College Station, Texas
December 11, 2007
Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station scientists are paving the way for new
production systems in the bioenergy arena with an aggressive,
innovative research program, according to the agency’s associate
director.
“(The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station) is committed to
building a sustainable bioenergy economy that integrates food,
feed, fiber and dedicated energy crops,” Dr. Bill McCutchen told
those gathered at the 2007 Texas Plant Protection Association
Conference in College Station.
Future global petroleum consumption is staggering when
evaluating both U.S. and China’s needs, he said. By the year
2025, it is projected that China will use more fuel oil than the
U.S. due to a rapid industrialization of the country.
Texas is the largest state for oil and natural gas production
and a significant producer of grain. But using grain to produce
ethanol may not be the best answer long term, especially when it
comes to meeting future needs, McCutchen said.
“Texas is a grain-deficit state,” he said, noting that the
state’s livestock industry consumes a lion’s share of what is
produced.
Cellulosic plant material is a better solution, McCutchen said,
and the Experiment Station already has developed a high-yield
sorghum variety that can be made into ethanol. Current crops
such as corn stover -- the stalks and leaves of the plant -- may
not be the best solution in terms of cost in producing ethanol,
McCutchen said.
Transportation costs weigh heavily in total return, he said. It
would cost approximately $60 or more per ton to deliver corn
stover yielding 2 tons to the acre to a biofuels production
facility, McCutchen said.
“The Experiment Station’s high-tonnage sorghum, which can yield
15 to 20 tons under favorable conditions, would reduce the cost
to $42-$50 (per ton),” McCutchen said. “It’s a simple matter of
logistics and economics.
“This designer sorghum is also drought tolerant and can be grown
in various regions of the state,” McCutchen said.
Experiment Station scientists Dr. Bill Rooney and Dr. John
Mullet have led work to develop the high biomass sorghum,
identifying DNA markers that allow for drought tolerance and
other favorable traits.
These traits can be transferred without genetic modification,
McCutchen said.
Recently, the Experiment Station signed a five-year,
multi-million dollar exclusive relationship with Ceres Inc. to
expedite the development of these sorghums, he told the
audience. Harvest, transportation and storage are other aspects
of Experiment Station work, McCutchen said.
Partnerships with Chevron and Ceres Inc. will help accelerate
new innovations and get them into the hands of Texas agriculture
producers soon, McCutchen said.
“Yes, we are engaging with industry, and we’re working with
several prominent companies,” he said. “This allows our
researchers to work with industry one-on-one and collaborate,
and the state of Texas can benefit by getting these new and
superior energy crops into the hands of producers in a more
timely manner.”
Meanwhile, across-the-board yield increases among major crops
has prompted Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples to
spread the message about the industry’s economic impact
statewide.
“We know the tough issues and areas of public policy (facing the
agriculture industry), but we need to be able to articulate why
it’s important to continue to invest in agriculture,” Staples
said. “Folks, if you’re not telling that story, who is going to
tell it?”
Increased yields in cotton, corn, peanut and sorghum production
from a year ago have agriculture producers closing out 2007 on a
positive note, Staples said. Agriculture’s contributions to the
state economy have to be hammered home in regional parts of
Texas, encouraging continued business investment in agriculture.
“No matter what industry you’re in, you have some ties to
agriculture,” he said. “We need to be able to articulate why
it’s important to continue to invest in agriculture.”
Good environmental stewardship was another priority outlined by
Staples. The agriculture industry needs to continue to “capture
the minds of Americans” when thinking about carbon credits and
greenhouse gas emissions.
“Agriculture is going to have to step up to the plate, and I
encourage needed support so we can continue to be science- and
technology-based in making these decisions.”
Meanwhile, the Texas Plant Protection Association presented Dr.
Travis Miller with the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement
Award. Miller is the associate department head for soil and crop
sciences at Texas A&M University and Texas Cooperative Extension
program leader. He was recognized for outstanding contributions
and service to the Texas Plant Protection Association and Texas
agriculture, according to the award citation. |
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