International experts from government, academia
and agriculture will gather for the International Workshop on Sorghum for
Biofuels in Houston, Texas. Photo courtesy of Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado
State University, Bugwood.org
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USDA Conference Spotlights Sorghum's Biofuel
Potential
By Ann Perry
August 18, 2008 WASHINGTON, D.C., August 18,
2008Sorghum's potential as a biofuel crop will be explored at the
International Workshop on Sorghum for Biofuels which begins in Houston, Texas,
tomorrow. More than 100 international experts from government, academia, the
private sector and the agricultural community are expected to participate in
the conference.
U.S. co-sponsors of the event include the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Research, Education and Economics (REE)
mission area, Texas A&M University
(TAMU), and the National Sorghum
Producers (NSP). Other co-sponsors include Brazils
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa
Agropecuaria (EMBRAPA), the International
Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and
Tsinghua University,
which is located in the Peoples Republic of China.
U.S. consumers know that we need to develop new sources of energy to
meet our transportation needs, said REE Under Secretary
Gale
A. Buchanan. Growing sorghum for bioenergy production can give us a
source of renewableand profitableenergy right here at home.
Sorghum is attracting greater interest as a bioenergy crop because it is
tolerant of drought and grows well on marginal lands not suitable for most
other crops. It produces high yields even after an abbreviated production
cycle, and requires minimal amounts of fertilizer and irrigation. Scientists at
the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a USDA scientific research agency, are
part of the international research community studying sorghum genetics and
genomics, production systems and conversion processes to optimize biofuel
production.
At the workshop, attendees will share information about key scientific
advances supporting the economically viable and environmentally sustainable
production and utilization of sorghum as a bioenergy crop. Participants also
will be able to visit TAMU and learn more about ongoing research on bioenergy
feedstock and development. Site visits also will be available to Jennings, La.,
where Verenium Corporation has broken
ground for a 1.4-million-gallon-per-year demonstration cellulosic ethanol
facility, the first of its kind in the United States.
Opening remarks will be given by Mark Hussey, interim vice chancellor and
dean of the TAMU College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences, and also director of
Texas AgriLife Research; USDA
Under Secretary Buchanan, and Liu Yanhau, vice minister of the Peoples
Republic of China Ministry of Science and
Technology. Other speakers on the agenda include representatives from the
NSP, USDA, ARS, the U.S. Department of Energy
and the TAMU Agricultural and Food Policy
Center.