You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, right? That’s especially true when it comes to energy.
We’ve grown accustomed to instant power; flip a switch and lights go on. We tend to notice our power, or lack of it, only when the car coasts to a stop on an empty tank or the electricity goes out on a stormy winter night.
But we’re also aware of our energy supply when we pay the utility bill or fuel the car; the past twelve months have seen wide fluctuations in fuel costs. For most consumers, these changes appear to occur for little or no reason. Such is the case when we rely on foreign sources for our energy.
At AURI, we have taken the initiative to work towards greater awareness and acceptance of renewable ag-based fuels. Whether fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel or systems like digesters or biomass furnaces, alternative energy sources have moved from the domain of zealots to more mainstream acceptance.
In this issue of Ag Innovation News, you will find several stories related to energy derived from ag-based sources. These stories represent emerging opportunities to further ag-based energy and benefit the state’s farmers.
Successfully marketing alternative fuels and systems will shore up prices for farm commodities while reducing dependence on outside energy sources. That’s what I call power.