NEBRASKA CITY.
Neb. How fanners can benefit
from growing wood as a crop for
energy will be a featured topic dur
ing a conference sponsored by The
National Arbor Day Foundation to
promote trees as an alternative to
fossil fuels.
The First National Fuelwood
Conference is scheduled for
November 11-13 in Lincoln, Neb.
and farm interests are being
encouraged to attend.
According to James R. Fazio,
director of the Foundation’s Arbor
Day Institute, the agricultural
community plays a key role in
America’s energy future.
“Depending on which experts
you listen to, woody biomass has
the potential of providing roughly
20 to 30 percent of the energy con
sumed in the United States, instead
of the current 4 percent. Half of
this could come from woody,
short-rotation crops,” he said.
Estimates by Department of
Energy researchers show that
approximately 75-100 million
acres of cropland could be com
mitted to fuelwood production
without significantly cutting into
production of agricultural com
modities. These acreages could
more than double if all economi
cally marginal or environmentally
sensitive crop and pasture lands
were included.
In announcing the upcoming
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Conference Encourages
conference, Fazio cited one study
that shows that under many condi
tions, farmers could make more
money by growing trees. This, in
turn, could help free the nation
from its dependency on oil and
other fossil fuels.
'“Potentially, trees grown for
energy offer this nation a win-win
alternative to the current path we
are on of putting just about all our
eggs in the fossil fuel basket,” said
Fazio. He said reasons fall into two
categories, the first of which is
environmental.
“Through our dependency on oil
and coal, we know we will be
pumping more and more carbon
dioxide and sulphur dioxide into
the atmosphere. This contributes
to air pollution (acid rain) that is
believed to be weakening down
wind forests, possibly poisoning
the soil, and adding gases that are
major villains in global warming
threats,” he said.
Renewable biomass energy
crops not only reduce the need for
fossil fuels, they provide a fuel
with no sulphur dioxide ahd they
remove large quantities of carbon
from the atmosphere as they grow.
“The other reason is more per
sonal,” said Fazio. Wood energy
crops will provide direct benefits
to farmers and rural economies.
His list of benefits includes pro
ducing a crop that requires less til
lage and fewer chemical additives;
BEILER
HYDRAULICS
reduces soil loss; buffers local
streams from chemical runoff;
adds new advantages to growing
windbreaks; offers fast returns
where markets are in place but
does not tie up land or investments
as long as traditional forest crops;
provides self-sufficiency for home
heating; and can make entire reg
ions energy self-sufficient.
The National Wood Energy
Association, another cosponsor of
the conference, reports that tech
nologies are now available to
allow the efficient, clean burning
of wood for the generation of
electricity or heat.
New Interest Assistance From FmHA
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
The Farmers Home Admi
nistration is launching a new prog
ram to help local farmers obtain
credit from local lenders, accord
ing to D. Eugene Cayman, FmHA
state director for Pennsylvania.
Known as the Interest Assis
tance Program, it provides strong
incentives for commercial lenders
to make loans to farmers who
otherwise would not qualify.
Under the new program, FmHA
will pay up to 4 percentage points
of interest for farmers to help them
qualify for FmHA guaranteed
loans. “If a creditworthy farmer
cannot cash flow with a guaran
teed bank loan at regular interest
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The association says that the
obstacles to broader adoption are
more social and economic than
technical. Some experts foresee
the economic and environmental
advantages tipping in favor of
much greater biomass production
and use in the next decade.
The First National Fuelwood
Conference will explore these and
other issues and provide a roundup
of state-of-the-art information
about growing, harvesting, and
burning trees for energy. The
emphasis is on the practical and
“how-to,” including a session
called “The Chicken and Egg
rates, we can pay part of that inter
est for him until he can,” Cayman
said.
The percentage of interest
FmHA will pay depends on the
financial condition of the fanner.
FmHA will pay only the number
of points necessary to help the far
mer’s cash flow with a small
reserve.
An FmHA guaranteed loan is
made by a bank, PCA, or other
lender with an agreement from
FmHA that if the loan goes bad,
FmHA will compensate the lender
for up to 90 percent of its loss.
“That guarantee, plus the new
interest assistance,” Cayman said,
“should greatly increase availabil
ity of farm credit through the pri
vate sector.
“The program, made law in late
1990, was put on a fast track, so as
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Lancaster Farming Saturday, May 4, 1991-D!
Quandary” that will discuss how
markets for fuelwood can be
created so that landowners can
have outlets for fuelwood where
none currently exist Conference
organizers say that their goal is to
help stimulate grassroots commer
cialization of the technology
already produced by research and
currently used by a relatively small
number of innovators.
For more details and a registra
tion packet, write to The Arbor
Day Institute, P.O. Box 81415,
Lincoln, NE 68501-1415, orphone
Kathy Austin, (402) 474-5655.
to assist farmers in time for the
1991 planting season,” Cayman
added.
According to Cayman, the level
of interest assistance will be
adjusted each year, based on a
review of the borrower’s need for
continued assistance. In addition,
a borrower must be able to project
a positive cash flow, including a
10 percent debt-service reserve to
qualify for assistance. This is the
same rule for guaranteed farm
loans not receiving interest
assistance.
Additional details about the
Interest Assistance Program can
be obtained from any Farmers
Home Administration (FmHA)
county or district office, or from
the FmHA state office at One Cre
dit Union Place, Suite 330, Harris
burg, PA 17110-2996.
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