Posted on 11/26/2007 10:38:30 AM PST by DeaconBenjamin
There are already several waste burners around the country. Ames, Iowa uses garbage to generate electricity. This unit has been on-line since about 1980 or so. I don’t have a problem with other contributions to our energy needs. Corn based ethanol has the added advantage of the high-protein by-products for use in livestock rations.
I was watching Modern Marvels on the History Channel about corn and they stated that the American farmer produces enough corn to supply every human on the planet with around 120 pounds of corn per year.
1.1 billion? Is this counting Death Valley, mountains and the arctic tundra?
We consume more oil than they do oil.
Indeed, the feed part of the ethanol plant is a big profit center. You can not run a profit if the feed price is to low.
Guess what, with all the plants going up, there is WAY to much feed on the market. And there are plants closing up and scaling back.
We have a lot sitting fallow for many reasons. Including a bunch of planet worshiping idiots who keep reducing the amounts of land free.
The entire US is 2.2 billion acres. Only 18% of it is arable land or a little over 400 million acres. That includes the land already in farm use.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
I noticed that U of Illionis has a 44,000 plant per acre project that should be nearly finished. Could be an interesting yield in raw bushels.
There is a fine line between excessive plant population and optimizing yield. Check out the guy from Missouri raising the 154Bu/acre beans. I don’t think his plant population was excessive, but his attention to his plot certainly was.
Concerning your tag line — Rugby and Bullriding are tough sports, but I suggest you add extreme fighting (aka mixed martial arts) and college wrestling to the list. Extreme fighting is dominated by former college wrestlers. I would hate to wrestle a bull.
Pioneer has some plots that have shown a net yield decrease at 36,000 plants per acre and I am wondering if the U of I did something different that may have extended net yield..
Is that the guy who has been giving weekly updates on his beans on Growing Point (Pioneer)?
I did not know he was at 154 bushels per acre. Wow.
The fine line of yield versus plant density becomes much finer when you look at the cash yield at various levels of planting (Iowa State University has some interesting insight on this cash fine line). An interesting subject, to say the least.
I don’t know if that is the guy on TV, but I do know the beans are a Pioneer variety.
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