Integrated Alternative Energy and Livestock Production Systems

Project Overview

ENC07-099
Project Type: Professional Development Program
Funds awarded in 2007: $50,000.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2010
Region: North Central
State: Missouri
Project Coordinator:
Michael Seipel
Hickory Hollow Farm

Annual Reports

Commodities

  • Agronomic: corn, soybeans, grass (misc. perennial), hay
  • Additional Plants: native plants

Practices

  • Animal Production: feed/forage
  • Crop Production: agroforestry
  • Education and Training: demonstration, workshop
  • Energy: bioenergy and biofuels, energy conservation/efficiency, wind power
  • Sustainable Communities: public policy

    Proposal abstract:

    Integrated Alternative Energy and Livestock Production Systems

    Project Summary
    This project will provide training on selected alternative energy topics, emphasizing interconnections between livestock production, renewable energy, and energy conservation. The vision of the project is farms contributing to energy sustainability through conservation and renewable generation.

    The target audience is extension staff and post-secondary agriculture faculty (community/state college) in Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. Other agricultural educators and agency personnel will also be eligible to attend.

    Short-term project outcomes include increased awareness among participants of the selected topics (woody biomass crops, other cellulosic biomass feedstocks, wind energy, alternative oilseeds for biofuels, anaerobic digestion/methane capture from livestock manure, and composting for livestock operations [animals/manure/bedding]), increased knowledge of the applicability of technologies/practices to their service area, improved attitudes toward alternative energy technologies, and increased skill/ability to deliver information on alternative energy to clients.

    Intermediate-term outcomes will be program presentations, client consultations, and curricular integration of information on alternative energy by participants.

    Long-term outcomes will be reexamination by agricultural producers of their farming operations and practices.

    This will be a two-year project with the primary project activities being two one-day workshop (one per year).

    Achievement of short-term outcomes will be evaluated using a pre-/post-workshop knowledge survey of participants; intermediate-term outcomes will be evaluated by participants tracking and reporting presentations, curriculum integration, and client consultation on any of the project topics. Long-term outcomes will be evaluated by interviewing farmers and landowners identified by workshop participants about if/how the information gained through programming has impacted the sustainability of their farm and farming practices.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    Integrated Alternative Energy and Livestock Production Systems

    Agricultural production capacity, as well as transportation, storage, and marketing infrastructure for alternative biomass feedstocks and other renewable energy sources is lacking. In some cases, farmers/ranchers find themselves at a disadvantage, operating in a knowledge vacuum as they encounter private-sector developers moving to position themselves for future energy development (e.g. negotiating land options for wind turbines or seeking farmer investment in biomass processing facilities).

    The proposed project addresses this need by providing in-depth training to those who are well-positioned to assist agricultural producers in developing the human and social capital required to take advantage of opportunities offered by bioenergy development: local, regional, and state extension personnel and post-secondary agriculture faculty members. Extension personnel and post-secondary agriculture faculty in Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois represent the specific target audience for this project.
    In addition to targeting an influential group of change agents, this project is forward-looking in that it provides participants with knowledge and resources to addresses issues that must be confronted on the new frontiers of bioenergy.

    The workshops will explore six interrelated topics that encompass cropping and livestock production systems and environments present in the Upper Midwest and address biofuel feedstock production, non biomass renewable energy, and energy conservation. These topics are:
    a) woody biomass crops
    b) other (grass/legume) cellulosic feedstocks
    c) alternative oilseeds for biofuels
    d) wind energ
    e) anaerobic digestion/methane capture
    f) composting of livestock manure

    Activities: The primary activities of the project are two day-long workshops, to be held in December 2008 and December 2009 in Kirksville, Missouri.

    The Year One workshop will feature five presenters addressing these topics:

    1) update and outlook on the state of bioenergy production in the U.S.
    -cellulosic ethanol, other biomass, non-biomass alternative energy, role(s) of agriculture in bioenergy production and consumption; impact of recent and pending federal and state legislation on bioenergy generation and consumption

    2) woody biomass crops
    -Overview of current state of research and production of woody biomass crops in Midwest/Upper Midwest; harvesting, storage, marketing, and energy conversion issues (combustion, chemical digestion); links to grazing systems/livestock (silvopasture); complementarities with other cropping systems; links to environmental quality (carbon issues, erosion, nutrient cycling, water quality); economics of production

    3) other alternative biomass crops (perennial or annual grasses or legumes)
    -Overview of current state of research and production of perennial grasses, selected legumes, and innovative cropping systems for biomass production in Midwest/Upper Midwest; soil issues (erosion, organic matter, fertility); harvesting, storage, marketing, and energy conversion issues (combustion, chemical digestion); links to grazing systems/management

    4) wind energy generation
    -Overview of wind energy and types of projects; advising landowners/communities on negotiating contracts/leases for wind energy development projects; homestead-scale wind energy and solar potential

    5) organizing and financing regional or community-level biomass conversion (liquid fuel or combustion for energy generation) projects farmer-owned cooperatives; private-public partnerships; legal and tax considerations

    The Year Two workshop will follow a similar format, again featuring five presenters. Three new topics will be added for Year Two. The remaining speakers/topics for Year Two will be determined by surveying Year One participants approximately three months after the workshop, to determine which information they have used and which topics or speakers from Year One they would like to explore in more depth in the second year.

    The new topics for Year Two will be:

    1) alternative oilseeds for biofuel production
    overview of current state of research and production of alternative oilseeds (such as sunflower, rapeseed, flaxseed) for biomass production in Midwest/Upper Midwest; soil issues (erosion, organic matter, fertility); harvesting, storage, marketing, and processing issues; adaptability to cropping systems/rotations

    2) anaerobic digestion/methane capture from livestock manure/effluent
    -types of systems in place for dairy, swine, and beef operations in the U.S.; systems in other countries (e.g. Denmark); economic feasibility; use of non-farm source materials (processing waste, municipals waste)

    3) composting of livestock manure
    -farm-scale systems in place in the Upper Midwest; contributions to reduced energy use (manure transport/spreading) and reduced input (fertility) costs; environmental impacts (nutrient management, water quality) of compost use

    Outputs: One output of the project will be participation in either one or two day-long workshops by a minimum of 40 extension staff or agriculture faculty members. We anticipate that most, but not all Year One participants will return for Year Two, so the total number of individuals participating in at least one workshop is estimated to be 50. In addition to the knowledge gained through participating in the workshops, attendees will receive the following resources for use in outreach programming and curriculum development:
    • a notebook containing extension guidesheets, articles, and other resource materials on the bioenergy topics addressed (e.g. “Miscanthus Fact Sheet”, “Willow Production Fact Sheet”)
    • a CD containing PowerPoint presentations used in the workshop and a compilation of web resources on the covered topics
    • a professionally-produced DVD containing ‘chapters’ of 15 to 20 minute presentations on the selected bioenergy topics covered in that year’s workshop, suitable for incorporation in outreach programming or classroom presentations
    • all participants and presenters would be subscribed to an e-mail listserve that would provide a forum for ongoing dialogue and networking as participants incorporate resource materials into their programming and curriculum

    Outcomes:

    The short-term outcome of the training will be
    • increased awareness among participants of the selected topics (woody biomass crops, grass/legume cellulosic biomass feedstocks, wind energy, alternative oilseeds for biofuels, anaerobic digestion/methane capture from livestock manure, and composting of livestock manure/bedding),
    • increased knowledge of the applicability of technologies/practices to producers in their service area, improved attitudes toward alternative energy technologies,
    • and increased skill/ability to deliver information on alternative energy to clients using acquired resources and knowledge.

    Intermediate-term outcomes will be program presentations, client consultations, and curricular integration of information on alternative energy by participants.

    Long-term outcomes will be adoption or trial of technologies or practices by agricultural producers.

    Process and implementation indicators will be ratings of presenters and quality of resource materials by workshop participants. At the conclusion of the presentations/workshop, participants will complete a speaker evaluation for each presenter and a general evaluation of the quality of the workshop (facilities, meals, organization, etc.). Approximately 3 months after each workshop, participants will be asked to rate the quality of the notebook, CD, and DVD materials that they received and to report how often they have utilized or distributed materials. For Year One, this evaluation will be distributed when participants are asked to make recommendations for the Year Two program.

    Outcome indicators:
    Short term outcomes will be evaluated using a pre-/post-workshop knowledge survey of participants. A knowledge survey consists of a series of content-based questions. However, rather than actually answering the questions, as in a pre-test/post-test assessment, participants rate their confidence in their ability to answer each question or perform the stated task with their present knowledge. The advantage of a knowledge survey over a test is the ability to assess a much broader range of knowledge in a limited timeframe (Nuhfer and Knipp 2003). The knowledge survey will be constructed by soliciting questions for workshop presenters in advance of the workshop. Questions will cover a range of levels of thinking/reasoning, from basic recall through application to evaluation of information/evidence (based on Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy) and will encompass the major content areas to be addressed by each presenter. Participants will complete the same knowledge survey at the beginning and conclusion of the day-long workshop.

    Intermediate-term outcomes will be evaluated by participants tracking and reporting presentations, curriculum integration, and client consultation on any of the project topics. Participants will be given a form for recording and reporting outreach programs, classroom presentations, and client consultations. Participants will be asked, at 3-month intervals, to submit updated reports of presentations. The intermediate-term outcome goal is that each workshop participant will conduct at least one outreach program (field day, presentation, etc.) or develop and present one curricular unit in an instructional setting within one year of completion of the workshop.

    Long-term outcomes will be evaluated by compiling a list of individuals who have participated in programming offered by workshop participants and surveying these individuals about how they have utilized program information. Workshop participants will be asked to gather address, phone, and email contact information for individuals who attend their bioenergy presentations or students in the class(es) where materials are incorporated. Three months after the Year Two workshop, a survey will be sent to the compiled list of all of these individuals, asking them what two things they learned/remember from the presentation and asking how they have used/applied that information. The survey results will be analyzed with a goal of identifying those cases where individuals tried a new crop, implemented a new technology, or established a new contact based on information received via a bioenergy-related presentation.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.