Grant given for biomass research projects
BYLINE: AMANDA REAVY STAFF WRITER
An association of central Illinois farmers is receiving a grant from the state to develop biomass crops for the production of noncorn ethanol.
Omni Ventures Inc., a group of 40 farmers based in Jerseyville, has been awarded $25,000 as part of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's "Opportunity Returns" regional economic development strategy, according to a news release Wednesday.
Funds totaling $270,000 will be distributed through the state Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agricultural Grant Program to encourage innovative farming techniques that are lucrative and conserve natural resources.
The grant money will fund seven on-the-farm or university research projects and nine educational-outreach programs on topics including the energy potential of biomass crops such as Miscanthus and switchgrass, the use of lake sediment as a soil amendment, and the use of cover crops to sustain pumpkin production in northern Illinois.
Omni Ventures, formed in 1999 to explore ways to add value to its members' crops and farmland, will use its state funding for a project to grow Miscanthus and switchgrass, which are used to make cellulosic ethanol, board president Gary Knecht of Edwardsville said.
Board member Kendall Cole of Virden, who is overseeing the project, said he is working on plans to acquire Miscanthus sprigs.
Since Miscanthus is such a new crop in the United States, sprigs are not readily available and may be costly, he said.
"We're interested in developing some knowledge as to whether we can be competitive in central and southern-central Illinois in developing biomass crops like Miscanthus or switchgrass or any other type of grass crop ... and be competitive with other forms of biomass, such as sawdust or woodchips," Cole said.
"If we determine we could be competitive, the next step is to find out what the market potential is for the biomass we can produce. The real big element is to determine what will be the transportation costs to any potential users, whether it's an ethanol plant or a facility that would directly burn the biomass for energy ... such as a power generation facility."
Cole said Omni Ventures initially plans to conduct four small test plots of the crop.
Knecht said the plots will be at several locations so farmers can monitor growth in different soil types and weather conditions.
"Once we learn, we can expand the size of our plots. We hope that we can get permission from the Farm Services Agency ... to experiment with getting new biomass crops established on conservation reserve program land," Cole said.
"We think one of the most effective ways of buying some time, if you will, to get new crops started is to utilize the conservation reserve program land because it takes usually two to three years for a grass crop to become established well enough for maximum production."
The Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program was established as part of the Conservation 2000 initiative to research and implement methods of production that protect natural resources without sacrificing farm profitability.