Des Moines Register
11-05-06
Grant helps ISU scientists gauge biofuels benefits
By JERRY PERKINS
REGISTER FARM EDITOR
Researchers at Iowa State University are part of a $676,722 biofuels research
grant to evaluate costs and benefits of ethanol expansion for rural communities in
the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
The grant is part of the $17.5 million Biomass Research and Development
Initiative, administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy.
Iowa State's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Department of
Economics and Department of Statistics are collaborating in the project with
Southern Illinois University's Department of Agribusiness.
Iowa State scientists will investigate how corn-based ethanol production can be
designed and implemented efficiently to achieve economic and environmental
benefits in the Upper Mississippi River region.
The study is considered the first to simultaneously assess the impacts of cornbased ethanol expansion on crop prices, cropping patterns, water quality and
regional economic indicators.
Iowa State economics professor Catherine Kling, one of the lead
investigators, said it is important to base decisions on scientific information as
demand continues to grow for alternative and sustainable energy sources.
"While the Midwest has some great opportunities when it comes to growing
biomass for energy, we also need to understand more about the interplay
between crops, energy and our environment," Kling said. "This project is meant
to improve that understanding with some solid scientific measures."