Large Corn, Soybean Crops In South America Affects U.S. Balance Sheet Scientists Engineer Sugarcane To Produce Biodiesel, More Sugar For Ethanol
• Bioenergy crops grown on U.S. soil
can produce inexhaustible and sus- tainable domestic source of fuel, less- ening our reliance on limited and often foreign fossil fuel reserves. • Naturally, sugarcane plants pro-
duce sugar but hardly any oil. Re- searchers developed sugarcane that produces enough oil for biodiesel pro- duction as well as even more sugar for ethanol production. • This dual-purpose bioenergy crop
production estimates for South American corn production. Minor ad- justments were made to the U.S. do- mestic balance sheet. The decrease in soybean exports was unexpected at this juncture, however record South
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multi-institutional team led by the University of Illinois has proven sugarcane can be genetically engi- neered to produce oil in its leaves and
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could produce biofuel on marginal land in the Southeastern United States that is not well suited to most food crops. URBANA, ILL.
DR. AARON SMITH KNOXVILLE, TENN.
hursday’s WASDE report pro- jected a record large soybean crop for Brazil and increased
predicted to be more than five times more profitable per acre than soybeans and two times more profitable than corn. More importantly, sugarcane can be grown on marginal land in the Gulf Coast region that does not support good corn or soybean yields. “Instead of fields of oil pumps, we en-
American production and a strengthening USD, relative the Brazilian Real, provide some justification for USDA
vision fields of green plants sustainably producing biofuel in perpetuity on our nation’s soil, particularly marginal soil that is not well suited to food produc- tion,” says Stephen Long, Gutgsell en- dowed professor of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences. Long leads the research project Plants Engineered to Replace Oil in Sugarcane and Sweet Sorghum (PETROSS) that has pioneered this work at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at U of I.
The dual-purpose bioenergy crops are predicted to be more than five times more profitable per acre than soybeans and two times more profitable than corn.
stems for biodiesel production. Sur- prisingly, the modified sugarcane plants also produced more sugar, which could be used for ethanol pro- duction. The dual-purpose bioenergy crops are
“While fuel prices may be considered
low today, we can remember paying more than $4 per gallon not long ago,” Long says. “As it can take 10-15 years for this technology to reach farmers’ fields, we need to develop these solu-
changes. For corn, compared to last month’s report, domestic supply was unchanged; feed and residual was decreased 50million bushels and ethanol was increased 50 million (resulting in no changed in domestic use); U.S. ending stocks were unchanged; and foreign stocks were in- creased 123 million bushels. Currently, global ending stocks are projected at 8.688 billion bushels (2.32 billion in the U.S. and 6.368 billion in foreign stocks), up 4.6 percent from the previous marketing year. For soybeans, compared to last month’s report, do- mestic supply was unchanged; domestic crushings were increased 10 million bushels; exports were decreased 25 million bushels; U.S. ending stocks were increased 15
million bushels; and foreign stocks were increased million bushels. Currently, global ending stocks are p jected at 3.043 billion bushels (435 million in the U and 2.608 billion in foreign reserves),up 8.1 percent fr the previous marketing year. For cotton, compared to last month’s report, dome
oil,” says co-author Vijay Singh, direc- tor of the Integrated Bioprocessing Re- search Laboratory at Illinois. “We expected that as oil production
production was increased 270,000 bales (due to a y increase of 14 lbs/acre); exports were increased 0.5m lion bales;U.S. ending stocks were decreased 0.3 mill bales; and foreign stocks were increased 0.88 mill bales. Currently, global ending stocks are projected 90.48 million bales (4.5 million in the U.S., 48.9 mill in China, and 37.08 million in the rest of the wor down 6.8 percent from the previous marketing year. For wheat, compared to last month’s report,
increased, sugar production would de- crease, based on our computer mod- els,” Long says. “However, we found that the plant can produce more oil without loss of sugar production, which means our plants may ulti- mately be even more productive than we originally anticipated.” To date, PETROSS has engineered
tions to ensure our fuel security today and as long as we need liquid fuels into the future.” Published in Biocatalysis and Agri-
cultural Biotechnology, this paper ana- lyzes the project’s first genetically modified sugarcane varieties. Using a juicer, the researchers extracted about 90 percent of the sugar and 60 percent of the oil from the plant; the juice was fermented to produce ethanol and later treated with organic solvents to recover the oil. The team has patented the method used to separate the oil and sugar. They recovered 0.5 and 0.8 percent
oil from two of the modified sugarcane lines, which is 67 percent and 167 per- cent more oil than unmodified sugar- cane, respectively. “The oil composition is comparable to that obtained from other feedstocks like seaweed or algae that are being engineered to produce
sugarcane with 13 percent oil, 8 per- cent of which is the oil that can be con- verted into biodiesel. According to the project's economic analyses, plants with just 5 percent oil would produce an extra 123 gallons of biodiesel per acre than soybeans and 350 more gal- lons of ethanol per acre than corn. Currently, the project is seeking com-
mercial investors to achieve 20 percent oil production, the theoretical limit ac- cording to the project’s computer mod- els. For more information about opportunities to collaborate or invest in this work, contact Vijay Singh at vs-
ingh@illinois.edu or 217-333-9510.
The PETROSS project and this work
ports were decreased 10 million bushels; U ending stocks were decreased 10 million bush and foreign stocks were increased 60 mill bushels. Currently, global ending stocks are p jected at 9.184 billion bushels (1.129 billion in U.S. and 8.055 billion in foreign stocks), up 4 p cent from the previous marketing year. A complete summary of the USDA’s Ma WASDE report for corn, soybeans, cotton, a wheat is available on our Monthly Crop Outlo page.
Corn May 2017 corn futures closed at $3.64 down
are supported by the Advanced Re- search Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA- E), which funds initial research for high-impact energy technologies to show proof of concept before private- sector investment.
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Free Workshop To Help New Farmers, Ranchers With ABCs Of USDA, Other Agencies
and ranchers to attend a free workshop about re- sources offered by state and federal agencies. “Understanding the Al-
U
phabet Soup of USDA Programs” will be held 6- 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, and 6-9:30 p.m. Thursday, April 20, said Debi Kelly, MU Extension specialist. Both sessions are at Hillsboro City Hall, 101 Main St., Hillsboro. The first session covers
funding options offered through the Natural Re- sources Conservation Service, the Office of Rural Development and the
Farm Services
Agency. During the sec- ond session, speakers will explain the process of applying for state and federal resources avail- able to veterans. Mis- souri AgrAbility Project state director Karen Funkenbusch and repre- sentatives from Voca- tional
Rehabilitation Services and other agen- 6• MidAmerica Farmer Grower / April 14, 2017 HILLSBORO, MO.
niversity of Missouri Extension invites beginning farmers
cies will give case stud- ies. “This is a great oppor-
tunity to meet your local USDA, NRCS, FSA and MU Extension represen- tatives and learn how to get started in farming and ranching,” said Kelly. “It is also a good time to network with oth- ers interested in farming and ranching.” Free snacks will be
cents since last Friday. For the week, May 20 corn futures traded between $3.62 and $3. Across Tennessee, average basis (cash pri nearby futures price) weakened or remained u changed at Memphis, Northwest Barge Poin Northwest, Upper-middle, and Lower-middle T nessee.Overall, basis for the week ranged from under to 30 over the May futures contractwith average of 8 over at the end of the week. Corn sales reported by exporters from February March 2 were within expectations with net sale 29.2 million bushels for the 2016/17 market year and 3.7million bushels for the 2017/18m keting year.Exports for the same time periodw down from last week at 57.2 million bushels.C export sales and commitments were 78 percen the USDA estimated total annual exports for 2016/17 marketing year (September 1 to Aug 31) compared to a 5-year average of 76 perce Ethanol production for the week ending Marc was 1.022 million barrels per day down 12,0 from last week. Ethanol stocks were 22.856 m lion barrels, down 235,000 barrels. May/Jul a May/Dec future spreads were 8 and 22 cents, spectively. July 2017 corn futures closed at $3 down 13 cents since last Friday. In Tennessee, September 2017 cash forw contracts averaged $3.76 with a range of $3.63 $4.01. December 2017 corn futures closed $3.86 down 13 cents since last Friday. Downs price protection could be obtained by purchas a $3.90 December 2017 Put Option costing cents establishing a $3.57 futures floor. Soybeans May 2017 soybean futures closed at $10
served. Register by April 17 by contacting Kelly at 636-797-5391 or kel-
lyd@missouri.edu. MU Extension, through
a grant from the USDA Office of Advocacy and Outreach to help veter- ans, Latinos and socially disadvantaged persons who want to farm, offers the program to increase agribusinesses and en- terprise development. Karen
Funkenbusch
serves as director. Patri- cia Barrett, Debi Kelly and Eleazar Gonzalez serve as co-directors. The USDA 2501 grant
helps beginning farmers and others evaluate and plan their farm enter-
down 31 cents since last Friday. For the we May 2017 soybean futures traded between $10 and $10.48. Average soybean basis weakened remained unchanged at Memphis, Northw Barge Points, Lower-middle, and Upper-mid Tennessee and strengthened at Northwest T nessee. Basis ranged from 39 under to even May futures contract at elevators and ba points. Average basis at the end of the week w 15 under the May futures contract. Net sales ported by exporters were within expectationsw net sales of 17.8 million bushels for the 2016/ marketing year and 1.1 million bushels for 2017/18 marketing year. Exports for the same riod were down from last week at 36.1 mill bushels. Soybean export sales and commitme were 95 percent of the USDA estimated total nual exports for the 2016/17 marketing year (S tember 1 to August 31), compared to a 5-y average of 91 percent. May soybean-to-corn tures price ratio was 2.76 at the end of the we May/Jul and May/Nov future spreads were cents and -7 cents, respectively. July 20
prise. Participants attend a set of practical semi- nars and field days to learn from MU Extension specialists, farmers and agribusiness operators. The grant comes at a critical time, Funken- busch says. More than 300,000 veterans are ex- pected to return to their rural Missouri roots in the next decade. “Many of them will seek work in agriculture,” she says. Latinos also represent one of the fastest-grow- ing populations of new farm operators. USDA helps fund this
program as part of an $8.4 million set of grants to 24 states through the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvan- taged and Veteran Farm- ers
and Ranchers
Program, also known as the 2501 Program. “Un- derstanding the Alphabet Soup of USDA Programs” is offered near military bases and areas identi- fied by USDA as “Strike- Force” and “Promise Zone” initiatives as part of the grant.
March 17, 2017 / MidAmerica Farmer Growe
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