An upstart seed and biodiesel plant is harvesting the first seed crop of camelina — the plant that makes up the basis of the biofuel of the same name — in eastern Wisconsin today.
JR Camelina Seed Co. will start harvesting the seeds in a plot near Marytown in Calumet County with the intention to plant thousands of acres in the state next year.
Ultimately, camelina is expected to feed a not-yet-built biodiesel plant in the town of Holland near Greenleaf, said George Ecker, the seed company and biodiesel plant's business manager.
"There are companies out there that are already very eager to buy this biodiesel from us; trucking companies and bus lines, for instance," he said. "It gets blended with diesel."
He said some states already have blending requirements, while others have transition plans that could see up to 50 percent of diesel blended with biodiesel in the coming decade.
The plant and seed company is owned by Jeff Rueden, an area farmer.
Camelina is a member of the mustard family, with a seed about the size of a poppy seed, Ecker said. It has been grown successfully in Montana.
"We've got about 15 farmers that have committed already to raise the crop next year," he said. "Now it's a matter of (finding other growers), because we're going to need millions of pounds to produce the oil."
The woody-type plant is strong, heavily branched, growing from one to three feet in height, with a growing season of 65 to 100 days, depending on the seasonal climate, according to information from the company.
The plant produces small, pale-yellow or greenish-yellow flowers, consisting of four petals that produce brown pods containing a large amount of seeds.
Mark Hagedorn, agriculture agent with Brown County University of Wisconsin-Extension, said there is interest in biodiesel in the market.
"It'll be interesting to see how this product and that application performs," he said.
Ecker said the facility is expected to produce millions of gallons of a biodiesel and carries a price tag of more than $2 million, which they are expecting to fund through grants and loans. They have about $350,000 secured from a U.S. Department of Energy loan, he said.
They are also working on securing property for the plant.
"We're probably not going to be able to operate it until after the first of the year," Eckert said.
Copyright 2009 Greenbay Press Gazette
