WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Congress in its Farm Bill should fund research of one-pass harvesting equipment for cellulosic agricultural feedstock, a report released Tuesday said.
Among a wish for Congress for the 2007 Farm Bill, the Biotechnology Industry Organization offered suggestions to make harvesting of feedstock more economically and environmentally sustainable, thereby increasing ethanol production.
BIO recommended specific appropriations in next year's bill to fund research and development of one-pass harvesting equipment for cellulosic agricultural feedstock collection as well as incentives for use of the equipment.
Soil carbon computer models would let farmers determine how much crop residue could be collected without degrading soil quality. BIO also wants to see a number of programs to help farmers identify the best crops and streamline the cellulosic feedstock process. Incentives for railroad expansions would aid easier transportation of feedstock, BIO said in its recommendations.
Thomas Dorr, undersecretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, suggested much of the needed investment would probably come from private business.
"One of the things we've found over the last three or four years is we're no longer requiring direct government financing for corn based ethanol plants," he said in Washington. "In rural America, there's a lot of equity."
A solid business model, which multiple groups are working on, would lead the private sector to sustain the industry, he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with the Department of Energy on research initiatives working toward commercialization of cellulosic ethanol, Dorr said.
