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Alternative crops sprouting potential for Panhandle growers
Scottsbluff, Nebraska
September 10, 2004

Early Panhandle settlers had high hopes of re-creating the lush fields of corn and wheat that already blanketed lower and wetter elevations to the east. Some even believed abundant rains would follow the plow onto the High Plains.

Today, David Baltensperger takes a more realistic view. The University of Nebraska crop breeder works to identify, study and introduce new, higher-value crops for the Panhandle. He sees the region's semi-arid climate as both a challenge and an opportunity to build an agricultural economy based on a range of alternative crops.

Modern Panhandle mainstays such as sugar beets, sunflowers and proso millet, and emerging crops such as chicory began as ideas. Research by the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists helped make them realities.

There's no guarantee a crop that grows well elsewhere will thrive here. To find out, Panhandle Research and Extension Center researchers study everything from how different varieties perform to whether a potential newcomer fends off local insects and diseases, as well as their market potential. Findings help growers learn to plant, manage and harvest new crops.

"Some people wonder why we bother with testing so many types of crops," Baltensperger said. "I tell them that soybeans were once an alternative crop."

Alternative crops like turfgrass actually grow better in the Panhandle than in other areas because the region's low humidity restricts growth of turf diseases, he said.

Grasses for lawns and golf courses are among "leisure crops" that compete for consumer entertainment dollars. They represent a growing chunk of Panhandle alternative crop acres.

Another leisure crop, bird seed -- including proso and foxtail millet, sunflower, sorghum and safflower -- is the region's third largest acreage crop behind wheat and corn.

Like sunflower, proso millet has grown into an important regional commodity. The Panhandle grows 200,000 acres of proso annually. IANR scientists developed varieties well-suited to the region and research laid the groundwork for expanded birdseed production.

The food industry is another potential market for new crops. Researchers are testing growing conditions and marketability of crops such as canola, sunflower and safflower for cooking or salad oils, and legumes such as chickpeas and garbanzo beans.

Another use for some alternative crops -- biofuels -- offers tremendous potential.

Panhandle scientists are studying the potential of brown mustard and canola in making biodiesel. This environmentally friendly fuel alternative blends well with petroleum-based diesel and one day may even replace it.

"There is a huge market for biodiesel that doesn't leave an excess of product," Baltensperger said. "It has the greatest potential for economic impact of any alternative crop."

Canola has performed well in the Panhandle, but before the promise of biodiesel, there was little or no local demand. Brown mustard's huge biodiesel potential has generated lots of interest, but researchers are still studying how best to grow it locally.

Like Baltensperger, Leon Kriesel of Kriesel Certified Seed in Cheyenne County is excited about the future of alternative crops, but cautions producers to be aware of the learning curve.

"Everybody is looking for the silver bullet crop," said Kriesel, whose company produces seed for crops such as winter wheat, proso millet, spring oats and barley. "There are a lot of exciting alternatives, but you need to develop the marketing first. It's purely economics."

Kriesel said IANR research is key to developing successful new crops.

"A lot of people don't see the workings of the university behind the eventual product," he said. "The university helps shoulder the risk (and) explore if these things work, if they are economically viable."

Baltensperger will present some of his alternative crops research findings at a new crops conference in Australia Sept. 21-25.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, USDA's North Central Regional Canola Programs, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture Value-Added Program and the Anna Elliott Fund help fund this research.

By David Ochsner
IANR News Service


Niche crops may become more important

The diverse nature of alternative crops may keep more people farming and more businesses open in rural communities.

That notion drives Crop Breeder David Baltensperger. The University of Nebraska scientist and extension specialist thinks alternative, or niche crops, will be increasingly important to the region. While each niche crop probably would grow on limited acres, they each would target specialty markets with higher per acre income potential.

"We talk about a portfolio of crops that can benefit smaller operators," Baltensperger said. "You have to spend more time selling the product yourself, but niche crops carry a premium for doing that legwork."

For larger farmers, alternative crops provide extra income and diversification to spread risks. For small producers, they offer opportunities for higher incomes using limited land and water.

Alternative crops are especially appealing to part-time growers who supplement their income with another job, Baltensperger said.

"The niche markets give them the option of working more hours on their own land rather than in a second job," the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources researcher said.

A more diverse crop mix also helps reduce chemical costs by helping break weed and insect cycles through crop rotation.

Because alternative crops offer more intensive and diverse uses for land, a potential result could be more small producers, Baltensperger said.

"One of our goals is to keep people on the land in rural Nebraska," he said of the university's alternative crops research. "If we can produce higher-value commodities, then there will be more opportunities for those
(businesses) in the rural communities that support the production of those crops."

The stories appear in the current issue of Research Nebraska magazine, which is published twice annually by the Agricultural Research Division in the University of Nebraska's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

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