Energy

According to Sarah Hamlen, Montana State University Extension, and Milton Grieger, University of Wyoming Extension, Western producers’ profitability is closely linked to the consumption and production of energy resources. Decisions made by these producers on energy issues have long-term implications for the sustainability of agricultural production, they assert. To increase producers’ knowledge of energy issues, […]

The multiple benefits that a sustainable bioenergy system can provide underscore the need for its development in a manner that assures that the expansion of this sector provides not just new energy but broader environmental and community benefits as well (Kleinschmit, 2007; Jordan et al, 2007; Kleinschmit and Muller, 2005). It will require that farmers […]

In response to the shift in some crop acres from providing food and fiber to an increased emphasis in energy farming, concerns have been raised about potential problems from crop monocultures or high rates of residue removal. David Clay’s long-term goals for his project were to increase producers’ awareness of the importance of determining costs […]

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 […]

Many greenhouse growers are looking for options to reduce their energy costs, but they don’t always understand which options will provide the greatest return on investment. For his project, Scott Sanford developed curriculum materials, extension bulletins, resource lists, and a spreadsheet model for educators to use for delivering programming on energy management and conservation for […]

Agricultural production capacity, as well as transportation, storage, and marketing infrastructure for alternative biomass feedstocks and other renewable energy sources often presents challenges. In some cases, farmers and ranchers can find themselves at a disadvantage, operating in a knowledge vacuum as they encounter developers moving to position themselves for future energy development. Michael Siepel’s project […]

While perennial biomass crops have both environmental and energy benefits over corn ethanol, there are limited commercialscale facilities utilizing biomass feedstocks for liquid fuel production. The expansion of corn ethanol has provided Nebraska with several million tons of animal feeds from ethanol co-products annually. According to Francis John Hay, these ethanol co-product feeds have excellent […]