A Virginia-based ethanol plant is offering incentives for regional farmers to produce barley for biofuel.

Osage Bio Energy will award $1,000 to the farmers in each of seven states with the highest barley yield per acre. The top producer of the Barley Bin Builder Yield Contest will receive the grand prize of a GM FlexFuel pickup truck.

“Osage Bio Energy’s barley feedstock approach provides a substantial opportunity for local farmers and viable sources of ethanol in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic,” said Joel Stone, Chief Operating Officer of Osage Bio Energy. “And GM’s dedication to the flex-fuel vehicle market makes it an ideal partner for the yield contest.”

Farmers in the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina are eligible to participate in the competition. Perdue AgriBusiness and the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation are cosponsoring the contest with Osage Bio Energy. To get information out to farmers, Osage Bio Energy is sponsoring a farmer survey on its website, as well as attending grower meetings throughout the region.