CAST Rolls Out Biofuel Commentaries in New Orleans

Newswise — The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) will make three presentations in New Orleans on Monday Nov. 5 as part of the Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). The presentations include the roll-out of two new CAST Commentaries on biofuel byproducts and ethanol production and a presentation outlining CAST's resources for gathering, compiling, and communicating the latest science-based information on agricultural issues.

November 5, 2007 3:25"3:55 p.m.—Room 206, Ernest N. Morial Convention CenterAs part of the discussion session "How Do We Plan to Meet the Demand," CAST will introduce its new Commentary, "Convergence of Agriculture and Energy: II. Producing Cellulosic Biomass for Biofuels," prepared by a Task Force chaired by Dr. Steven Fales, Iowa State University, Ames. This new CAST Commentary covers several critical questions, including: What issues should be evaluated in a realistic appraisal of current and future feedstock supplies? What production methods should be used to maximize agronomic systems? What characteristics should distinguish crops developed specifically for production of biomass? What improvements in the feedstock supply system will most likely lead to enhanced conversion, and in turn, create revenue? And, What areas should be emphasized in educating the public on the comprehensive principles of biomass-to-ethanol production? The paper will be presented by Dr. Wally Wilhelm, USDA"ARS, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Task Force author.

November 5, 2007 5:00"5:30 p.m.—Room 206, Ernest N. Morial Convention CenterImmediately following the Biomass Working Group session, CAST will roll out its new Commentary, "Biofuel Feedstocks: The Risk of Future Invasions," prepared by a Task Force chaired by Dr. Joseph DiTomaso, University of California-Davis. In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand domestic energy production, and maintain economic growth, public and private investments are being used to pursue dedicated feedstock crops for biofuel production. But several of the candidate biofuel feedstock species being considered for U.S. commercial production are invasive pests in other regions where they have been introduced. Therefore, the objectives of this Commentary are to describe the potential risk of dedicated lignocellulose biofuel species becoming weedy or invasive, and to provide a process to quantify and, subsequently, minimize this risk. The paper will be presented by Dr. Jacob Barney, University of California-Davis, Task Force author.

November 5, 2007 5:30"6:00 p.m.—Room 206, Ernest N. Morial Convention CenterDirectly following roll-out activities for CAST's Biofuel Feedstocks Commentary (above), CAST Past President Dr. Edward C. A. Runge, Texas A&M University, and ASA Representative on the CAST Board of Directors Dr. Todd D. Peterson, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, will host a CAST Town Hall Meeting. The discussion will focus on current and ongoing CAST projects and available resources.

The ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings will be Nov. 4-8 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. More than 4,000 scientists and professionals from around the world will attend research presentations on climate change, urban planning, crop production, hazardous waste, human health, bioenergy, and more. For more information, go to http://www.acsmeetings.org.

The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) www.agronomy.org, the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) www.crops.org and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) www.soils.org are educational organizations helping their 10,000+ members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy, crop and soil sciences by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based publications and a variety of member services.