Future biofuel farmers of America
March 27, 2007
By Daniel Hecht
The following comes to us from our far-flung correspondent, Scott Sawyer of Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. Scott and his colleagues at VSJF have been fostering bio-energy initiatives, working with the people on the frontlines of Vermont's renewable energy revolution — farmers.
One of the founding fathers of this revolution is John Williamson of State Line Farm in Shaftsbury. As Vermont's first biofuels celebrity, John has been the focus of innumerable newspaper articles and the recipient of a steady stream of visitors since he began including energy production in his farm's operations two years ago.
Interest in State Line Farm stems from widespread recognition that Vermont is at an energy crossroads. As a rural state with a dispersed population and high per-capita vehicle miles traveled, we can continue importing petroleum fuels and exporting dollars (over 500 million gallons and over $1 billion in 2006). Or, we can develop climate-neutral liquid biofuels in our own backyard.
Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are now widely seen as solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and softening the impact of future oil shortages. True, biofuels development doesn't come without risks: careless production might just replace depleted petroleum reserves with depleted topsoil and forests, or trade cheaper fuel for more expensive food.
But what if we sustainably produce our liquid fuel supply? What would Vermont-scale biofuels production look like? How can we build locally based biofuels refineries that avoid the negative aspects of industrial-scale production? A few weeks ago, these questions drew a motley crew of farmers, nonprofiteers, academics, and a banker to Vermont Technical College. Ellen Kahler, director of Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, and Netaka White, director of Vermont Biofuels Association, kicked off the meeting by outlining the past three years of educational activities, pilot projects, and market-building initiatives of the Vermont Biodiesel Project. They also described the supply-side goals of the larger Vermont Biofuels Initiative.
Ten farmers from throughout the state discussed the feasibility of producing biodiesel and ethanol on Vermont farms. The palpable excitement of this group stemmed from the prospect of weaning themselves (and others) off fossil fuel imports, developing new value-added farm revenue sources, and keeping some of the money spent on energy here in Vermont.
They're not the only ones thinking this way. Greg Mruk, commercial loan officer with Chittenden Bank, reports that he now spends half of his time with farmers working on energy projects.
Just sticking their toes into the renewable energy waters were dairy farmers Don Pouliot of Westford and Brent Beidler of Randolph Center, both considering growing oil seeds such as soybeans, canola or sunflower for biodiesel production.
They heard some tips from experienced oil seed growers, Paul Boivin of Addison, Eric Dandurand of Franklin, and Ken Van Hazinga of Orwell. Heather Darby, the dynamo UVM Extension agronomist, shared her wealth of experience in conducting seed trials, and Allen Matthews of UVM's Center for Sustainable Agriculture described the center's resources for prospective energy farmers.
Further along the experience spectrum, Larry Scott of Newbury and Jack Lazor of Westfield have grown sunflowers, canola and soybeans and are now ready to produce biodiesel, but need crucial pieces of equipment – namely, the seed presses that squeeze out the volatile oils.
Already working at that stage, John Williamson and his business partner, Steve Plummer, have purchased a seed press and recently built a passive solar biodiesel production facility. And Roger Rainville of Alburgh — who quipped that "If I can do it, anybody can" — recently purchased two seed presses for canola grown on his farm.
The group discussed options such as a cooperative arrangement in which several farms grow oilseeds and get them pressed by John or Roger, or sharing a mobile seed-pressing unit that travels to each farm.
Substituting food or feed crops with energy crops has dubious benefit. Fortunately, there's huge potential in two other feedstocks that don't replace crops. New processes allow virtually any cellulosic plant material, including waste and slash, to be made into ethanol. And then there's, of all things, pond scum. We think of algae as a plague in our lakes, but it's now seen as one of the most promising biomass materials for biodiesel production.
Multiple bio-energy processes can be piggybacked, too. Guy Palardy of Alburgh presented a tantalizing design for a digester that generates electricity from crops instead of manure, then nourishes algae crops with the leftovers.
Vermont is a tiny player on the world stage; biofuels production here won't solve the problems of climate change and peak oil. But in conjunction with smart growth, public transportation, and more efficient vehicles and buildings, we can get darn close to meeting our own energy needs in a carbon-neutral fashion.
Our farmers have long supplied the food for our tables and preserved the working landscape we love. Soon they'll be providing us with energy security as well, building a new rural economy based on time-honored traditions.
Daniel Hecht is a novelist and director of Vermont Environmental Consortium. For more information about any Green Grapevine topic, contact VEC at vec@norwich.edu.
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