Ethanol from grain not the answer, expert says

Texas is the largest state for oil and natural gas production and a significant producer of grain. But using grain to produce ethanol may not be the best answer long term, especially when it comes to meeting future needs, one scientist said.

"(The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station) is committed to building a sustainable bioenergy economy that integrates food, feed, fiber and dedicated energy crops," Dr. Bill Mc- Cutchen told those gathered at the 2007 Texas Plant Protection Association Conference in College Station.

Future global petroleum consumption is staggering when evaluating both U.S. and China's needs, he said. By the year 2025, it is projected that China will use more fuel oil than the U.S. due to a rapid industrialization of the country.

"Texas is a grain-deficit state," McCutchen said, noting that the state's livestock industry consumes a lion's share of what is produced.

Cellulosic plant material is a better solution, McCutchen said, and the Experiment Station already has developed a high-yield sorghum variety that can be made into ethanol. Current crops such as corn stover -- the stalks and leaves of the plant - may not be the best solution in terms of cost in producing ethanol, McCutchen said.

Transportation costs weigh heavily in total return, he said. It would cost approximately $60 or more per ton to deliver corn stover yielding 2 tons to the acre to a biofuels production facility, McCutchen said.

"The Experiment Station's high-tonnage sorghum, which can yield 15 to 20 tons under favorable conditions, would reduce the cost to $42-$50 (per ton)," McCutchen said. "It's a simple matter of logistics and economics.

"This designer sorghum is also drought tolerant and can be grown in various regions of the state," McCutchen said.

Experiment Station scientists Dr. Bill Rooney and Dr. John Mullet have led work to develop the high biomass sorghum, identifying DNA markers that allow for drought tolerance and other favorable traits.

These traits can be transferred without genetic modification, McCutchen said.

Recently, the Experiment Station signed a five-year, multi-million dollar exclusive relationship with Ceres Inc. to expedite the development of these sorghums, he told the audience. Harvest, transportation and storage are other aspects of Experiment Station work, Mc- Cutchen said.