The time may be rapidly approaching when the familiar phrase- you can't grow anything on this desert land except rocks- will be one for the history books.
Finding something that will grow with little or no water or fertilizer that will turn a profit has long been a challenge for landowners. But there may just be a plant that fills the bill.
Mark Wiest, of Sams Valley, just completed harvesting about three acres of camelina on a piece of ground north of Eagle Point that has been otherwise unproductive. His first planting of camelina was last year when he and Dalton Straus planted 26 acres in the Sams Valley area. But, he says, what he is producing this year has been incredible.
Not only can camelina be grown where many other plants could not grow, it is proving to be a plant with great versatility. Wiest is contracting with BioMass Processors out of Rickreall Once the camelina has been harvested and left to dry in the field, it is sent north. There the harvested camelina is crushed and the camelina oil is extracted. This oil can be used in making fuel. The Japanese have experimented using camelina for fuel in airplanes. An analyses at Michigan Technical University shows carbon is reduced by 80 percent compared to jet fuel. The stalks (straw) are used for various things. It is especially good for archery events because the straw has a heavier stalk and makes a firmer bale.
More recently they have found the seed hull (meal) is about 40 percent protein and is beginning to be used as feed for sheep, pig and cattle. Wiest said it has been USDA approved. It has to be mixed with other feed because of its high protein level.
The three uses means the plant is totally consumable and can be grown on non-productive land. Wiest is working with others from Beatty to Murphy to turn their bare land into productive land.
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