*34—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 7,1981 FORT COLLINS, Colo. - A Colorado State University engineer says he has developed a method that could become the basis of a new source of ruminant feed throughout the world within the next few years. Bruce E. Dale of the University’s department of agricultural and chemical engineering said he has found a way to greatly increase the digestibility of such material as com stover, wheat straw or nee straw so that it becomes an animal feed that compares favorably with gram. Dale said the process could have a profound influence on worldwide agriculture. He noted that numerous scientists throughout the world have devoted years of research trying to find a way to convert cellulosic materials to animal feed. “We feel that the process will be a practical, agricultural tool within a few years and should vastly increase the potential animal feed in the world,” Dale said. He added that the method also can be used to convert cellulose to alcohol, although cellulose-alcohol conversion requires more steps than cellulose-animal feed con version and, therefore, will require more development. Besides providing a new source of animal feed, which should be less costly than current feeds, Dale said the method should make more gram available for human con sumption. He explained that much of the world’s gram that could make good, human food is fed to cattle, “hi this situation, the world’s affluent can bid away grain from the less affluent,” he said. Smce Dale’s discovery should make non food sources available as cattle feed, more grain suitable for human consumption should be available. “We, m the affluent countries, can have our cows and eat them, too, and not bid away gram sup plies from the less wealthy countries,” Dale explained. Dale pointed out that his discovery is not aimed at the needs of individual fanners. Rather, once machinery is developed to make the process practical on a large scale, it would be attractive SELL IT WITH A LANCASTER FARMING CLASSIFIED Ruminant feed break through converts to farm co-ops and large cattle feeding operations. For overseas use in remote areas, machinery probably could be mounted on trucks or barges and made available to farmers through government assistance, he said. Dale explained that cellulose animal feed units could be built m various sizes, but that a unit could treat 1 to 2 tons of cellulose material per hour probably would cost around |lOO,OOO. He estimates that such a unit would serve the needs of a 5,000-head feedlot operation and pay-back m that case would take less than two years. Dale said that Colorado State University has filed for a patent on his method and that a number of companies in the United States and abroad have expressed interest m developing the machinery to make the cellulose-animal feed process practical on a large scale. Dale said machinery that he has used on a small scale is relatively simple. Therefore, he is optimistic that a company could complete development of large-scale machinery within about two years. The CSU engineer explained that basic machinery required for the process are compressors, a pressure chamber for about 200 pounds per square inch of pressure, and conveyors. Dale said he will continue research on the process itself and on machinery neccesary to make the process work on a large scale, perhaps with a stationary pilot plant “We know the process works. Now, we need to fmd out more about precisely how it works and how we can do it even more ef ficiently,” he said. Dale reported that his process operates successfully on alfalfa to make it a higher quality feed and on wheat straw, nee straw and corn stover, all materials that have a cellulose content of about 35 percent to 40 percent and a lignin content of about 15 percent. Lignin is a material that acts .'ike cement “ and is contained m the cell wall of plants. Wood materials, which have a much higher lignin content, do not seem to respond as well to the treatment as straws. However, cellulose to useable form Dale said he is continuing work with wood materials. Some companies also are in terested m his process to make alcohol, Dale said. He pointed out that making alcohol, which is combmed with other fuels to make gasohol or diesohol, is much economically feasible with cellulose than with feed grams. "As compared to com, cellulose material is much cheaper, there is less price fluctuation, and it’s not a food. "Most of the interest m making Deadly now found across U.S. COLUMBIA, Mo. Scientists are studying a deadly disease of pine trees that is now known across the U.S. after being first identified in Columbia, Mo., just two and a half years ago. “It’s the same disease that has been an epidemic in Japan for over 50 years,” said Marc Lanit, University of Missouri-Columbia entomologist. He and Victor Oropkin, chair man of UMC’s Department of Plant Pathology, have been invited to present research papers at the international Umon of Forestry Research Organizations World Congress in Japan, September ft -17. There they will confer with Japanese scientists to gam a better understanding of the disease cycle. Called pme wilt, this disease involves trees, nematodes and insects. "You first notice the disease when you wound the tree and see that no resin flows from the wound,” Oropkm said. “Still the tree looks fine. Then in three weeks, the tree is dead.” At the World Congress, Dropkm will present a paper giving an update of pine wilt disease in the' U.S. Unit will report on the insect vectors that transport the disease causing nematodes from infected to healthy tree.”. Dropkm is studying the <««*&* «•s»»** • Mixes Uniformly With The Feed • Uniformly Consumed By Birds • Soft Gray “Chips” • The Economical Replacement For Oyster Shells • Easily Utilized Source of Supplemental Calcium to Produce Harder Egg Shell alcouoi trom corn came about through large subsidies and a depressed corn market About 70 percent of the variable costs of making alcohol from gram are due to the gram itself. Since com prices have increased, the tost of making alcohol from com has gone up as well,” Dale sasd. Dale will be conducting further research on the best ways of converting cellulose materials to alcohol with Antonio Moreira, also a CSU engineer in the agricultural and chemical engineering department. “The idea of using alcohol as a pine tree nematode-tree mteracations to see if there is any way to control the pest. The nematode is the same species that attacks pines in Japan. Among other things, he hopes to identify resistant varieties of pme trees. Since the disease was first identified in Missouri in February, 1979, it has been found in 33 states on 21 species of pme trees and six species of conifers other than pme. 'Twenty-two counties in Missouri have reported the disease. “We not feel the disease is native to the United States and that the Japanese probably imported the problem from us,’ ’ Luut said. He explained that the insect that transmits the nematode in the U.S. is “primarily a longhomed beetle” a close relative to the beetle that transmits the disease in Japan. “These longhomed beetles at tack dead or dying trees,” Unit explained. “They develop m the wood of trees and, after they emerge, they feed on the bark of healthy trees. This feeding does not cause damage by itself.” The beetles sometimes carry nematodes in their bodies. If they do, the nematodes will leave the beetle’s body and enter the wound Berks Equine Council meets LEESPORT - The Berks Equine Council will be meeting next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Dean Richardson will be the featured speaker, discussing or- SELECTED for their: 4 ★ High Calcium Level - 39% Ca ★ Low Magnesium Level-. 7 %Mg (yr\ YORK STONE & SUPPLY CO. I_W ) Roosevelt Ave. Ext, York, PA 17405 \T_ y 717-843-0981 fuel is good, but making alcohol from grain requires a supply of fairly low-pnced gram. Hopefully, cellulose conversion can be the key to revitalizing the alcohol fuel industry,” Dale said. Dale, a chemical engineer, has been at Colorado State University for the past 2% years where he is an assistant professor in his department. One emphasis of research m the CSU agricultural and chemical engineering department is. on converting agricultural waste to food and fuel products. disease made by the insect during feeding on the tree. The nematodes multiply rapidly within the tree and cause a rapid death. "As the trees die, they become attractive to the longhomed beetle which lays its eggs under the bark,” Unit said, “its larvae tunnel- into the wood. As these larvae mature to the adult stage, nematodes - gather on and in the adult beetle's body and get tran sported to another tree.” And so it goes. The more trees that die, the more likely others will die qf pme wilt disease. Unit and Dropkm are concerned because they have no way to control pme wilt disease. “We can only recommend sanitation—cutting and burning the infected material,” Unit said. “We need an mdepth study of the nematode and the insect vectors before we can recommend other control practices.” Another problem is what Unit calls “a lack of a track record” as far as the disease is concerned. “During 1980, the year of the bad drought, the disease was par ticularly bad in Missouri, it hasn’t been so bad this year, so we suspect that water stress caused by the drought may influence the disease.” thopedic problems in foais. The meeting will be held in the auditorium of the Berks ag center. It is open to the public. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FEED DEALER & START SAVING $ $ $ I
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