MBI International Receives USD A
Funding For Ethanol Research
LANSING, Mich. MBI
International announced it
has entered into a cooperative
agreement with the USDA
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS), whereby MBI Interna
tional will receive $354,000 to
conduct research to improve
the uses of dried distillers
grains and grass biomass in
ethanol production.
MBFs effort is part of a
broad project initiative be
tween MBI, the USDA-ARS
and South Dakota State Uni
versity to develop new tech
nologies to enhance the value
of the by-products of ethanol
production.
MBI has been working with
Heartland Grain Fuels (Aber
deen, S.D.) for the past few
years in an effort to provide
new technologies for the etha
nol industry to increase profit
ability beyond conventional
methodologies.
One such technology in de
velopment is the “quick germ”
process of ethanol production,
which improves ethanol yield
from com and offers higher
protein dried distillers grains
as a by-product.
The collaboration between
MBI, USDA, and SDSU will
also address the development
of technologies that could
allow for warm season grasses
to use as feedstocks for chemi
cals, materials, energy and
fuels, broadening the range
beyond traditional feedstock
sources. The entire project ini
tiative of $648,000 includes
funding at South Dakota
State University and the
USDA-ARS facility at South
Dakota State.
Senator Tim Johnson from
South Dakota is a leading ad
vocate for renewable fuels,
particularly biodiesel and
ethanol. He was instrumental
in passing a Renewable Fuels
Title as part of the FY-2002
Farm Bill and including a re
newable fuels standard as part
of the 2002 energy bill.
“The benefits of this re
search will help lead to in
creased renewable fuel pro
duction, less dependence upon
foreign oil, increased farm in
come, job creation and eco
nomic growth in rural Ameri
ca, and environmental and
public health gains. The
$648,000 earmarked for value
added ethanol production will
help build upon the work I
helped start last year at SDSU
to conduct research on in
creased production of ethanol
from com and other biomass
crops,” Johnson said.
Dr. Kevin Kephart, director
of the Agricultural Experi-
ment Station at South Dakota
State University, explained
that SDSU and many other
land-grant institutions are
broadening their research, ex
tension, and teaching efforts
to include agriculturally-based
energy production systems.
He emphasized the benefits in
working with MBI.
“Agriculture will be a part
of the solution to the nation’s
future energy concerns. Part
nerships between land-grant
universities, USDA-ARS, and
industry as a means of tech
nology implementation will be
critical to the success of efforts
in ag-based renewable energy.
The work and expertise at
MBI complements our inter
ests very well and we look for
ward to working in this new
partnership,” said Kephart.
Dr. Mark Stowers, presi
dent of MBI, said that the
USDA project is indicative of
MBFs outreach projects with
research universities across
the country. Such collabora
tion provides a vehicle for
MBI technology to be used
throughout the country.
“We are very pleased to be
working with South Dakota
State University and the
USDA-ARS on this project.
We believe that this combined
effort in South Dakota will
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 19, 2002, Corn Talk-El5
mm miLi mm
make significant contributions
to the ethanol industry and
will create a technology plat
form at South Dakota State
University to make additional
contributions in the future,”
said Stowers.
MBI International, a pri
vate, nonprofit, 501(c) 3 cor
poration, is focused on the de
velopment and
commercialization of products
via biotechnology that in
crease farm profitability, bring
new food products and phar
maceuticals to market, protect
Interest In White Com
COLUMBUS, Ohio
White com, a specialty crop
used to make taco shells
and com chips, is receiving
greater attention among
Ohio growers looking for an
alternative to yellow feed
com.
Ohio State University re
searchers have completed
their sixth year of white
com performance trials to
assist growers in choosing
hybrids that exhibit certain
agronomic traits, such as
good yields, resistance to
diseases and little or no
stalk lodging.
and clean up the environment,
and reduce U.S. dependence
on foreign oil.
As an integral part of its
mission, MBI partners with
universities and other centers
of excellence to complement
world-class research with state
of the art business and prod
uct development expertise. In
achieving its mission, MBI
creates new jobs and builds
new businesses to stimulate
the economy.
To learn more about MBI
International, visit www.mbi.
org.
“What we are trying to
do is provide some baseline
information as a bench
mark for which hybrids to
use which ones exhibit
the best agronomic charac
teristics and are suitable for
Ohio’s growing conditions,”
said Peter Thomison, an
Ohio State agronomist.
Thomison said the need
for white com performance
trials is increasing due to
the gaining popularity of
white com among growers
throughout the United
States.