C-FAR Connection - Spring 2007

              IN this ISSUE
Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research
Connection
Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring 2007
C FAR
BP Initiative Fueled by C-FAR Research
The Dynamic: Working Groups .......................................... 2
MarketMaker Website ....................................................... 4
Vegetables Teamed up to Fight Prostate Cancer ............ 5
C-FAR Working Groups ....................................................... 6
Meet your C-FAR Leaders .................................................. 7
Websites to Watch ............................................................. 7
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
In February, the energy company BP announced that the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC),
University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory had been selected to partner
in a $500 million research program. The newly established
Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) will focus on exploring
how bioscience can be used to increase energy production
and reduce the impact of energy consumption on the
environment. Illinois will receive about $100 million over
the next 10 years to conduct its portion of the research.
Approximately 340 acres of farmland on the UIUC
campus will be devoted to the study and production
of feedstock for biofuel production. Researchers will
explore the potential benefifi ts of using corn crop residues,
Miscanthus, switchgrass, and other herbaceous perennials
as fuel sources. The initiative will explore how adequate
supplies of high-quality plant biomass can be sustainably
produced and utilized in facilities that convert biomass to
fuels.
C-FAR-funded research on biomass energy crops
was instrumental in bringing the large-scale bioenergy
research initiative to Illinois. “Our C-FAR research was a
major factor in BP locating a signififi cant portion of its new
EBI in Illinois,” said Dr. Stephen Long, UIUC professor
of crop sciences and plant biology. “The BP initiative
will allow industry development around fuels made from
cellulose to compliment the nation’s production of corn
ethanol and soy diesel.”
In 2003, the C-FAR membership launched a fifi ve-year
strategic research initiative (SRI) focused on biomass
energy crops. The SRI laid the foundation for Illinois
to be a partner in the EBI. “Through the C-FAR SRI, a
multidisciplinary research team was already in place, and
it has made signififi cant progress in studying the molecular
biology, economics, and social acceptability of bioenergy
crops,” said Long. “In addition, our research team has
demonstrated that Miscanthus, a high-yielding, low-input
perennial grass, is very productive and well-suited as a
biofuel crop, and agronomy trials have been established
across the state.”
RESEARCHERS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT MISCANTHUS, A HIGH-YIELDING,
LOW-INPUT PERENNIAL GRASS, IS VERY PRODUCTIVE AND
WELL-SUITED AS A BIOFUEL CROP.