Bioenergy efforts increase following executive order

President Clinton's Executive Order 13134, "Developing and Promoting Biobased Products and Bioenergy," was issued in August 1999 and set a goal of tripling the use of biobased products and bioenergy in the United States by 2010. If successful, this would lead to billions of dollars of new income for farmers, create new job opportunities in rural communities, lessen the United States' dependence on foreign oil and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The role of Iowa State University and other external partners still is being defined, but already the efforts of ISU Extension and its value-added agriculture program and the Iowa Energy Center are helping Iowa companies and producers.

"Our focus is on developing value-added, environmentally benign products from renewable resources."-- David Abbott

Government agencies want to use research and outreach to start moving key industries away from relying solely on petroleum, said Mary Holz-Clause, an industrial specialist with ISU Extension's value-added agriculture program. "Our role is to help people, companies and communities realize what opportunities exist in the areas of bioenergy and renewable resources."

 Another current effort is ISU Extension's ongoing relationship with B/MAP (Bio-Mass Agri Products), a producer-owned, Harlan, Iowa-based company that markets corn stover. According to extension field specialist Jill Euken, the partnership between ISU and B/MAP revolves around continuing efforts to test applications for corn stover and develop new technologies for the harvest and storage of biomass.

 Energy consumption and usage is the main focus of Executive Order 13134, but industrial sector companies have said there are many opportunities to develop new products from biomass.

 One company pushing ahead with new product development is Muscatine, Iowa-based Grain Processing Corporation, which holds a joint patent with ISU for a natural herbicide product developed from corn.

 "Our focus is on developing value-added, environmentally benign products from renewable resources," said David Abbott, senior vice president of research and development at Grain Processing Corporation. "In the end, we believe this will be just as important to creating new opportunities for agriculture and helping eliminate an over-reliance on petroleum-based products." 

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