Local farmers urged to take part in emerging bio-energy market

The development of bio-energy as a viable fuel source represents one of the biggest turning points in agriculture in many years, according to World Agricultural Forum (WAF) President Ray Cesca.

“Bio-energy and bio-fuels will be one of the leading factors in driving agriculture by the close of the decade,” Cesca said last week in a telephone interview from his St. Louis office.

The development of bio-energy will be one of the topics discussed this week at the WAF”™s 2007 World Congress in St. Louis.

The WAF forum brings together members of the agriculture community, along with political leaders, academics and nongovernmental organizations to discuss issues affecting agriculture and develop action plans, he said. “The WAF is probably one of the most unique forums.”

The focus of this year”™s event is “creating wealth and prosperity through agriculture,” he said.

And although the WAF is global in its scope, Cesca said New York farmers can play a big role in the emerging bio-energy market in the years to come. He said if the use of switchgrass as an alternative energy source starts to take hold, Hudson Valley farmers can be at the forefront of that movement.

According to the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Science, the northeastern United States has the highest potential for growing and farming grass for bio-fuel purposes.

Converting grass into pellet form and using it in pellet-burning stoves, for example, could reduce greenhouse gases and heating costs. President George W. Bush even mentioned the use of switchgrass pellets as a viable form of energy in his State of the Union address.

But one problem is that grass pellets are not produced on a mass scale in the U.S.

However, Cesca believes once the monetary benefit of bio-fuels like grass becomes apparent, there will be more political and financial weight behind it.

“Is big oil interested in investing in bio-fuels? I think they might be,” he said. “Finance plays a big part. What new entrepreneurs will be coming on board to take advantage of (bio-energy)? I think it will create a whole new set of entrepreneurs who will be coming back to the farm.”

One of the biggest bio-fuels being produced in the U.S. right now is ethanol. There are 50 ethanol plants under construction, he said, mostly in the Midwest and California.

But ethanol, which is made from corn crops, cannot be the only source of bio-energy, he added.

“Corn is a major feed ingredient, so the price of (livestock) would be affected by (the increased use of corn for ethanol). If you”™re using 40 to 50 percent of corn crops for ethanol, what replaces it?”

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That”™s why the development of grass and other bio-fuels is important, he said. In South America, for example, some countries are researching using sugar cane as a form of bio-energy.

How these new sources of energy are developed, marketed and distributed are some questions the WAF tackles.

While there are no easy answers to these questions, the WAF is attempting to increase the dialogue on these issues.

Will bio-fuels be the catalyst to change agriculture throughout the world? Cesca thinks so.

“I call it retooling agriculture. It”™s recasting it, you have to wipe the slate clean and start over.”

For information, visit www.worldagforum.org.