| Energy is the hot topic in North Carolina farm country these days. After the usual pleasantries about the ongoing drought and the price of soybeans, farmer breakfast-table conversation quickly turns to energy. With the price of fuel on the rise, all farmers are feeling a major pinch, whether it’s from running the tractor for spring planting, heating the greenhouse or heading to the farm supply store for fertilizer, which is getting more expensive as well. In their constant struggle to reduce costs, farmers across the state want to see where they can improve their energy efficiency, and some even want to produce more of their own energy on the farm. North Carolina farmers are also investigating whether they can sell the raw materials for energy production, as they continue to seek opportunities to replace lost tobacco income.
The Midwest has been focused on energy production for several years, supporting the development of ethanol processing plants to utilize local corn production. North Carolina, with much lower average yields, doesn’t produce a net surplus of corn, so ethanol hasn’t been a viable alternative until recently, with oil prices increasing and federal renewable fuel requirements in place. And now a 110 million-gallon ethanol plant is being planned for Beaufort County by Agri- Ethanol Products LLC.
The increasing popularity of biodiesel could benefit North Carolina, which has significant soybean acreage. While farmers in the western and central parts of the state have been able to develop value-added enterprises such as wineries and agritourism, the agricultural community in the sparsely populated eastern part of the state has been searching for opportunities that can sustain their larger acreage. Biodiesel offers potential for N.C. growers both in the production of soybeans and in the development of processing plants that could make significant contributions to rural development.
The North Carolina Soybean Producers Association is promoting the development of biodiesel infrastructure around the state, maintaining an updated list of biodiesel dealers. The N.C. Solar Center, of N.C. State University, is serving as an information clearinghouse on biodiesel facts and resources, providing assistance to consumers and producers on alternative energy opportunities. The N.C. Grain Growers Cooperative is developing a large biodiesel facility in Mt. Olive, with the financial support of the Golden Leaf Foundation. Piedmont Biofuels is currently distributing biodiesel to its members, building reactors around the Triangle region, and educating citizens about opportunities with renewable fuels; they are also developing a million gallon production facility.
N.C. agricultural leaders gathered in Raleigh in March to discuss farm energy options as part of the Agricultural Futures Group, an effort to unify the agricultural community, which was initiated by the NC Farm Bureau and the NC State University Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS). “We felt it was important for the conventional commodity organizations and sustainable agriculture groups to begin to discuss common concerns around the future of farming,” said Nancy Creamer, CEFS Director. “Energy was an issue that is important to everyone in agriculture and a good point to begin to develop relationships and trust between the various organizations.”
Rep. Bob Etheridge hosted a Biofuels Summit in Raleigh in April to solicit ideas for federal incentives that could spur the development of this sector across the state. A diverse group of panelists discussed current biofuels activities in the state and considered opportunities for the state to become a leader in biofuel production.
For more information, contact Bob Wagner of American Farmland Trust or Anne Tazewell of the N.C. Solar Center.
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