Some local farmers got a look today at Central Illinois newest crop – Pennycress.
It's harvest time for the oil rich Pennycress plant in Mapleton.
Biofuels Manufacturers of Illinois and the U–S Agricultural Research Lab say the 27–acre yield is the first of many for Central Illinois.
"This harvest this spring has really helped a lot of those questions about what's the best time to plant and what's the best conditions for growing and what's the best time for harvest, "said B-M-I Chief Technology Officer Peter Johnsen.
Johnsen says the Pennycress is an ideal crop for farmers because it grows during the winter, on a different schedule from soybean and can be done on the same acreage. Oil from the pennycress can be converted to biodiesel fuel. B–M–I recently began collaborating with the AgGuild of Illinois in an effort to begin large scale commercial growing of Pennycress.
"We've still got some of the fertility questions to work on. But we see costs should be relatively inexpensive," said AgGuild member Brad Glenn.
Right now the B–M–I is waiting to get a loan from the state before it can break ground later this summer for a plant to manufacture the fuel.
This is a crop which has been experimented. We have produced oil, we tested it and we're going to try it out in the field, transport trucks.
B–M–I says with this new energy producing crop Illinois could reap in as much as 100–million dollars in economic benefits...once the plant is built and operating.
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