&D, Decorah, Iowa
Ann Mansfield, R.N., M.S.N., Winneshiek Medical Center and Round Table Services for Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
Eric Nordschow, farmer and implement dealer, Decorah, Iowa

***9. Fish Bowl Discussion: A Walk Across the Food System | 1:45-2:45 p.m.
Discussants from all steps in the food chain will lead the audience on a journey across the food system using the fish bowl presentation format. They will describe the process of bringing a dairy product from the farm to ISU's Dining Service. Participants include owners of an Iowa dairy with on-farm processing, a food inspector, dietitian, food safety expert, dining service manager and residence hall student. The goal is to engage and challenge participants to use systems thinking to address problems to create a more transparent and participatory food system that will provide clear health benefits to consumers and economic benefits to rural communities.
Fish Bowl Participants:
Jill Burkhart, Picket Fence Creamery, Woodward, Iowa
Sue Stence, dairy farm and processing inspector, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
Doris Montgomery, dietitian, Iowa Department of Public Heath
Sam Beattie, Associate Professor, ISU Food Science and Human Nutrition
Erica Beirman, Manager, ISU Dining Services [invited]
Jenna Burkhart, ISU residence hall student, Woodward, Iowa

***10. Food Preparation Demonstration: Iowa Local Foods Show | 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Chefs from ISU and the University of Northern Iowa will prepare a new creation using a seasonal local food. Each chef will use the same tools and ingredients. Demonstration commentary will come from farmers who grew the local product, the chefs offering preparation tips, and a dietitian discussing how this food fits into a healthy diet.
Participants:
Facilitator and narrator: Rich Pirog, Initiative Leader, Leopold Center Marketing and Food Systems
Emily Krengel, Dietitian, Cass County Memorial Hospital

***11. Building Local Food Networks in Iowa: Progress and Potential | 12:30-1:30 p.m.
This session will trace the local food movement in Iowa from the early 1990s to the present and examine opportunities and challenges to meeting the increased demand for local food across a variety of market venues.
Panelists:
Neil Hamilton, Director, Drake Agricultural Law Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Susan Jutz, Grower, Local Harvest CSA and owner of ZJ Farm, Solon, Iowa
Kamyar Enshayan, Coordinator, UNI Local Food Project, Cedar Falls, Iowa

PEOPLE ON THE LAND
Aldo Leopold reminded us that people are not separate from the land, they are part of one community. This track features learning circles about four types of "capital" - ecological, human, social and economic - found in this one community.

***12. Maintaining the Land's Capacity for Self-Renewal | 10-11 a.m.
University of Northern Iowa biology professor Laura Jackson and ISU Extension wildlife specialist James Pease will explore what Aldo Leopold called the "health" of the land - its capacity for self-renewal.

***13. Opportunities for Beginning As Well As Begin-Again Farmers | 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Mike Duffy, ISU economist and director of the ISU Beginning Farmer Center, will discuss the challenges of entering agriculture for the first time. He will be joined by Robert Pridie of Akron and Steve Williams of Villisca, who have found different solutions to the same puzzle.

***14. Fish Bowl Discussion: Diversification on the Farm, in Rural Communities |12:30-1:30 p.m.
Discussants well-versed in soil quality, on-farm biodiversity, ecosystem management, agricultural economics, ecology and rural sociology will engage and challenge to create more diversity for the Iowa farmer and Iowa's rural communities. The fish bowl format will encourage lively interaction by all.
Fish Bowl Participants:
Heidi Asbjornsen, Associate Professor, ISU Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Doug Karlen, Scientist, National Soil Tilth Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Ames
Matt Liebman, Professor, ISU Agronomy
Carol Williams, Research Associate, ISU Agronomy
Corry Bregendahl, Assistant Scientist, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, Ames
Denise O'Brien, Executive Director, Women, Food and Agriculture Network; and Farmer, Atlantic, Iowa

***15. No Child Left Inside: Helping the Next Generation Discover a Sense of Place |1:45-2:45 p.m.
The emerging and spontaneous movement to reconnect children to the natural world cuts across the usual social, political and economic lines. Learn what's happening in Iowa to link children and nature, and see how to launch these activities in your school, neighborhood or community.
Presenters:
Gary Richards, Executive Director, Take a Kid Outdoors, Fayette, Iowa
Dick Jensen, Fayette farmer and founder, Take a Kid Outdoors, Fayette, Iowa [invited]

***16. Policies to Help Farmers Move toward Ecologically Sound, Profitable Farming | 3:30-4:30 p.m.
What public policies encourage or prevent growers from moving into more diversified and ecologically sound and economically profitable farming systems? What kind of reward system would appropriately compensate owner and users to care for the land with future generations in mind? Mike Duffy and Dave Swenson from the ISU Economics Department guide the discussion.

NATURAL RESOURCES
"The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land." -- Aldo Leopold.

Join us for a 3x3x3 - three panelists in three sessions with three minutes each to respond to a timely and provocative essay or opinion piece. Farmer respondents and the audience will join in the exchange and critique. People registered for this session are encouraged to preview each essay, posted on the conference web site by June 11. A summary of key points and background of Leopold-related work will be provided at each session. You can register for one or all of these 60-minute sessions.

***17. Rethinking Agriculture for Healthier Soil and Water | 10-11 a.m. | Limited to 30 people.
Panelists:
Doug Karlen, Scientist, National Soil Tilth Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Ames
Dick Schultz, Professor, ISU Natural Resource Ecology and Management, and leader of the ISU Agroecology Research Team
Susan Heathcote, Water Program Director, Iowa Environmental Council, Des Moines
Francis Thicke, Organic Livestock Farmer and Owner, Radiance Dairy, Fairfield, Iowa

***18. Rethinking Agriculture for a Living Land z| 12:30-1:30 p.m. | Limited to 30 people.
Panelists:
Ed Woolsey, Energy and Environmental Consultant, Martinsdale, Iowa
Dave Swenson, Associate Scientist, ISU Economics
Dana Jackson, Associate Director, The Land Stewardship Project, White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Tom Frantzen,Organic Grain and Livestock Farmer, New Hampton, Iowa

***19. Rethinking Agriculture for Healthier Plants and Animals | 1:45-2:45 p.m. | Limited to 30 people.
Panelists:
Mark Honeyman, Coordinator, Iowa State Research Farms and Leader, ISU Hoop Group
Margaret Smith, Extension Program Specialist, ISU Value Added Agriculture Extension; and Farmer, Hampton
John Sandor, Professor, ISU Agronomy [invited]
Jody and Jim Kerns, Farmers, Trees, and Edgewood Meat Locker, Edgewood, Iowa

GENERAL TOPICS
***20. Twenty Years of Organic Agriculture: Sustainable Impacts | 10-11 a.m.
The Leopold Center's Long-Term Agro-ecological Research at the Neely-Kinyon Farm is believed to be the largest randomized, replicated comparison of organic and conventional crops in the nation. This session will offer an overview of some of the important learning that has taken place.
Presenters:
Kathleen Delate, Associate Professor, ISU Agronomy and Horticulture; and lead organic researcher
Cynthia Cambardella, Associate Professor, National Soil Tilth Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Ames
Ron and Maria Rosmann, Organic Farmers, Harlan, Iowa

***21. Learning from the Legacy of Aldo Leopold | 1:45-2:45 p.m.
What would Aldo Leopold tell us today? Buddy Huffaker from the Aldo Leopold Foundation will share his thoughts as well as report on activities underway at Leopold's Shack in Wisconsin. This session also will offer a look at Leopold's Iowa ties.
Presenters:
Wellington "Buddy" Huffaker, Executive Director, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Baraboo, Wisconsin
Jack Payne, ISU Vice President for Extension and Leopold Center Advisory Board member
Jerry Rigdon, Leopold Heritage Group, Burlington, Iowa

***22. America's Lost Landscape, the Tallgrass Prairie | 10-11 a.m. and 1:45-2:45 p.m.
View this nationally televised documentary about one of human history's most astonishing whole-scale alterations of nature. Awarded numerous honors, the 60-minute documentary was produced by David O'Shields and Daryl Smith, UNI biology professor and director of the UNI Tallgrass Prairie Center. Introducing the documentary will be Cedar Falls farmer John Miller, who was interviewed for the documentary and is a former member of the Leopold Center Advisory Board.

***23. Telling the Sustainable Agriculture Story | 12:30-1:30 p.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m.
This session features a sampling of the new media that other groups use to tell their story. New media include video clips, animated shorts and documentary films.

Source [http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/leopold/level1.html]
Source PDF [http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/_repository/2007/leopold/pdf/breakout.pdf]

Registration
[https://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/leopold/quickregister.html]

Lodging
[http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/leopold/lodging.html]

Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Website
[http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/]

ISU Institute of Science and Society: Expanded Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Mon, 28 May 2007 17:32:00 +0000

Bioeconomy Expansion: Environmental, Economic, Social, and Policy Implications for Iowa and the Nation

[The mission of] The Institute of Science and Society [at Iowa State University] is to highlight the role of the social sciences in research and education in the college and university, raise the visibility of interdisciplinary research and education involving the social sciences, grow interdisciplinary and policy research with the natural and engineering sciences as well as the humanities, and highlight policy issues of critical importance to Iowa and the nation. To achieve this mission, we will sponsor the following program of activities:

***Workshops/seminars highlighting interdisciplinary research involving the social sciences in the college and university as well as at other institutions
***Jointly sponsor forums on implications of bioeconomy expansion
***Collaborate and cooperate with other institutes and centers in sciences, engineering, agriculture, and humanities at Iowa State University
***Seed grants for developing interdisciplinary seminars and research proposals, and
***Efforts to better position faculty for external funding

... [T]he current focus of the Institute of Science and Society [has changed]to "Bioeconomy Expansion: Environmental, Economic, Social, and Policy Implications for Iowa and the Nation." ... [T]his expanded focus will facilitate the integration of social sciences research and education into what is happening in other Liberal Arts and Sciences' departments, centers and colleges, and the university's mission.

[It is] ... anticipate[d] [that the Institute will be] ... involved with a range of activities and projects addressing the growing bioeconomy from how do markets and policies drive the expansion to what are the water quality and quantity, climate change, risk and science policy, and social and community implications.

Source [http://www.las.iastate.edu/iss/letter.shtml]

Biobased Industry Outlook Conference(s)

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 27 May 2007 21:22:00 +0000

Biobased Industry Outlook Conference(s)

The annual Biobased Industry Outlook Conference has established a reputation for being "the" Midwestern event where industry and community leaders, academicians, and government agents gather to learn and share information about manufacturing, distributing, and marketing biobased products.

2007
Growing the Bioeconomy: Science and Policy for Next Generation Biorefining
November 5-6, 2007 | Iowa State University | Ames IA
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/]

Keynote Speakers
***Craig Venter, Synthetic Genomics, Inc.
***Ryan Lance, VP, Biofuels, ConocoPhillips
***Suzanne Hunt, Bioenergy Project Manager, Worldwatch Institute
***Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures
***Jeff Broin, CEO POET, formerly known as Broin Companies
***Jeremy Tomkinson, Executive Director, NNFCC, UK (invited)
***United States Senator Tom Harkin, D–Iowa (tentative confirmation)
***United States Senator Chuck Grassley, R–Iowa (tentative confirmation)
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/07speakers.htm]

The 2007 Biobased Industry Outlook will coincide with the national presidential candidates' debates being hosted at Iowa State on the evenings of November 5-6. Conference participants will be able to attend the debates, which will probably be nationally televised. The Republican debates will be held on one night and the Democratic debates will be held on the other.

2006
Growing the Bioeconomy: Science and Policy for Next Generation Biorefining
August 28-29,2006 | Iowa State University | Ames IA
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/agenda.html]

Keynote Speakers
***Jim Breson, EBI General Project Manager, British Petroleum
***Jason Grumet, Executive Director, National Commission on Energy Policy
***Lee Lynd, professor of engineering, Dartmouth College
***Vinod Khosla, founding CEO, Sun Microsystems

Breson discussed the role that oil companies can play in significantly increasing the production and use of biofuels in the U.S.

Lynd described several potential models for integrated biorefineries,
different types of crops that can provide the raw materials needed
for large scale bioenergy production, and ways to integrate the
production of food, feed, fiber, and energy.

Grumet discussed the Commission on Energy Policy's strategic vision for policy development and advocacy.

Khosla, a venture capitalist, described his vision for supporting the continued growth of the bioeconomy.
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/speakers.html]

Speaker Presentations
NOTE: Select presentations have not been made available at the request of the speaker(s).
***Anex, Robert | Feedstocks/Nutrient Recycling/Soil/ Water
***Birrell, Stuart | Biomass/Feedstock/Harvest/Storage Systems
***Boulard, David | Thermochemical Technologies
***Bozell, Joe | Technical Overview of Biorefineries
***Clause, Reg | Biobased Business Development
***Cruse, Richard | Feedstocks/Nutrient Recycling/Soil/Water
***Duncan, Marv | Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement
***Egerton, Robert | Capitalization Strategies
***English, Burton | Feedstock Supply
***Erickson, Jon | Thermochemical Technologies
***Euken, Jill | Economic Interactions: Biofuels/Agricultural Markets
***Fuhrman, Ron | Business Solutions for Small "Bio" Companies
***Glassner, David | Advanced Technology Commercialization
***Grumet, Jason | Keynote Address
***Haney, Dave | Transportation Needs for the Bioeconomy
***Hanna, Milford | New Directions in Oleochemicals
***Hart, Chad | Ethanol and Livestock
***Hartzler, Chad | Producing Biodiesel: The Renewable Energy Group
***Heaton, Emily | Feedstocks/Nutrient Recycling/Soil/ Water
***Heine, Bruce | Transportation Needs for the Bioeconomy
***Horner, Bill | Commercializing Biobased Products
***Jenkins, Bryan | Technical Overview of Biorefineries
***Johnson, Delayne | Commercializing Biobased Products
***Jolly, Robert | Economic Interactions: Biofuels/Agricultural Markets
***Keck, Pam Human | Resources Issues and the Bioeconomy
***Keller, Suzanne | Human Resources Issues and the Bioeconomy
***Khosla, Vinod | Keynote Address
***Larock, Richard | New Directions in Oleochemicals
***Lindquist, Mark | Advanced Technology Commercialization
***Lovass, Deron | Advanced Technology Commercialization
***Lynd, Lee | Keynote Address
***Lynd, Lee | New Directions in Carbohydrates
***Miranowski, John | Economic Interactions: Biofuels/Agricultural Markets
***Novak, Carey | Biobased Business Development
***Novak, Carey | Commercializing Biobased Products
***Ott, Mike | Business Solutions for Small "Bio" Companies
***Pollack, Jim | Commercializing Biobased Products
***Raman, Raj | Human Resources Issues and the Bioeconomy
***Reardon, | John Thermochemical Technologies
***Sellers, John | Feedstock Supply
***Sheehan, John | Technical Overview of Biorefineries
***Shore, Craig | Commercializing Biobased Products
***Siembieda, Steve | Biobased Business Development
***Stern, Michael | Ethanol and Livestock
***Trenkle, Allen | Ethanol and Livestock
***Wisner, Robert | Economic Interactions: : Biofuels/Agricultural Markets
***Wong, Jetta | Advanced Technology Commercialization
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/registration.html]

Webcasts
Keynote Addresses:
***Lee Lynd
***Vinod Khosla
Breakout Sessions:
***Ethanol and Livestock: Synergies or Competition (Chad Hart, Mike Stern, Allen Trenkle)
***Technical Overview of Biorefineries (Joe Bozell, Bryan Jenkins, John Sheehan)
***Innovations in Carbohydrate Production and Processing (Lee Lynd)
***Economic Interactions of Biofuels and Agricultural Markets (Jill Euken, Robert Jolly, John Miranowski, Robert Wisner)
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/webcasts.html]

2005
Growing the Bioeconomy: Planting Ideas * Cultivating Partnerships * Harvesting Progress
August 29-30, 2005 | Iowa State University | Ames IA
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/Conf2005/schedule.html]
Presentations
By Speaker Last Name
***Andreja Bakac, Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University
Bio | Presentation
Session: Iowa State University Center for Catalysis Research Presentations

***Paul Bloom, Manger, New Industrial Chemicals, ADM
Bio | Presentation
Session: Bioproducts from Crop Oils

***Roger Conway, Director, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, USDA
Bio
Session: Developing Market Pull for Biobased Products

***Charles Cox, Asst. Professor, Microbiology, University of Iowa
Bio | Presentation
Session: Iowa Biotechnology Byproducts Consortium Research Presentations

***Randy Dipner, Consultant, PBC, Inc.
Bio
Session: SBIR as a Funding Source for Commercializing New Bioproduction Technologies

***Mark Downing, Research Scientist, U.S. Department of Energy
Bio | Presentation
Session: Residues and Dedicated Energy Crops

***Mike Duffy, Economist, Iowa State University Department of Agriculture Economics
Bio | Presentation
Session: Conservation and the Bioeconomy

***Marvin Duncan, Senior Agricultural Economist in the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, USDA
Bio | Presentation
Session: Developing Market Pull for Biobased Products

***Sevim Erhan, Research Leader, Food and Industrial Oil Research, NCAUR
Bio | Presentation
Session: Bioproducts from Crop Oils

***Doug Faulkner, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Bio | Session: U.S. Department of Energy Priorities

***William Gong, Research Associate, Topic Leader in PTA R&T, BP America
Bio
Session: Biorefineries: Opportunities for Business and Research Partnerships

***Philip Goodrich, Associate Professor, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, University of Minnesota
Bio | Presentation
Session: Manure as a Feedstock for Biobased Products

***Daryl Haack, Chairman, National Corn Growers Association Ethanol Committee
Bio | Presentation
Session: Biorefineries: Opportunities for Business and Research Partnerships

***Stephen Halsey, Managing Supervisor, Gibbs & Soel
Bio | Presentation
Session: Developing Market Pull for Biobased Products

***James Hettenhaus, Co-founder, cea, Inc.
Bio | Presentation
Session: Residues and Dedicated Energy Crops

***Matt Janes, Vice President of Technology, VeraSun Energy Corporation
Bio
Session: Ethanol Efficiencies and DDGs

***Stanley R. Johnson, Vice Provost for University Extension at Iowa State University
Bio
Session: Opening Remarks - August 30

***Samir K. Khanal, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University
Bio | Presentation
Session: Iowa Biotechnology Byproducts Consortium Research Presentations

***John Laflen, Adjunct Professor of Agricultural Engineering at Iowa State University
Bio | Presentation
Session: Conservation and the Bioeconomy

***David Laird, Soil Scientist, National Soil Tilth Lab
Bio | Presentation
Session: Conservation and the Bioeconomy

***Greg Langmo, Development Consultant, FibroMinn
Bio | Presentation - Send email to request presentation
Session: Manure as a Feedstock for Biobased Products

***Tom Latham, Iowa Congressman
Bio
Session: Luncheon Speaker - August 29

***Rich Leopold, Executive Director, Iowa Environmental Council
Bio
Session: Conservation and the Bioeconomy

***Victor Lin, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University
Bio
Session: Iowa State University Center for Catalysis Research Presentations

***Lee Lynd, Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth College
Bio | Presentation
Session: The Role of Biomass in Meeting U.S. Energy Needs

***James McLaren, President, StrathKirn, Inc.
Bio | Presentation
Session: Residues and Dedicated Energy Crops

***Karen Merrick, Biosciences Coordinator, Iowa Department of Economic Development
Bio
Session: SBIR as a Funding Source for Commercializing New Bioproduction Technologies - Q&A Session

***Sally Metz, Technical Lead for Corn Ethanol, Monsanto
Bio
Session: Biorefineries: Opportunities for Business and Research Partnerships

***Carl Muska, Safety, Health and the Environment Manager, DuPont
Bio | Presentation
Session: Biorefineries: Opportunities for Business and Research Partnerships

***Shri Ramaswamy, Professor and Department Head, University of Minnesota
Bio | Presentation
Session: Natural Fibers and Composites

***Tom Robb, Coproducts Manager, Abengoa
Bio | Presentation
Session: Ethanol Efficiencies and DDGs

***Paul Roberts, Author of The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World
Bio
Session: The End of Oil - Keynote Address

***John (Jack) Rosazza, Director of Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing, University of Iowa
Bio
Session: Iowa Biotechnology Byproducts Consortium Research Presentations

***Stephen Shaler, Professor of Wood Science and Technology, University of Maine-Orono
Bio | Presentation
Session: Natural Fibers and Composites

***Brent Shanks, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Iowa State University
Bio | Presentation
Session: Iowa Biotechnology Byproducts Consortium Research Presentations

***Craig Shore, President, Creative Composites
Bio | Presentation
Session: Natural Fibers and Composites

***Jeff Stroburg, CEO, West Central Cooperative
Bio | Presentation 1
Session: Biorefineries: Opportunities for Business and Research Partnerships
Presentation 2
Session: Bioproducts from Crop Oils

***Tim Swanson, Director of Research and Development, ICM
Bio
Session: Ethanol Efficiencies and DDGs

***John M. Sweeten, Resident Director, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
Bio | Presentation
Session: Manure as a Feedstock for Biobased Products

***John Verkade, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University
Bio | Presentation
Session: Iowa State University Center for Catalysis Research Presentations

***Thomas Vilsack, Governor of Iowa
Bio
Session: Opening Remarks - August 29

Posters
A special poster session was held in conjunction with the evening reception on August 29, 2005. Investigators affiliated [with the] Iowa Biotechnology Byproducts Consortium (BBC), Iowa State University's Center for Catalysis (CCAT), the Center for Crops Utilization Research (CCUR) at Iowa State, and the Office of Biorenewables Programs (OBP) at Iowa State presented posters that describe new and on-going research projects.
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/Conf2005/ResearchPosters.pdf]

2004
BIOconference 2004: Biobased Industry Outlook
March 7-8, 2004 | Iowa State University | Ames IA
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/Conf2004/BIOschedule.html]

Speakers
Dr. Stanley Johnson, Vice Provost for ISU Extension
Merlin Bartz | USDA (invited)
James Fischer | DOE (invited)
Georg Anderl | BIOWA
Floyd Barwig |Director, Iowa Energy Center
Kevin Kephart |Syngas fermentation
Jeff Stroburg | West Central Cooperative
Blake Hollis | UNI-ABIL
Lou Honary | UNI-ABIL
Diane Neuzil |UNI-ABIL
Mike Blouin |Director, IA Dept. of Economic Dev.
Steve Howell | ISU
Ken Moore | ISU
Robert Brown | ISU
Doug Stokke | ISU
Rob Anex | ISU
Marvin Duncan | USDA
Steve Devlin | CIRAS - ISU Extension
Bruce Coney |Central Iowa Procurement Center
Ramani Narayan |ASTM
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/Conf2004/BIOspeakers.html]

Presentations [NOT AVAILABLE]
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/Conf2004/BIOPresentations.html]

Posters
[http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/Conf2004/BIOposters.html]

Staying Home: How Ethanol Will Change U.S. Corn Exports

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sat, 26 May 2007 19:16:00 +0000

Staying Home: How Ethanol Will Change U.S. Corn Exports

Written by Heather Schoonover, Program Associate, and
Mark Muller, Director, Environment and Agriculture Program
Minneaspolis: The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Published December 2006

Executive Summary
U.S. ethanol production is expanding at a phenomenal pace, doubling between 2001 and 2005 and likely to double again in the next few years. While some corn needed to meet higher ethanol demand could come from increased production, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that much of the additional corn needed for ethanol production will be diverted from exports. Despite this fact, there has been little focus on or discussion of the impact of corn-based ethanol on U.S. corn exports. But these impacts could be significant, and ethanol’s potential impact on corn exports should cause policymakers to reconsider their long-standing focus on exports.

The U.S. already has over 100 active ethanol plants capable of producing more than five billion gallons of ethanol per year. An additional 58 plants currently under construction or expansion will add nearly four billion more gallons of capacity, bringing total capacity to nearly nine billion gallons—and surpassing the Renewable Fuels Standard requirement of 7.5 billion gallons by 2012, far ahead of schedule. In addition, if all 150 currently proposed ethanol plants were to be built, U.S. ethanol capacity would surpass 19 billion gallons per year.

While ethanol from cellulosic sources looks promising, corn will continue to be the primary source of ethanol in the near future. Given the continued enormous expansion of ethanol capacity, this will result in significant shifts in the corn market.

In a break from past projections, many of the major agricultural organizations are now projecting flat corn export levels or even a decline in corn exports, citing ethanol as a key to this change. But even these new projections are likely to underestimate the impact of ethanol on exports, because they do not take into consideration the many ethanol plants currently on the drawing board.

Factoring in the impact of proposed ethanol plants yields some stunning results. For example, if only a quarter of the plants currently proposed in the Midwest do come on line, and if the corn needed to supply these plants and the plants currently under construction were to be diverted from exports, Midwest corn exports could be cut in half. This shift would impact some states more than others. For example, Nebraska could see negative corn exports (meaning corn needed for ethanol plants would exceed corn for exports) if only a fraction of its proposed plants come online.

The growing demand for corn from the ethanol industry will result in several shifts in the Midwest agricultural economy. First, higher prices will likely induce more farmers to grow corn. Second, the livestock industry may reduce its Midwest corn demand, either by using alternative feed sources or raising less Midwest livestock. Yet even with these shifts, it appears very likely that ethanol will reduce the availability of corn for export.

The shift of agricultural land into energy production and bio-based products is not likely to reverse course anytime in the near future. Whatever the crop—be it corn or switchgrass—domestic markets are likely to provide more opportunities to farmers than the export of agricultural commodities. Our agricultural, transportation and trade policies also need to shift to address this new reality and truly invest in the future of U.S. agriculture.

Full Text Available
[http://www.agobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=96658]

Impact of High Crop Prices on Environmental Quality

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Wed, 23 May 2007 22:13:00 +0000

Impact of High Crop Prices on Environmental Quality: A Case of Iowa and the Conservation Reserve Program
Silvia Secchi, Bruce A. Babcock
May 2007 [07-WP 447]

Growing demand for corn due to the expansion of ethanol has increased concerns that environmentally sensitive lands retired from agricultural production into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will be cropped again. Iowa produces more ethanol than any other state in the United States, and it also produces the most corn. Thus, an examination of the impacts of higher crop prices on CRP land in Iowa can give insight into what we might expect nationally in the years ahead if crop prices remain high. We construct CRP land supply curves for various corn prices and then estimate the environmental impacts of cropping CRP land through the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model. EPIC provides edge-of-field estimates of soil erosion, nutrient loss, and carbon sequestration. We find that incremental impacts increase dramatically as higher corn prices bring into production more and more environmentally fragile land. Maintaining current levels of environmental quality will require substantially higher spending levels. Even allowing for the cost savings that would accrue as CRP land leaves the program, a change in targeting strategies will likely be required to ensure that the most sensitive land does not leave the program.

Full Text Available
[http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/DBS/PDFFiles/07wp447.pdf]
Source [http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/synopsis.aspx?id=1046]

Water Use by Ethanol Plants: Potential Challenges

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sat, 19 May 2007 19:56:00 +0000

Water Use by Ethanol Plants: Potential Challenges

Written by Dennis Keeney, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Mark Muller, Director, Environment and Agriculture Program. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, October 2006.

Ethanol production using corn grain has exploded in the Upper Midwest. This new demand for corn, and the new opportunities for value-added processing and cattle production in rural communities, has created the best economic development opportunity in the Corn Belt states in a generation or more. Ethanol demand has increased rapidly recently because of favorable economics of ethanol vs. gasoline, and the need for a performance enhancer to replace MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether)in gasoline. Ethanol’s growth has been so dramatic that there are now concerns about the amount of corn available to meet various demands, including food, animal feed and export.

Overall, with increased research and investment in the industry and the potential for energy-efficient cellulosic material to displace corn as the primary feedstock, the environmental footprint of ethanol is expected to markedly diminish. However, one of the most important emerging concerns is the consumptive use of water. Consumptive use of water is broadly defined as any use of water that reduces the supply from which it is withdrawn or diverted.

As would be expected, most ethanol plants are being sited in the Corn Belt. Many of these regions are also experiencing significant water supply concerns, particularly in the western portion of the region. Minimal data is available on groundwater depletion, and the scope of future water availability is not clear. It will be to the benefit of the ethanol industry, and rural development initiatives in general, to get more clarity on the relationship between ethanol production, water consumption, and impacts on water supplies. Otherwise, shortage of water could be the Achilles heel of corn-based and perhaps cellulose-based ethanol

[http://www.agobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=89449]

Water and Bioeconomy: 2007 Iowa Water Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Thu, 17 May 2007 21:52:00 +0000

Water and Bioeconomy: 2007 Iowa Water Conference
Scheman Building, Iowa State Center, Ames IA | March 6, 2007 |

The emerging bioenergy industry in Iowa will impact local and regional water resources. Significant changes in agricultural systems, management practices, and water demands to satisfy the growing bioenergy industry have the potential to both positively and negatively affect surface and ground water. The purpose of this conference is to address the question:

How will the biofuel industry affect sustainability of Iowa's water resources, and how will water resources affect the sustainability of the biofuel industry?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conference objectives
Clarify the relationship between the bioenergy industry, and water quality and quantity.
Identify what additional information is needed about these relationships.
Suggest means to address these needs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Iowa Water Center will summarize input gathered from the conference working groups and develop recommendations that address water resource opportunities and challenges related to the growing biofuel industry. The recommendations will be provided to industry leaders, researchers and other key stakeholders.

Source [http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/homepage.html]

Proceedings

20 years of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act
Jerry DeWitt, director, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
[http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/2007/dewitt.html]

Direction of the biofuel industry in Iowa
Greg Krissek, Iowa Renewable Fuel Association
[http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/2007/krissek.html]

A new agriculture
Jill Euken, Industrial specialist-biobased products, Iowa State University Extension
[http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/2007/euken.html]

Economic drivers of change
Bruce Babcock, director, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University
[http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/2007/babcock.html]

Riding the bioeconomy wave: Smooth sailing or rough water for the environment and public health?
Gene Parkin, director, Center for Health Effects of Groundwater Contamination, University of Iowa
[http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/2007/parkin.html]

Water quantity implications of biofuel production
Bob Libra, Iowa Department of Natural Resources
[http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/2007/libra.html]

Compounded influences: Opportunities for water resources
Rick Cruse, director, Iowa Water Center, Iowa State University
[http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/2007/cruse.html]

The summarization and final report from the four working groups is still in progress.

Source [http://www.aep.iastate.edu/water/2007/homepage.html]

Adoption Subsidies and Environmental Impacts of Alternative Energy Crops

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Thu, 17 May 2007 21:44:00 +0000

Adoption Subsidies and Environmental Impacts of Alternative Energy Crops

Bruce A. Babcock, Philip W. Gassman, Manoj Jha, and Catherine L. Kling
Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), Iowa State University, Ames IA (Briefing Paper 07-BP 50)March 2007

Executive Summary
We provide estimates of the costs associated with inducing substantial conversion of land from production of traditional crops to switchgrass. Higher traditional crop prices due to increased demand for corn from the ethanol industry has increased the relative advantage that row crops have over switchgrass. Results indicate that farmers will convert to switchgrass production only with significant conversion subsidies. To examine potential environmental consequences of conversion, we investigate three stylized landscape usage scenarios, one with an entire conversion of a watershed to switchgrass production, a second with the entire watershed planted to continuous corn under a 50% removal rate of the biomass, and a third scenario that places switchgrass on the most erodible land in the watershed and places continuous corn on the least erodible. For each of these illustrative scenarios, the watershed-scale Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model (Arnold et al., 1998; Arnold and Forher, 2005) is used to evaluate the effect of these landscape uses on sediment and nutrient loadings in the Maquoketa Watershed in eastern Iowa.

Bruce Babcock is a professor of economics and director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD). Philip Gassman and Manoj Jha are assistant scientists at CARD. Catherine Kling is a professor of economics and head of the Resource and Environmental Policy Division at CARD.

This paper was prepared for presentation at “Alternative Crops and Alternative Policies for Bioenergy,” an Iowa State University Extension program provided through Web cast to Extension offices.

This paper is available online on the CARD Web site: www.card.iastate.edu. Permission is granted to excerpt or quote this information with appropriate attribution to the authors.

Source [http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/DBS/PDFFiles/07bp50.pdf]

Effects of Fuel Ethanol Use on Fuel-Cycle Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 13 May 2007 22:06:00 +0000

Effects of Fuel Ethanol Use on Fuel-Cycle Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

M. Wang, C. Saricks, and D. Santini

Center for Transportation Research, Energy Systems Division,
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439

ANL/ESD-38
January 1999

Table of Contents

Notation..... v
Acknowledgments ..... vi
Summary ...... 1
1 Introduction ..... 7
2 Approach ..... 9
3 Key Assumptions ..... 11
3.1 Corn Farming ...... 11
3.2 Potential Land Use Changes Caused by Corn Ethanol Production ..... 11
3.3 Corn-Based Ethanol Production ..... 13
3.4 Biomass Farming and Transportation ...... 15
3.5 Production of Ethanol from Biomass ...... 15
3.6 Ethanol Vehicle Fuel Economy..... 17
4 Results ...... 18
5 References ...... 29

Figures
1 Corn/Biomass-to-Ethanol and Petroleum-to-Gasoline Fuel Cycle ..... 10
2 Net Energy Balance per Gallon of Ethanol ..... 19
3 Fuel-Cycle Petroleum Use of Gasoline and Ethanol Blends by Stage ..... 21
4 Fuel-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Gasoline and Ethanol Blends by Stage ..... 22
5 Fuel-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Gasoline and Ethanol Blends by Gas ..... 23
6 Fuel-Cycle Fossil Energy Use of Gasoline and Ethanol Blends by Stage ..... 24

Tables
1 Co-Product Yields in Ethanol Plants ..... 14
2 Co-Product Displacement Ratios ..... 14
3 Energy and Chemical Use for Biomass Farming and Transportation ..... 15
4 Feedstock Requirements, Energy Use, and Electricity Generation
Credits in Cellulosic Ethanol Plants ...... 16
5 Parametric Assumptions for Current Case, Near-Future Case, and Future Case ...... 18
6 Reductions in per-Vehicle-Mile GHG Emissions and Energy Use
by Ethanol Blends ..... 25
7 Sensitivity Analysis: Reductions in per-Vehicle-Mile GHG Emissions and
Energy Use by Ethanol Blends ..... 26
8 Reductions in GHG Emissions and Energy Use per Gallon of Ethanol
in Ethanol Blends ..... 27
9 Sensitivity Analysis: Reductions in GHG Emissions and Energy Use
per Gallon of Ethanol in Ethanol Blends ...... 28

Work sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Technology Utilization, Office of Transportation Technologies

Source
[http://www.ethanol-gec.org/information/briefing/10.pdf]

Agriculture-Based Renewable Energy Production

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 13 May 2007 21:21:00 +0000

Agriculture-Based Renewable Energy Production

Randy Schnepf
Specialist in Agricultural Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division, Congressional Research Service

RL32712
Updated March 7 2007

Summary
Since the late 1970s, U.S. policy makers at both the federal and state levels have enacted a variety of incentives, regulations, and programs to encourage the production and use of agriculture-based renewable energy. Motivations cited for these legislative initiatives include energy security concerns, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and raising domestic demand for U.S.-produced farm products. Agricultural households and rural communities have responded to these government incentives and have expanded their production of renewable energy, primarily in the form of biofuels and wind power, every year since 1996.

The production of ethanol (the primary biofuel produced by the agricultural sector) has risen from about 175 million gallons in 1980 to nearly 4.9 billion gallons per year in 2006. The U.S. ethanol production capacity has also been expanding rapidly, particularly since mid-2006, with important implications for the food and fuel sectors. Current ethanol production capacity is 5.6 billion gallons per year (February 28, 2007), with another 6.2 billion gallons of capacity under construction and potentially online by late 2008.

Biodiesel production is at a much smaller level, but has also shown growth rising from 0.5 million gallons in 1999 to an estimated 200 million gallons in 2006.

Wind energy systems production capacity has also grown rapidly, rising from 1,706 megawatts in 1997 to an estimated 11,603 megawatts by December 31, 2006.

Despite this rapid growth, agriculture- and ruralbased energy production accounted for only about 0.7% of total U.S. energy consumption in 2006.

Key points that emerge from this report are:

*substantial federal and state programs and incentives have facilitated development of agriculture’s renewable energy production capacity;

*rising fossil fuel prices improve renewable energy’s market competitiveness, whereas higher costs for feedstock and plant operating fuel (e.g., natural gas) dampen profitability;

*technological improvements for biofuel production (e.g., cellulosic conversion) enhance its economic competitiveness with fossil fuels;

*farm-based energy production is unlikely to substantially reduce the nation’s dependence on petroleum imports unless there is a significant decline in energy consumption; and

*ethanol-driven higher corn prices have raised concerns from corn users over rising food and feed costs, as well as the potential for increased soil erosion and chemical usage from substantially expanded corn production.

This report provides background information on farm-based energy production and how this fits into the national energy-use picture. It briefly reviews the primary agriculture-based renewable energy types and issues of concern associated with their production, particularly their economic and energy efficiencies and long-run supply.

Finally, this report examines the major legislation related to farm-based energy production and use. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . 1
Agriculture’s Share of Energy Production . . . . . 3
Agriculture-Based Biofuels . . . . . 5
Ethanol . . . . . . 5
Ethanol Pricing Issues . . . . . 7
Corn-Based Ethanol . . . . . . 9
Ethanol from Cellulosic Biomass Crops . . . . . 19
Methane from an Anaerobic Digester . . . . . 24
Biodiesel . . . . . 26
Wind Energy Systems . . . . . 32
Public Laws That Support Agriculture-Based Energy Production and Use . . . . . 40
Tariff on Imported Ethanol . . . . . 40
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA; P.L. 101-549) . . . . . 40
Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT; P.L. 102-486) . . . . . 40
Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 (Biomass Act; Title III, P.L.
106-224) . . . . . 41
Energy Provisions in the 2002 Farm Bill (P.L. 107-171) . . . . . 42
The Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-148) . . . . . 45
The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-357) . . . . . 45
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT; P.L. 109-58) . . . . . 46
Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-432) . . . . . 49
Agriculture-Related Energy Bills in 110th Congress . . . . 49
State Laws and Programs . . . . . 49
Administration Proposals . . . . . 50
State of the Union (SOU) 2006 . . . . . 50
State of the Union (SOU) 2007 . . . . . 50
USDA’s New Farm Bill Proposal (January 2007) . . . . . 51
For More Information . . . . . 51
Renewable Energy . . . . 51
Biofuels . . . . . 51
Wind Energy Systems . . . . . 54

List of Figures
Figure 1. U.S. Motor Vehicle Fuel Use, 2006 . . . . . 6
Figure 2. Ethanol versus Gasoline Prices, 1991-2006 . . . . . 8
Figure 3. U.S. Ethanol Production: Actual & Projected, versus the
Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) . . . . . 9
Figure 4. Corn versus Ethanol Prices, 1991-2006 . . . . . 12
Figure 5. U.S. Biodiesel Production, 1998-2006 . . . . . 27
Figure 6. Soybean Oil vs. Diesel Fuel Price, 1994-2006 . . . . . 29
Figure 7. U.S. Installed Wind Energy Capacity, 1981-2007P . . . . . 33
Figure 8. Natural Gas Price, Wholesale, 1994-2006 . . . . . 36
Figure 9. U.S. Areas with Highest Wind Potential . . . . . 39

List of Tables
Table 1. U.S. Energy Production and Consumption, 2006 . . . . . 3
Table 2. Energy and Price Comparisons for Alternate Fuels,
September-October 2006 . . . . . . 4
Table 3. Ethanol Production Capacity by State, February 25, 2007 . . . . . 7
Table 4. Ethanol Dry Mill Cost of Production Estimates, 2002 . . . . . . 11
Table 5. U.S. Diesel Fuel Use, 2005 . . . . . 28
Table 6. U.S. Potential Biodiesel Feedstock, 2005-2006 . . . . . 31
Table 7. Installed Wind Energy Capacity by State, Ranked by Capacity
as of December 31, 2006 . . . . . 34

Source [http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/RL32712.pdf]

Sustainable Bioenergy: A Framework for Decision Makers

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 13 May 2007 17:30:00 +0000

Sustainable Bioenergy: A Framework for Decision Makers
Matss Karlsson, Chair, UN-Energy, April 2007

Modern bioenergy could help to meet the needs of 1.6 billion people who lacked access to electricity and 2.4 billion people who relied on the use of traditional biomass, Alexander Muller, Assistant Director-General for the Sustainable Development Department of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today. Presenting the latest report of UN-Energy, entitled Sustainable energy: A framework for decision-makers, he added that, while bioenergy presented great opportunity, especially for the world’s rural poor, a political framework was needed to ensure that they benefited from bioenergy.
[snip]
Biofuels, stated Mr. Muller, accounted for the fastest-growing market for agricultural products around the world and was a billion-dollar business. Increasing oil prices in recent years had had devastating effects on many poor countries, some of which spent six times as much on fuel as they did on health. In that regard, the modern form of bioenergy could create great opportunity. The report provided a framework for the worldwide use of bioenergy, not only for developed and industrialized countries in mitigating the effects of climate change, but also for the poorest countries to gain access to modern forms of electricity.
[snip]
The origin of the report was the realization that UN-Energy could contribute to the international discussion on the topic, Gustavo Best, UN-Energy’s Vice-Chairman, said. Describing the report’s format, he said the document provided a framework for discussing -- at the same time -- nine key sustainability issues facing bioenergy development including the implications for food security, health and gender, trade, foreign exchange balances and energy security and climate change. Unless new policies were enacted to steer bioenergy use, the environmental and social damages could in some cases outweigh the benefits.
[snip]
Any bioenergy strategy must ensure that poor people did not end up paying for the fact that the industrialized world needed more bioenergy, Mr. Muller said.

Source [http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2007/070508_Energy.doc.htm]

Full Text Available
[http://esa.un.org/un-energy/pdf/susdev.Biofuels.FAO.pdf]

UN Radio Segment Available
[http://radio.un.org/story.asp?NewsID=6903]

ISU Town Hall Meeting on Biorenewable Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:16:00 +0000

Iowa State University President Gregory L. Geoffroy addresses attendees at a campus-wide Town Hall Meeting on Biorenewable Resources held October 23 2006 at the university. The presentation provides background information on bionewables and the expertise of Iowa State University and current future opportunities for the university.

Includes a Question and Answer session with Geoffroy, ISU faculty experts, and attendees.

Final Report and Recommendations (December 12 2006)
[http://www.iastate.edu/~biorenew/06/summit/report.doc]

Video of the Town Hall Meeting on Biorenewable Resources is available in the following formats:

Breeze video
http://breeze.extension.iastate.edu/p85891731/

RealPlayer
mms://wms.extension.iastate.edu/video/bioeconomy_10-23-2006.wmv

Duration 1:18:36

Source[http://www.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2006/oct/bioforum.shtml]

Alternative Crops and Alternative Policies for Bioenergy

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Tue, 08 May 2007 19:53:00 +0000

The Perspectives on Present and Future Corn-Based Ethanol Industry webcast was presented by Iowa State University (ISU) Extension on Monday, November 13 2006.

[http://www.extension.iastate.edu/webcast/archive06.htm]

Seven ISU economists presented economic information on several aspects of the industry. Links to papers offering additional information on each topic and the PowerPoint each presenter used are available below.

Demand Drivers for Ethanol and Outlook for Prices by John Miranowski, professor, Economics.

PAPER [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/MIranowskiPresent.indd.pdf]

PPT [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/Miranowski.PowerPoint.pdf]

Situation and Outlook for the Ethanol Industry, Paul Gallagher, associate professor, Economics.

PAPER [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/GallagherPresent.indd.pdf]

PPT [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/Gallagher(Rev)PowerPoint.pdf]

Impacts of Iowa’s Rapid Expansion in Corn-based Ethanol Production on Crop Acreage Needs, Grain Prices, Basis Behavior and Distillers Grain Supplies by Robert Wisner, professor, Economics and Extension economist.

PAPER [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/WisnerPresent.indd.pdf]

PPT [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/WisnerPowerPoint.pdf]

A Firm Level of Perspective on Ethanol Expansion by Robert Jolly, professor, Economics and Extension economist.

PAPER [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/JollyPresent.indd.pdf]

PPT [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/BobJollyPowerPoint.pdf]

The Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors: A Preliminary Assessment by Amani El Obeid associate scientist, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

PAPER [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/AmaniPresent.indd.pdf]

PPT [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/ElobeidFinalPowerPoint.pdf]

Expansion In The Ethanol Industry And Its Effects On The Livestock Industry by John Lawrence, professor, Economics and director, Iowa Beef Center.

PAPER [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/LawrencePresent.indd.pdf]

PPT [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/LawrencePowerPoint.pdf]

Potential Infrastructure Constraints on Ethanol Production in Iowa by Roger Ginder, professor, Economics and Extension economist.

PAPER [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/GinderPresent.indd.pdf]

PPT [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/RogerGinderPowerPoint.pdf]

SOURCE [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ag/ethanol.html]

Dennis Keeney: Ethanol's Power Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Gerry McKiernan) — Sun, 06 May 2007 21:05:00 +0000

Dennis Keeney, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and former director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, was interviewed by Ben Kieffer, host of The Exchange on Iowa Public Radio, on May 5 2007.

[http://www.iatp.org/]

[http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/]

[http://wsui.uiowa.edu/exchange.htm]

Ethanol's Power Politics: Potential Social and Environmental Outcomes

RealPlayer [http://tinyurl.com/26vdhn]
Podcast [http://tinyurl.com/26d5oa

Related Presentation

Ethanol’s Power Politics: Potential Social and Environmental Outcomes
Iowa State University, Environmental Science Seminar, Monday, February 12 2007.

Abstract
Ethanol production using corn grain has exploded in the Upper Midwest. This has caught many planners unawares. Issues such as the availability of grain, transportation infrastructure, effect on other uses of grain such as poultry and swine, and even the ability to meet export contracts are being questioned. Short term outcomes of the biofuels policies include rapidly expanding acreage of corn at the expense of soybean and conservation reserve land and added stress on the region’s land and water resources.

Lost until recently in the whirlwind has been the potential impact of ethanol plants on natural resources, including water availability, water quality, biodiversity and farm structure. Each gallon of ethanol involves the loss of about 20 pounds of soil. Use of nitrogen fertilizer will increase as more land is put into corn, and if CRP is taken out of contract for more corn, loss of biodiversity will surely follow.

Ethanol production has the potential for economic and social upheavals as well.

[more]

[http://www.ensci.iastate.edu/grad/DK_abstract.pdf]

PDF/PowerPoint slides available at
[http://www.public.iastate.edu/~gerrymck/DKeeney.pdf]

PDF/PowerPoint slides for similar presentation at the University of Iowa, May 4 2007.
[http://www.public.iastate.edu/~gerrymck/DKeeney2.pdf]

I am very grateful to Dennis Kenney for providing the presentation and for permission to upload. I also wish to thank Bill and Karen Stansbery for the HeadsUp on The Exchange interview.