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Calling all Feedstock Experts

Posted: August 31, 2009 at 11:52 AM CST

I am happy to report that EPM has decided to begin publishing a monthly column devoted to the most important ingredient in ethanol production — feedstocks. Beginning with the October issue, feedstock experts will share updates, breakthroughs and ideas concerning the production and processing of corn, as well as small grains and cellulosic materials, in a column titled “Taking Stalk.”

Here’s a sneak peek at October’s column, provided by Bill Greving, chairman of the United Sorghum Check-off Program:
“Recent declines in acreage and production have led to decreased private investment in sorghum and also brought about a technology gap between sorghum and other crops such as corn, cotton and soybeans.
Enter the biofuels industry. Private, public and checkoff-funded research examined new possibilities for sorghum in the ethanol production process. Sorghum is now the number two crops used for grain-based ethanol production.”

In future months, we hope to provide our readers with updates on scientific research on corn, feedstock impacts on land use change, cellulosic breakthroughs and the increasing use of other small grains, such as barley, as feedstocks for ethanol production. If you have expertise in any of these areas or have an idea for a column topic and a suggested expert you’d like to hear from, I’d love to know about it. Send ideas to me at kbevill@bbiinternational.com. Looking forward to it!

-Kris Bevill