(U.S. Department of Agriculture) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to invest $8 million to support and expand monitoring of carbon in soil on working agricultural lands as well as
Tag "Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)"
By Alan Guebert (Farm and Dairy) … And it featured several “cropaganda” moments, a clever invention of the podcast’s three co-hosts — Silvia Secchi, a University of Iowa professor of geographical
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) A new report published today (February 14, 2022) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, funded in part by the National Wildlife
(Solutions from the Land) Members of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry held a hearing with key USDA officials Wednesday that marks an important first step in the development
by Collin Peterson (Minneapolis Star Tribune/Governors’ Biofuels Coalition) … According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), agriculture accounts for just 10% of U.S. CO2 emissions, with livestock accounting for just 4%.
(Solutions from the Land) The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry held its first hearing of the 117th Congress this week, drawing attention to the enormous potential in farm productivity
by Janet Kubat Willette (Farm Progress) Madhu Khanna, distinguished professor of environmental economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, says that CRP acres have the potential to produce harvestable bioenergy crops.
by Art Cullen (Storm Lake Times/New York Times) … Few took carbon sequestration seriously during his previous tenure, a time when “resilient agriculture” had not yet entered the vernacular. But
by Ben Nuelle (AgriPulse) … Carbon sequestration payments to farmers is something said to be on the table for the incoming Biden administration as a path to address emissions reduction. Duvall
(Kansas Ag Connection/US AgNet) U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) are pressing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to allow businesses that have received grants
(Center for American Progress) … Urban sprawl, oil and gas extraction, and other industrial uses consumed more than 45,000 square miles of farms, ranches, and private working forests in a
(Office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)) Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today introduced the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA), comprehensive legislation that sets a bold vision of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in
by Georgina Gustin (Inside Climate Change) … Sen. Michael Bennet, like Biden, writes about voluntary markets to support better soil carbon practices. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg talked at the first debate about climate change and farming’s
(Argus Media) Higher US biofuel blending mandates cannot make up for lost export trade opportunities, according to farm groups caught in the crossfire of the country’s trade war with China. US
by Art Cullen (The Guardian) Here in farming country we have the opportunity to rethink our approach to renewable energy and food production — … Meanwhile, we’re losing our precious topsoil and
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) EFC Systems recently bought AgSolver which helps farmers maximize profit on every acre via tools that give them the power to analyze their fields’ financial performance.
by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, following on the heels of an Environmental Protection Agency report to Congress documenting wide-spread habitat loss following enactment of U.S. biofuels policy in 2007, environmental
by Barry Amundson (Grand Forks Herald) U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D, is concerned about two major issues that can affect farmers and ranchers this year. One is the farm bill that faces
by Julie Harker (Brownfield Ag News) Mixed prairie grasses that are used in Conservation Reserve Program lands did not live up to their potential as biomass crops for cellulosic biofuel production,
(South Dakota State University/Biomass Magazine) Can farmers produce at least 1 billion tons of biomass per year that can be used as biofuels feedstock? That’s the question that researchers are trying to
(University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences/Science Daily) A new report provides practical agronomic data for five cellulosic feedstocks, which could improve adoption and increase production across the
by Dave Orrick (Twin Cities Pioneer Press) Female pheasants have surprised researchers by running into corn and soybean fields — but not just for the crops. Female pheasants, Minnesota researchers
(Environmental and Energy Study Institute) … With a potential omnibus spending package on the table this fall, the oil industry and some environmental groups have raised again the proposition of RFS
by Jessie Stolark (The Hill/Environmental and Energy Study Institute) … The total amount of U.S. land under production by American farmers is down– not just over the last 50 or 100 years, but
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) Here we go again. We didn’t think it could get much worse than the Associated Press hit piece on ethanol in late 2013. But
by Kim Larson (Grand Forks Herald) … Let us all be reminded, that CRP was never meant to remain as a stationary acreage program. It was expected to perform just as
by Tom Dennis (Grand Forks Herald) … What happened is that crude oil production soared in North Dakota and elsewhere around the United States. More domestic oil production means less
(AZO CleanTech) Using switchgrass to produce biofuel is one way to decrease the United States’ dependence on oil, but growing it and making it profitable can be complicated. Switchgrass is
by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine) The USDA has released the final rule for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, and though the general scope of BCAP is not changing with the
(US Department of Agriculture) Farm Bill program will benefit wildlife and outdoor recreation activity in California Bay Delta Region, Mississippi, Red River Basins and others Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced
by Ken Anderson (Brownfield Ag News) There’s been considerable debate as to whether farming conservation practices should remain voluntary or be made mandatory. But Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack believes voluntary
by Kevin Jeffries (25 x ’25) … Lower demand for renewable fuels means lower prices for corn, soybeans and other crops. Generally, producers account for lower prices by shifting to more
by Ashwin Raman (Duluth News Tribune) I disagreed with the Feb. 18 commentary, “Ethanol mandate hurts environment,” by Annette Meeks of the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota. How Meeks came to the
(E! Science News/Earth & Climate) The first long-term U.S. field trials of Miscanthus x giganteus, a towering perennial grass used in bioenergy production, reveal that its exceptional yields, though reduced somewhat
By Dina Cappiello (Associated Press/StarTribune) The hills of southern Iowa bear the scars of America’s push for green energy: The brown gashes where rain has washed away the soil. The
by Chris Hanson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … Similar to the 1970s period of prosperity, Zulauf (Carl Zulauf, economics professor at Ohio State University) says that in 2012 crop prices increased by roughly
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Is there bio-based relief for the harried taxpayer in sight? Could conservationists, growers and biofuels producers find common ground in adapting the Conservation Reserve Program
(US Senate Finance Committee) This document is the fourth in a series of papers compiling tax reform options that Finance Committee members may wish to consider as they work towards reforming
by Ned Stowe (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) The USDA estimates that farmers in the U.S. will plant nine million more acres in corn in 2013 than they did in 2011,
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …In Maryland, The Wildlife Society released a Technical Review, “Effects of Bioenergy Production on Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat,” to provide answers to questions on bioenergy
(Yahoo! News) Applied Ecological Services, The Earth Partners, LP, and POET team up to apply science to industry: Cross-sector demonstration showcases the potential of conservation biomass as an alternative energy source. It’s a very good week
by Margaret Broeren (Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) …Much more than a buzzword, “sustainable” means that trade-offs—social, environmental and economic factors—have been measured, modeled and validated against actual “boots on the
by Tom Polansek (Reuters) U.S. officials said on Friday they would offer higher payments to certain owners of environmentally sensitive farm land if they idle it in a conservation program
by Jeff Wilson and Whitney McFerron (The Washington Post) …Global food costs are down 11 percent from a peak a year ago as grain output rises from China to Canada, U.N. data show. …The
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Retain Agricultural Land: Agricultural and forest lands are vulnerable to loss due to reduction of the dairy and pulp/paper industries and conversion to
by Philip Brasher (Des Moines Register) Programs the Obama administration has been pushing to promote next-generation biofuels are likely to have little funding in the next farm bill, according to
by Tiffany Stecker (ClimateWire/Scientific American) A study looks into giving farmers permission to harvest cellulosic feedstocks on land set aside for wetlands and wildlife conservation Growing cellulosic feedstocks on federally subsidized conservation
by Phil Ciciora (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) A team of researchers led by Madhu Khanna, a professor of agricultural and consumer economics at Illinois, shows that very high biomass
by B. C. Venuto and J. A. Daniel (Crop Science) Development of a biofuel industry based on biomass will require large quantities of cellulosic feedstock. Among the proposals for acquiring
by Robert E. Kozak (Advanced Biofuels USA) Looking at some real-world numbers, it becomes clear that the fear raised in Fixing a Critical Climate Accounting Error, Science, October 23, 2009,