North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Impact of Biomass Removal for Bioenergy
The rapid increase in ethanol production from corn rain, and the proposed use of crop residues for ethanol production poses significant challenges in increasing awareness and providing needed training to extension educators and agency staff to address the potential environmental impacts of intensive corn production and corn residue use.
Mahdi Al-Kaisi conducted an educational training program on residue management through a series of workshops, webinars, and field training sessions across Iowa for this project. Based on a 2009 survey, Al-Kaisi estimated this training would affect over 4,000 individuals and 500,000 acres across Iowa. The level of understanding the basic role of residue in improving soil and water quality improved from 37% before the training to 86% after the training was completed.
Want more information? See the related SARE grant(s) ENC07-094, Impact of Biomass Removal for Bioenergy on Soil and Water Quality.
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Project products are developed as part of SARE grants. They are made available with support from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed within project products do not necessarily reflect the view of the SARE program or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
