A fascinating discussion this morning at the opening session of the Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts conference here in St. Louis.

Speakers have included government and university experts who are presenting what challenges face the bioeconomy, especially on the environmental side of the issue.

Kitty Smith with the USDA’s Economic Research Service and chair of the “The Bioeconomy & the Environment” session says biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, are a much better alternative to non-renewable fossil fuels.

“But there are legal, economic and market public management challenges to be met.”

She says a platform, such as the one Farm Foundation is providing here, gives the diverse group attending a chance to put forth their ideas in a climate where everyone is not necessarily coming from the exact same background.

“The Farm Foundation is outstanding at bringing together academics, government and industry to talk about practical kinds of problems, so individuals aren’t speaking to like minds… they’re speaking to a diverse audience where ideas and challenges come back from the audience.”

You can hear my conversation with Smith here:

[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/farm-foundation/KittySmith.mp3]