Elsewhere in ag utilization

Compiled by Joan Olson
Illustrations by Uncle Hyggly

Editor’s note: As a service to our readers, we provide news about the work of others in the ag utilization arena. Often, research done elsewhere complements AURI’s work. Please note that ARS is the research arm of USDA.

Soy plastic built like a Deere

Two years ago, John Deere built a limited number of hay balers with rear doors molded from soy-based resin. In 1999, the company built 30 combines that each contain a 100-pound soy-resin panel. The soy plastic for the trials was developed by the University of Delaware’s ACRES — Affordable Composites from Renewable Resources — program, with funding support from soybean checkoff funds.

Source: Soybean Digest, mid-February 2000.

Fibers from our fine feathered friends

Featherfiber Corporation takes feathers from poultry processors and makes protein fibers as strong as nylon and finer and stronger than wood pulp. The feather products possess superior filtration, absorbency and durability.

Feather fiber can be used in filters, diapers, clothing, paper, absorbent pads and wipes, insulation and upholstery padding. Both fibers and quills can replace plastic or fiberglass in products such as auto dashboards, door panels, ceiling lining and other molded parts. Quills can render protein for shampoos, hair conditioners, even dietary supplements.

Tyson Foods and Maxim Industries also share rights to this patented technique of turning feathers into fiber, developed by ARS scientists.

Source: Walter F. Schmidt, ARS Environmental Chemistry Lab, Beltsville, MD, (310) 504-5030; wschmidt@asrr.arsusda.gov

Softens hands while you kill pests

Natural Fibers Corp. of Ogallala, Neb. has marketed milkweed floss as a filler for comforters since 1989. Their leftover milkweed seed meal has been a disposal problem, however, as it contains cardenolides — compounds that produce heart palpitations in people and animals.

ARS chemists found the seed meal kills nematodes and fall armyworms that affect corn, soybeans, potatoes, tomatoes, sorghum and peanuts. Incorporating milkweed seed meal into the soil might be an alternative to methyl bromide, a severely restricted chemical. The chemists also found that milkweed oil, which is rich in Vitamin E, is free of cardenolides. This information may help establish another market for milkweed as a skin moisturizer.

Source: “Successful Farming,” mid-February 2000; contact Rogers Harry-O’Kuru at the New Crops Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, Ill. (309) 681-6341 or harryore@mail.ncaur.usda.gov

Veggie hydraulics

A vegetable-based hydraulic fluid for heavy equipment is moving toward commercialization. ARS scientists in Peoria, Ill. are producing industrial-sized quantities of starting material — the basis for making bio-degradable lubricants —from estolides, the fatty acids of oilseeds such as sunflower and safflower. The researchers received an U.S. patent on the technology early this year.

Caterpillar Tractor Co. is testing bio-based hydraulic fluids and biodiesel fuels in heavy equipment to meet tighter environmental regulations.

Source: Terry A. Isbell, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, (309) 681-6235; isbellta@mail.ncaur.usda.gov

Soy to the fishes

Dried and ground fishmeal, the traditional food for farm-raised fish, is getting more expensive and harder to find. For aquaculture to grow, producers need new food sources. Purdue University aquaculturist Paul Brown sees soybean proteins as a logical alternative.

Brown and his colleagues have developed soy- and corn-based feeds for yellow perch and trout. They’re also testing formulations for lobsters.

In Brown’s tests, fish that ate soy-based feed excreted less phosphorus and nitrogen than fish that ate fishmeal. That means they’re less likely to pollute the water.

With current human population growth and declining wild fish populations, Brown predicts farmers in year 2035 may produce as many pounds of fish as chicken.

Source: Paul Brown, (765) 494-4968, pb@fnr.purdue.edu

Cut up in the field

ARS ag engineers are developing a mobile field processor to wet-fractionate crops such as alfalfa and soybeans in the field. In-field fractionation can reduce transportation costs for plants that contain about 80 percent water.

Fractionation is the physical separation of herbage into parts such as leaves, stems and juices. Potential products from fiber fractions include cattle feed, chemical feedstocks, building materials and mats for filtering water pollutants. Products from juice fractions include food- and feed-grade protein concentrates, carotenoids, antioxidants and enzymes for industrial use.

Source: U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, Madison, WI, Richard G.Koegel, (608) 264-5149, or rkoegel@facstaff.wisc.edu

Ropin’ in the protein

An experimental filtering system for corn wet-milling may add value to corn gluten meal. Membrane filtration retains more soluble protein in the meal than a currently used centrifuge process.

University of Illinois researchers expect the new system to improve the nutritional value of corn gluten meal used for swine and poultry feed. Increasing the market value of corn milling coproducts is a key aspect of making corn ethanol a successful proposition.

Source: Ken Rausch, University of Illinois agricultural engineer, (217) 265-0697.

MnCERT a breath of fresh aid

“Minnesota Certified” a nonprofit joint venture of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the University of Minnesota and the private sector, is set up to facilitate certification for any agricultural product or process.

MnCERT will help any network of independent farmers that wants to become part of a value-added supply chain. It can help find markets, implement market-tailored quality standards and obtain certification for high-quality production processes.

Source: Thomas Blaha, (612) 625-8290, blaha002@umn.edu

A twist on carbon credits

Canadian utility companies purchased carbon emission reduction credits from some 100 Iowa farmers this spring. CQuest, Ltd. in West Des Moines, Iowa, brokered the deal.

Decaying plant material releases carbon into the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that may contribute to global warming. No-till farming is estimated by some to keep 3-4 tons/acre more carbon in the soil than tilling does. A permanent seeding of switchgrass could sequester at least 5 tons.

More conservative estimates, however, suggest that 0.21 ton/acre might be sequestered from no-till beans and 0.33 ton/acre for permanent grass. If producers contract sequestered carbon for $3-4/ton, they can receive payment from under $1/acre up to $20/acre, depending on how much carbon is actually stored each year.

Source: Soybean Digest, Mid-February 2000, also www.envifi.com