The Rural Voice, 1980-11, Page 7from phosphate rock and potash soil demands a large
expenditure of energy, and producing it in their own plant means
a big savings for co-op members.
Having launched the first venture, members are now looking
at extending their energy -producing efforts.
METHYL OR ETHYL
The Ontario Federation Agriculture's energy committee, of
which Dr. Emery is chairman, looked at on-farm production of
fuel, and has come to the conclusion that no fuel can compete
with ethyl alcohol.
First the committee studied methyl alcohol, or methanol, but
found it not practical.Methanol,made from wood, is also knownas
wood alcohol. Much has been made of the development of a
hybrid poplar that was supposed to grow so fast it could
supply all our fuel needs, both for burning in wood stoves and for
the production of alcohol. The claims were that the tree would
grow to a marketable size within six years. Dr. Emery says even
if this were the case, an area of one million acres would be
rquired. It just wouldn't work, the committee concluded.
Ethyl alcohol, though, is made by distilling plant material. Dr.
Emery said the only people currently qualified to fill the need for
fuel alcohol are farmers. He warns that if farmers won't do it,
the multinationals are ready to do it for them.
In comparison, Dr. Emery figures that it actually costs us three
dollars a gallon for gasoline produced from imported oil. W e pay
about $1.25 at the gas pump and the remaining $1.75 through
taxes.
If a farmer makes his own fuel in an on-farm still, he can
produce the equivalent of a gallon of gasoline for 30 cents, Dr.
Emery asserted
ETHYL REPODUCTION IS ETHICAL
What is more, Dr. Emery claims, no cropland has to be taken
out of food production for this purpose, as there is sufficient
marginal land suitable for ethyl -producing crops. In Ontario
alone, he maintains , there are 2 million acres below a line
through North Buy that are considered marginal for food
production.
Further north are an additional 7 million acres suitable for
energy crops. "We have the potential in Ontario to grow enough
to supply all our needs, "he stated.
"If farmers use compost for their fertilizer needs, and plants for
ethyl alcohol, Ontario can be completely fuel independent," he
added.
These same 30 farmers who now produce compost, plan to
distill 1,000 gallons of ethyl daily. They won't have any trouble
marketing it as one oil company has already indicated it will buy
all the alcohol the farmers can make.
Dr. Emery doesn't see corn or other grains as useful for
alcohol production. That would be too expensive and it doesn't
have enough ermrgy since it is low in sugars, which makes it
inefficient.
Mangels, cut and crushed, produce twice the energy of corn,
and sugarbeets are even better. The residual pulp is a highly
valued, protein -rich cattle feed.
Howe, er. Dr. Emery contends artichokes are the prime
prospect for ethyl production •easy to grow, high in sugar, and
leaving a good feed pulp.
To be abl.° t' ur.. akuin• . mechanics must be trained to
convert exist ...g engines lin „w uwg rile new mei. ..' . tnlery
says that conversion from gasoline to alcohol will cost about
$150.
Dr. Emery is conviced that farmers must learn to work
together in joint ventures. If a sizeable group decides to go ahead
with a project, they w ill be able to hire a good manager, for they
can then afford to pay for expertise and can produce efficiently.
The Northumberland Co-op, located in the industrial park on
the outskirts of the Village of Colborne, will soon have control
over their ,.,wn fuel and fertilizer.
The Agpro Industries plant produces this composting
material from household garbage and sludge. Thirty
farmers invested $10,000 each to form the resource
recovery co-op.
Barrels of municipal and processing plant waste,
including, in front. frozen fruit which will be processed
into rich dark composting soil.
Endless belts move materia! through the Agpro
garbage processing plant near Colborne in Eastern
Ontario. One tonne of the compost produced contains
50 lbs. of nitrogen.
THE RURAL VOICE/NOVEMBER 1980 PG. 5