Alfalfa Joins Feedstock Choices for Ethanol
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) Some day, hay could be fuel for more than horses and cattle. Some Agriculture Department scientists say alfalfa could be a feedstock for ethanol fuel and offset some of the environmental problems associated with corn.
The idea is to have Midwest farmers who now grow corn all the time or corn and soybeans in rotation to start growing corn and alfalfa. Critics question whether alfalfa could ever be an economical fuel crop for many farmers.
But alfalfa can, like soybeans, replenish nitrogen that corn takes from the soil and allow farmers to use less fertilizer on corn, reducing the amount that can wash off the land and pollute rivers and streams.
Alfalfa also could provide soil protection, limiting erosion, because the crop would be left in the ground for a couple of years before the field is replanted to corn.
…It’s not the type of alfalfa that farmers now plant on 21 million acres nationwide, but a super-sized variety that could be used for feed and for fuel. The leaves would be sold for cattle feed. The stems would be processed into a feedstock for next-generation ethanol plants.
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