The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is funding a $738,000 three-year study by South Dakota State University looking at possible environmental changes that could accompany a shift toward new biofuel crops such as perennial grasses.
The three-year study will focus on land use in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, western Minnesota and northern Iowa. “If you look at one of the maps by the Renewable Fuels Association, the hotspot of the activity is in this area,” said professor Geoff Henebry, a senior scientist in the Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence (GIScCE) at SDSU.
DSU research scientist Michael Wimberly said, “It’s a very complex system. We do not anticipate having widespread changes throughout the region. Because biofuels feedstocks are bulky, you want to minimize transportation costs. So it makes the most sense to be growing crops around ethanol plants. There are certainly lots of ethanol plants built, under construction, and planned. So you can imagine ‘patchy’ kinds of changes.”
Preliminary results should be available in 12 to 24 months.
In the SDSU photo – scientists Henebry (left) and Wimberly are examining possible environmental changes that could accompany shifts in land used for biofuels crops.
According to the 
Keep in mind this is only the fifth annual conference for this industry and about 4,000 people are at the event with almost 400 exhibitors. Many of the booths are showcasing new technology for the industry – while others, like New Holland, are focusing on the fun stuff.
Bark beetles are busy little buggers in the Rocky Mountain region these days, killing off swaths of trees thanks to a couple of warmer winters that have kept them more active than normal.
One of the companies at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo is Solazyme, a company that is making biodiesel out of algae. In fact, the folks from Solazyme brought a sweet ride to the conference… a Mercedes Benz C320 that runs on the green fuel made from the green algae.
Country music star Michael Peterson was one of the featured speakers at this morning’s 
Cindy grabbed Michael for a quick interview right after he returned from a test drive of a 2008 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel pick up truck running on B20. As he stepped out of the vehicle, he joked how he was just sure the organizers meant for him to take the truck home (sorry, Michael!). But, seriously, he really loved the way the vehicle drove and its acceleration.
Reports of the demise of the ethanol tariff in the new 
Domestic Fuel is here at the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, bringing you the latest updates from this gathering of biodiesel industry experts.
Just after we flew into the sun and warmth of a beautiful Central Florida day, Cindy was off to track down Ed Hegland, chairman of the National Biodiedsel Board. She caught up with Ed at a session on sustainable biodiesel production where it was announced a new task force would be formed to look at making biodiesel more sustainable and possibly move away from more expensive feedstocks, such as soybeans.
The 2008 National Biodiesel Board Conference and Exp is underway in sunny Orlando, Florida, where thousands of biodiesel producers, marketers, and industry folks gathered for the four-day event.
Domestic Fuel is there as well, covering the events of the conference. We’ve already heard presentations on sustainable biodiesel efforts, the state of the industry, and even a Super Bowl party featuring NFL Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood (shown with me… Jack is on the left), who was signing footballs and helmets to raise money for the National Biodiesel Foundation… a group that is promoting education and research efforts to advance the biodiesel industry.