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Newsletter | Past Issues
September,
2009
In This Issue:
Seminars
for Agricultural Lenders
Making
a Farm Rental Agreement Better
Deadline
Approaching for Establishing "Pre-Existing"
Line Fences
Annie's
Project Past and Future
Explore
the "New" CSP Program on September 18
Hay
Barns Now Financed by FSA
Farm
Science Review Coming September 22-24, 2009
Renewable
Energy and Environment
Do
you have a question that you would like to ask the Ohio
AG Manager Team? If so, click here to email your
question
Seminars
Scheduled for Ag Lenders
Glen
Arnold, OSU Extension Educator
The
Ohio State University Extension has scheduled two educational
seminars in western Ohio for lenders who work with agriculture.
The dates are Tuesday, October 13 th at the Putnam County
Extension office in Ottawa and Thursday, October 15
th at the Champaign County Extension office in Urbana
.
These
seminars are excellent opportunities for Ag Lenders,
Farm Service Agency financial personnel, farm managers,
county Extension Educators and others to learn about
OSU Extension research, outreach programs and current
agricultural topics of interest across the state. Annual
attendance at these seminars is typically around 125
participants.
Robert
Moore, attorney for the Wright Law Co. LPA, will address
Ag Lenders on the Pros and Cons of farmers moving their
operations to Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs).
As farming operations continue to grow in size and capital
demands, LLCs are the most common organizational structure
selected. Mr. More has a wealth of experience in this
area and will be sharing the strengths and weaknesses
of LLCs.
Mike
Bumgarner from the Ohio
Livestock Care Standards Board will speak on Issue II
which will be on the November ballot in Ohio . The livestock
industry in Ohio is attempting to be proactive on animal
care by establishing the Ohio Livestock Care Standards
Board and establishing reasonable farm animal care guidelines
instead of having outside groups push for rules that
virtually cripple the Ohio livestock industry.
David
Drake, acting director of the Farm Service Agency in
Ohio , will be discussing the FSA beginning farmer loan
program and the grain storage structure loan program.
These federal programs can offer interest reductions
on farm loans making them more affordable.
Barry
Ward, Ohio State University Extension Leader, Production
Business Management will be on hand to discuss Ohio
Land Rents and the updated Crop Enterprise Budgets for
2010 Looking at the expected income and expenses for
the 2010 crops can assist farmers in determining what
money might be available for farmland rental payments.
The
registration cost to attend on of the Ag Lender Seminars
is $60.00 and the registration deadline is Monday, October
5th. Your local county extension office can provide
a registration form or you can access it on the web
at http://putnam.osu.edu/natural_resources_environment
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Making
A Farm Rental Agreement Better
Bruce
Clevenger, OSU Extension Educator
Peggy
Kirk Hall, Director, OSU Ag & Resource Law Program
When
parties disagree about farm rental arrangements, often
an arbitrator or 3 rd party advisor is asked to intervene
if a written agreement does not exist. However, even
some written agreements may not included details necessary
to resolve the disagreement.
What
makes a well designed farm rental agreement? While most
written agreements do include general terms like a description/location
of the farm, who the tenant and landlord is, and the
amount of cash rent or crop share percentages, some
critical information may be missing to protect both
parties.
For
example, disagreements can arise about termination or
renewal deadlines, and parties may look to Ohio law
to find guidance. However, Ohio is a state that does
not have a statutory law on farm lease termination or
renewal, so it is important to define dates that both
parties can agree to and include those in the written
farm lease.
Does
a written or verbal agreement imply a partnership? Does
the agreement increase the landowner or tenant liability
for the action of the other party? Who has access to
production records from the farm and how does that impact
Farm Service Agency program participation? Who pays
for lime? Are the buildings included in the agreement
and who performs repairs? These are just a few of the
questions that can arise from poorly constructed farm
rental agreements.
OSU
Extension offers a Farm Rental Agreement Checklist to
guide landowners and tenants toward a well written document
that protects and benefits both parties. The checklist
can be found at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/fr-fact/0003.html
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Deadline
Approaching for Establishing "Pre-Existing"
Line Fences
Peggy Kirk Hall, Director of Agricultural Law, OSU Agricultural
and Resource Law Program
Changes
last year to the Ohio Line Fence Law included a deadline
of September 30, 2009 for landowners to file an Affidavit
of Preexisting Line Fence. The affidavit procedure allows
a landowner to certify under oath that a line fence
existed on a property's boundary line within the two
years prior to the filing of the affidavit.
A
landowner would want to file the Affidavit of Preexisting
Line Fence to ensure that the law's rule of “equitable
shares” would apply if the owner wants to construct
a replacement fence on the location. The equitable shares
rule states that landowners adjoining the boundary line
must share “equitably” in the cost of constructing and
maintaining the fence. An equitable apportionment is
made based upon a consideration of factors that attempt
to allocate responsibility fairly, including presence
of waterways, trees and vegetation; importance of marking
the boundary line; risk of trespassers and use of the
fence for containing livestock. Under this rule, each
landowner may be partly responsible for the line fence.
If
a landowner cannot establish the presence of a preexisting
line fence, then the landowner who wants to build a
new fence on the line would be completely responsible
for all costs incurred in doing so. In addition to the
Affidavit of Preexisting Line Fence, an owner can prove
a preexisting fence through evidence, such as remnants
of the fence, a written agreement or assignment about
the fence, photographs, or testimony.
The
Affidavit of Preexisting Fence must be written and filed
in accordance with Ohio law. OSU's Agricultural &
Resource Law Program has fact sheets to explain the
Line Fence Law and the affidavit requirements. See our
website at http://aede.osu.edu/programs/aglaw
. The Ohio Farm Bureau has model affidavit documents;
contact your local office. It's also important to consult
an attorney and ensure that the affidavit is in accordance
with the law.
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Annie's
Project Past and Future
Julia
Woodruff, Extension Educator, Ashland County
For
those who have not heard about Annie's Project, I begin
with a little background information and explanation
about past programming in Ohio . Annie's Project is
an educational program dedicated to strengthening women's
role in modern farm enterprises. Annie was a woman who
grew up in a small rural community and spent her life
learning how to be an involved business partner with
her husband. Together they reached their goals and achieved
success. Annie's daughter, Ruth Hambleton, Retired Extension
Educator, University of Illinois , founded Annie's Project
in 2000 in honor of her mother.
Annie's
Project is designed to take Annie's life experiences
and share them with other women in agriculture who are
living and working in a complex and dynamic farm business
environment. The project is a six-week course that focuses
on the five broad areas of agricultural risk - human,
financial, marketing, production and legal.
The
project, which began in Illinois , has now expanded
to eighteen states with active programs and two additional
states where leaders have been identified. Currently,
over 5,000 participants have completed Annie's Project
in the eighteen states.
The
program was introduced in Ohio in January 2007. It was
held in Wood and Delaware Counties with 47 women participating.
The workshops were then expanded in 2008 as the result
of a grant from the North Central Risk Management Center
. It was offered at six locations and 122 women participated
in the project. In 2009, the project was offered in
only one county with 20 women completing the class.
Over the past three years, 189 women have completed
the workshop. We hope to at least double this number
in 2010.
Evaluation
results from the first nine workshops have been extremely
positive. The six month follow-up survey of 2008 participants
(response rate of 39%) reported that: 88%
became involved with goal setting for the farm and 90%
plan to set goals for the following production year.
Sixty-seven percent of participants
also said that have become more involved in the
farm decision making process and half of the group had
adopted at least one new risk management practice as
a result of the workshop. Annie's Project is also designed
to help women involved in agriculture create a network
in their local areas. The workshops held in 2008 appeared
to assist with the creation of a network, as 42% reported
that they had stayed in contact with other women from
their class.
Building
on these positive results, the 2010 winter months will
feature thirteen Annie's Project workshops around the
state. Each Extension Education and Research Area (EERA)
will host at least one workshop; some EERA's will have
more. Please click on the link to see the locations
and contact information for 2010 workshop sites. Stay
tuned to the Ohio Ag Manager for announcements of specific
dates and locations in the coming months.
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Explore
the "New" CSP Program on September 18
Stan
Smith, Program Assistant, Fairfield County
The
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), established
in the 2008 Farm Bill, is the newest NRCS Incentive
Program. It financially rewards agricultural producers
(including forestry) for maintaining and managing existing
conservation activities, as well as encourages producers
to undertake additional conservation activities to address
natural resource concerns on their land. Land must be
private or tribal agricultural land or nonindustrial
private forest land.
In an effort to share information regarding the application
and acceptance process for this "new" version of CSP,
NRCS will host an informational meeting on Friday, September
18 from 10 a.m. until noon in the Fairfield County Ag
Center in Lancaster. All interested persons from Fairfield
and the surrounding Counties are invited to attend.
Other informational meetings will be held throughout
Ohio in September.
The CSP is available nationwide to all eligible agricultural
producers. Producers may apply at any time for
CSP; however, at least one ranking period will occur
each year during which time applications will be selected
for funding. In Ohio, the current ranking period
will end September 30, 2009. You must have your
application completed and turned into the NRCS office
by that date.
If an applicant is selected for CSP funding, a contract
will be developed with NRCS. The contract length
is 5 years, with an option to extend the contract for
another 5 years at the end of the first 5-year period.
The CSP has an annual payment limitation of $40,000
and contracts must cover all the eligible land in the
entire operation. A person or legal entity cannot
exceed $200,000 for all CSP contracts entered into during
any 5-year period.
All conservation activities will be subject to field
verification prior to payments being made. Payments
for completed conservation activities will be made in
the year after the conservation activities are implemented.
To learn more about CSP you can visit www.oh.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/CSP_home.html
or visit your local County NRCS field office. Interested
producers are encouraged to fill out the Self-Screening
Checklist and bring it to the nearest NRCS office. The
Checklist is available at the WEB site listed above
or in the field office. Call 740-653-5320 or another
NRCS office for more information.
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Hay
Barns Now Financed by FSA
Stan
Smith, Program Assistant, Fairfield County
Effective
August 17, 2009, the opportunity to finance hay barns
through Farm Service Agency (FSA) became reality. Patterned
and regulated similarly to the grain bin loans which
FSA has administered for years, 85% of the cost of new
storage facilities for up to two years worth of "hay
and renewable biomass" production may be financed at
the fixed FSA interest rate for either 7, 10 or 12 years
depending on the amount of the loan. In certain circumstances,
the renovation of existing storage may also be financed.
The FSA farm storage facility loan interest rates for
loans processed in September, 2009 are 3.25% amortized
for 7 years, 3.625% for 10 years, or 4.0% for a 12 year
loan.
For the purposes of this loan program, "hay" is defined
as all the traditional grasses and legumes grown in
Ohio for hay crops plus grain legumes such as soybeans
if they are harvested as whole plants. "Renewable biomass"
is defined as any organic matter that is available on
a renewable basis used for producing energy in the form
of heat, electricity and fuel. Examples include algae,
crop residues, plants and trees, other ag commodities
and vegetative waste material.
For more detail on securing financing for hay storage
facilities, you may contact your local Farm Service
Agency, or review this Farm
Storage Facility Loan Fact Sheet at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/fsfl09.pdf
or USDA
Notice FSFL-57 at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_Notice/fsfl_57.pdf
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Farm
Science Review Coming September 22-24, 2009
Glen
Arnold, OSU Extension Educator
The 2009 Ohio
State University Farm Science Review event will be held
Septtember 22-24 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center
in London, Ohio. The FSR attracts upwards of 140,000
visitors from all over the country and many foreign
countries. Visitors can come for three days to see 4,000
product lines from 600 commercial exhibitors, and learn
the latest in agricultural research, conservation, family
and nutrition, and gardening and landscaping.
Last year the Farm Science Review location was hammered
by high winds the day before the review opened wrecking
most of the tents. This year exhibitors and visitors
alike are hoping for more favorable weather. Purdue
University is becoming a permanent resident at Farm
Science Review. Once again, Purdue specialists will
be joining Ohio State researchers to bring the best
both universities have to offer in agriculture, nutrition,
family and consumer sciences and natural resources.
Farm Science Review will offer topics on farm financial
management and agriculture law. Such topics include
farm wages and benefits, cropland values, cash rents,
custom rates, transition planning, and dairy farm management.
Animal welfare is a hot topic in Ohio this year. Look
for Ohio State animal sciences specialists and exhibits
on animal welfare education in the Firebaugh Building.
Ag rescue demonstrations return to the Safety Education
Tent, located in Alumni Park. These demonstrations will
highlight the appropriate techniques for utilizing rescue
equipment when responding to agricultural emergencies.
Demos run each day at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. From
ethanol to wind power to hydrogen fuel cells, interest
in bioenergy continues to grow. Look for a wide variety
of bioenergy topics during the event, many of which
will be showcased in the new energy education tent located
in Alumni Park.
The National AgrAbility Project is coming to Ohio. The
project assists those with disabilities who are employed
in agriculture. The project will officially kick off
at Farm Science Review. Look for information at the
Safety Education Tent.
Participants
at the Farm Science Review should aslo plan on listening
to one of the live interviews of authorities from Ohio
State and elsewhere on current economic, business and
policy issues. OSU’s Department of Agricultural,
Environmental, and Development Economics sponsors this
series of short interviews on the stage beside the Leaper
Antique Building in Alumni Park on Friday Avenue. Stan
Ernst leads the discussion, then opens things up for
audience questions – your chance to question our
authorities. Each day of the Review, you’ll hear
about timely topics – everything from current
market behavior, marketing and economic performance,
to energy economics, trade policy and new legal questions
for rural America. Join the host in trying to stump
the authorities with your toughest questions.
The schedule for the review is as follows. Remember
that topics and times are subject to change so make
sure to check out the signboard along Friday Avenue
for daily lineups.
Tuesday, Sept. 22 – Stan Ernst (OSU AED
Economics)
8:30 a.m. Early Bird Outlook: Grain Markets
& Biofuels - Matt Roberts (OSU AED Economics)
9 a.m. ACRE Farm Bill Update – Carl Zulauf (OSU
AED Economics)
11:15 a.m. Energy & Biofuels Outlook – Matt
Roberts (OSU AED Economics)
11:30 a.m. On-farm Energy Audits – Chad Martin
(Purdue)
11:45 a.m. Where’s the Economy Going? –
Ian Sheldon (OSU AED Economics)
12:05 p.m. Economics of Cap and Trade – Brent
Sohngen (OSU AED Economics)
12:30 p.m. Grain Market Outlook – Matt Roberts
(OSU AED Economics)
12:45 p.m. ACRE Farm Bill Update – Carl Zulauf
(OSU AED Economics)
1 p.m. “Small Wind” on Your Farm? –
Chad Martin (Purdue)
1:20 p.m. Animal Cruelty Laws – Peggy Hall (OSU
AED Economics)
1:40 p.m. On-farm Energy Audits – Chad Martin
(Purdue)
2 p.m. Energy & Biofuels Outlook – Matt Roberts
(OSU AED Economics)
2:20 p.m. Ag News You Can Use – Julie Douglas
(Ag Answers, Purdue/OSU)
2:40 p.m. New APV Laws – Peggy Hall (OSU AED Economics)
3 p.m. TBA
Wednesday, Sept. 23 – Stan Ernst (OSU
AED Economics)
8:30 a.m. Early Bird Outlook: Grain Markets
& Biofuels – Matt Roberts & Stan Ernst
9 a.m. Biofuels for Military Aviation – Bob Allen
(Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Fuels Research Lab)
9:30 a.m. Energy & Biofuels Outlook – Matt
Roberts (OSU AED Economics)
10 a.m. Farmland Prices – Allan Lines (OSU AED
Economics)
10:20 a.m. ACRE Farm Bill Update – Carl Zulauf
(OSU AED Economics)
10:40 a.m. Grain Market Outlook – Matt Roberts
(OSU AED Economics)
11 a.m. New APV Laws – Peggy Hall (OSU AED Economics)
11:15 a.m. Ag News You Can Use – Julie Douglas
(Ag Answers, Purdue/OSU)
11:30 a.m. ACRE Farm Bill Update – Carl Zulauf
(OSU AED Economics)
11:45 a.m. Biofuels Outlook – Matt Roberts (OSU
AED Economics)
Noon Biofuels for Military Aviation – Bob Allen
(Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Fuels Research Lab)
12:20 p.m. The Power of Local Food Systems – Jeff
Sharp (OSU Rural Sociology)
12:40 p.m. Business Climate in Ohio – Greg Davis
(OSU AED Economics)
1 p.m. What Makes Main Street Vibrant – Jill Clark
(OSU AED Economics)
1:20 p.m. Grain Market Outlook – Matt Roberts
(OSU AED Economics)
1:40 p.m. Farmland Prices – Allan Lines (OSU AED
Economics)
2 p.m. Wind & Solar Opportunities – Kemp Jaycox
(Green Energy Ohio)
2:20 p.m. Animal Cruelty Laws – Peggy Hall (OSU
AED Economics)
2:40 p.m. Aquaculture Opportunities – Laura Tiu
(OSU South Centers)
3 p.m. Wind & Solar Opportunities – Kemp Jaycox
(Green Energy Ohio)
Thursday, Sep. 24 – Stan Ernst (OSU AED
Economics)
8 a.m. Early Bird Outlook: Grain Markets – Matt
Roberts & Stan Ernst (OSU AED Economics)
9:40 Farmland Prices – Allan Lines (OSU AED Economics)
10 p.m. Greenhouse Floriculture Opportunities –
Beth Fausey (OSU Extension ABE Ctr)
10:20 a.m. Ag’s Women... “We've come a long
way baby!” – Julia Woodruff (OSU Extension
Erie Co)
10:40 a.m. Grain Market Outlook – Matt Roberts
(OSU AED Economics)
11 a.m. The Global Food Economy – Doug Southgate
(OSU AED Economics)
11:20 a.m. Farmland Prices – Allan Lines (OSU
AED Economics)
11:40 a.m. The Death of Urban Sprawl – Elena Irwin
(OSU AED Economics)
Noon Ag News You Can Use – Julie Douglas (Ag Answers,
Purdue/OSU)
12:20 p.m. Grain Market Outlook – Matt Roberts
(OSU AED Economics)
12:40 p.m. Hydroponic Market Opportunities – Beth
Fausey (OSU Extension ABE Ctr)
1 p.m. Ag’s Women... “We've come a long
way baby!” – Julia Woodruff (OSU Extension
Erie Co)
1:20 p.m. Biofuels Outlook – Matt Roberts (OSU
AED Economics)
1:40 p.m. TBA
For more information on Farm Science Review and to learn
about more topics as they develop, log on to http://fsr.osu.edu
. Golf carts are still permitted at the Farm Science
Review and you can learn more about the rules by clicking
on the golf cart link on the website. Tickets are $8
at the gate or $5 in advance when purchased from county
offices of OSU Extension or participating agribusinesses.
Children 5 and younger are admitted free.
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Renewable Energy and Environment
Chris Bruynis & Jim Skeeles, OSU Extension
Educators
We are now in the grips of a recession
and gasoline price hovers around $2.50. We have just
enjoyed one of the coolest summers with rains evenly
spaced so lawns stayed green and crops look wonderful.
Sooo…… previous concerns about oil shortage, the environment
and global warming are less important, right?
However, public policy today strives for 25% of the
nation's energy to be derived from renewable sources
by 2025. This article will address some of the research
and the author's opinions about renewable energy and
the environment and our unique opportunities in Ohio.
At the August 20 th Crop, Soil and Water Field Night
on Bioenergy at OSU South Centers, Piketon, Ohio the
following were the topics: Biomass Crops; Algae as a
Biofuel; Cover Crops and Bioenergy; Forest Management
and Bioenergy and Field Experiments. Field experiments
at Piketon are currently with warm season grasses (switch
grass, big and little bluestem, Indian grass and Gamma
grass). Future plans are to research larger grasses
such as elephant grass and miscanthus. All of these
grasses take at least 3 years to establish but once
established stands will persist for 10 more years with
10 tons per acre per year of biomass production for
the smaller grasses and up to 20 tons per year for the
larger grasses. These yields are projected, and without
fertilizer application. Researchers at Piketon hope
to develop the most efficient and environmentally friendly
biomass production system for marginal crop land where
row crops can not be economically produced.
Extensive environmental, organic production and biomass
crop production research is also being done at the Kellogg
Biological Station run by Michigan State University
near Battle Creek, Michigan. The authors attended an
Upper Midwest Sustainable Food and Fuel Systems Seminar
held there the last week of August. A major thrust at
this facility is the measuring of “greenhouse” gasses
from crop land. Researchers there measure emissions
and absorption of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide
and other gasses. Methane emitted from primarily livestock
facilities is 30 to 50 times worse than carbon dioxide
as a contributor of global warming. Therefore, a farmer
in Circleville, Ohio is paid for the carbon credits
he gets for covering his manure lagoon and flaring off
the methane.
However, nitrous oxide is 300 times worse than carbon
dioxide as a contributor to global warming, so the researchers
in Michigan are measuring the emissions of nitrous oxide
from crop fields. Microbes in crop fields convert excess
nitrogen to nitrous oxide that is emitted into the air.
Michigan researchers are investigating the importance
of nitrous oxide from crops for global warming. Depending
on their results, future credits might be purchased
from those farmers who reduce their nitrogen fertilization
of corn.
For a greenhouse gas calculator for agricultural lands
go to http://sebewa.kbs.msu.edu:4567/
For the Long-Term Ecological Research Program go
to www.lternet.edu
or for the work being done at Kellogg Biological
Station go to www.lter.kbs.msu.edu
For research done by Great Lakes Bioenergy Research
Center go to www.glbrc.org
or for the work being done at the Kellogg Biological
Station go to www.glbrc.msu.edu
Other national centers funded by the U.S. Department
of Energy on transformational biofuels research are
at the Joint BioEnergy Institute at http://www.jbei.org/
and the BioEnergy Science Center at http://bioenergycenter.org/
Different feasibility of various alternative forms of
energy are emerging across Ohio. For instance, in north
western Ohio significant dollars are being paid to lease
land for wind farms. Also, in Wyandot County the
county farm is being awarded a lease contract for a
solar farm. These projects are being located based on
existing infrastructure capacity to handle the electricity
generated by the wind and solar fields. Aditional
information on the Wyandot County solar project can
be found at http://wyandotcountyeconomicdevelopment.com
and information on the wind energy generation projects
can be found at http://www.ohiowind.org
.
Several companies in Ohio, such as Algaeventure from
Marysville http://www.algaevs.com/
and Ohio Biofuels from Dublin are investing significant
dollars into bioenergy production from algae. On the
Algaeventure web site above, it is claimed that “3.71%
of Ohio's farmland could produce Ohio's total annual
petroleum use.” and that “Algae-to-oil ……….. technology
(will be) able to deliver more than 10 times the fuel
per acre than any other bio-solution.” This technology
was further developed from 1980 to 1995 by the U.S.
Department of Energy-NREL Aquatic Species Program for
microalgae oil production where oil was produced for
$40 to $60/barrel. Then oil price was lower than that
level, so was shelved. A summary of oil from algae can
be found on the Power Point slides from the Piketon
presentation by Laura Tiu at http://drop.io/biofuels
or http://fairfield.osu.edu/agriculture-and-natural-resources/files/algae.ppt/view
Concerning an opportunity for south eastern Ohio and
West Virginia, the most exciting energy news is that
FirstEnergy Solutions Corporation is converting the
coal-fired Burger Generation Facility on the Ohio River
at Shadyside near Wheeling, West Virginia. For only
this one power plant, 150,000 tons of biofuel will be
needed in 2010, with 1.8 million tons per year needed
by 2013. In 2010 those 150,000 tons of pre-processed
biofuel will be co-fired with coal. In 2013 it is the
intent for the plant to be solely fueled by biofuel.
For only the Burger Facility, the required biofuel can
be sourced from wood waste from the industry. According
to Damon Hartley, Program Specialist, Forest Products,
OSU South Centers forest products and logging operations
produce more than 2 million tons of wood waste per year,
with 768,000 tons of mill waste plus 950,000 tons of
logging waste (see http://fairfield.osu.edu/agriculture-and-natural-resources/files/biofldnite.ppt/view
). However, the price for such biofuel will have
to outbid present prices paid for sawdust, wood chips,
slabs and the cost of getting the logging waste from
the forest to the plant. Further, if other plants choose
to go the route of the Burger Plant, harvest of forest
and crop biomass will be required to satisfy the demand
for biofuel for electric generation plants on the Ohio
River. Given that 20% of the coal based electric power
generation in the US is along the Ohio River, the potential
demand for biofuel is huge.
In the author's opinion, wood biofuel in the Ohio River
valley has the competitive edge for alternative fuel
use in south eastern Ohio but wind and to a more limited
extent, solar have a competitive edge in north western
Ohio. The Ohio River is the epicenter of cheap, although
dirty, electrical power generation with coal. If the
Burger plant finds it to their advantage to utilize
biofuel to clean up emissions while complying with renewable
energy policy, that is a win, win. Likewise, the no
carbon footprint of wind and solar make those a win,
win. Better yet, the technology is already developed,
unlike ethanol production from switch grass.
Further, the Ohio River on both sides is heavily forested
so harvesting and transportation of a dense, energy
rich product is lower cost than biomass crops. Wood
fuel grows on it's own without input, fertilization
or management by man and is renewable and sustainable.
Using wood biomass, solar and wind all have environmental
benefits and carbon advantages. Wood burned for fuel
is nearly carbon neutral and emissions are lower in
sulfur than even the low sulfur coal burned now while
wind and solar are carbon zero!
Managed in a sustainable manner, the use of woody biomass
from our forests can provide timber stand improvement
and improved growth and value of timber trees while
utilizing for biofuel the weed trees and wood previously
treated as waste. Such use of wood biomass can provide
further benefit to south eastern Ohio and West Virginia
communities by creating more local jobs in timber management
and biomass harvesting, transportation and processing.
We in southeastern Ohio and West Virginia are well poised
to utilize the renewable wood resources with which we
are blessed while north western Ohio is well poised
to take advantage of wind and solar energy.
Let us hope we can develop sustainable alternative energy.
At the turn of the century Ohio was 95% forested. By
the dust bowl days and the depression, forest land had
been reduced to 35%. Now we have returned to 70% forested
in southeastern Ohio. Let's use this wonderful resource,
but use it for the benefit of man, society and the environment.
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The
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State University's Department of Agricultural, Environmental
and Development Economics.
Ohio
Ag Manager Team Leaders: Chris Bruynis & David Marrison
Web
Page Managers: David Marrison & Andy Kleinschmidt
Information
presented above and where trade names are used, they
are supplied with the understanding that no discrimination
is intended and no endorsement by Ohio State University
Extension is implied.
Ohio
State University Extension embraces human diversity
and is committed to ensuring that all research and related
educational programs are available to clientele on a
nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color,
religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation,
gender identity or expression, disability, or veteran
status. This statement is in accordance with United
States Civil Rights Laws and the USDA.
Keith
L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Agricultural
Administration and Director, Ohio State University Extension
TDD No. 800-589-8292 ( Ohio only) or 614-292-1868
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