Ontario Biomass Producers Co-Op

Miscanthus offers new opportunitiesThe crop has potential for power generation, livestock bedding and sediment retention. Liz (Juchems) Ripley | Feb 21, 2020 As published on https://www.farmprogress.com/ on February 21, 2020

OMAFRA Field Crop Budgets 

Straw moves up in the worldThe golden stems of cereals have increased so much in value, they are nearing the price of hay – Article by John Greig as published by: Farmtario on November 6, 2019

Changes to Biogas Rules for Farms to Increase Economic Opportunity in Ontario’s Renewable Natural Gas Sector – OMAFRA Newsroom  Click here to read more

Supporting the Diverse and Expanding World of Bioenergy n How standards can help advance bioenergy initiatives and the clean-tech economy CSA GroupTM n The 2016 signing of the Paris Agreement by 195 countries demonstrates that climate change is a global challenge that requires a great deal of leadership and innovation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while protecting global economies. Canada signed the Agreement and, as a result, adopted the Pan-Canadian Framework on

A new publication is available from IEA Bioenergy: Lessons Learned About Thermal Biomass Gasificationn(Octobern2019)

Farmtario Atricle                                                                                          Published: September 19, 2019                                                                 Livestock, News Switchgrass has potential as both dairy cow bedding and feed – especially for dry cows. One of its benefits is that it is low in potassium relative to the more commonly used wheat straw. Read more…

ON Farmer – Switchgrass looking more and more like the new alfalfa Published in August 27, 2019 Issue of ON Farmer

Over five million acres of marginal agricultural land in the Northeast USA are no longer in use and have great opportunities for grass biomass production, although environmental or other supplemental compensation may be required for profitable production on low-yielding marginal land. Warm season grasses are considered a viable herbaceous second generation biofuel feedstock but are better suited to marginally productive cropland Future selection through breeding should have a

Feb. 12, 2019 – The federal government is investing up to $7 million in a biomass research cluster led by the BioFuelNet Canada Network. Funding for the research cluster will include an additional $3.1 million in contributions from industry, for a total investment of $10.1 million Read article in Canadian Biomass Magazine

Switchgrass Head Smut project approved. Dr. Katerina Jordan, U of Guelphis the Principal Investigator for this project. Assessment and Integrated Management of Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) headsmut in Ontario” has been approved for support through the OMAFRA – U of G Research Program. 2018-2021.

Read ON Farmer Article on Switchgrass Supply Falling Short of Growing Demand Page 1 Page 2

We just released our latest video “ Switchgrass a Promising New Bedding for D . The video demonstrates benefits of chopped switchgrass straw for the dairy farming sector. 

Volunteers and students fine tune their natural construction knowledge while helping general contractor and designer Henry Wiersma build a passive house.  Click here to read more…

A research project financed in part by Dairy Farmers of Canada and its partners under the Organic Science Cluster investigated sustainable alternative sources of bedding for dairy cows. The research team led by Dr. Renée Bergeron (University of Guelph), and collaborators the University of Guelph (Dr. Trevor De Vries), Université Laval (Dr. Doris Pellerin, Dr. Anne Vanasse, Anick Raby) and McGill University (Dr. Elsa Vasseur, Dr. Philippe Séguin, Tania Wolfe) found that switch

Science Daily – Could switchgrass help China’s air quality? Date: September 5, 2017 Source:University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Summary:Researchers have proposed an idea that could improve China’s air quality, but they’re not atmospheric scientists. They’re agronomists.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170905134503.htm

August 30, 2017       Written by Cleantech Canada Staff Aug. 30, 2017 – The Ontario government is starting a fund to support the creation and commercialization of green technologies, provincial officials announced yesterday.   The Low Carbon Innovation Fund will support technologies in areas such as alternative energy generation and conservation, new biofuels or bioproducts, transportation, and carbon capture and usage. Ontario says that this initiative is funded

Christine O’Reilly  will be joining  thenOMAFRA Field Crops Unit as the new Forage and Grazier Specialist. Christine is a  graduate of the University ofnGuelph (Master of Science, Environmental Sciences) and the Ontario AgriculturalnCollege (Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management – BBRM).  She brings greatntechnical knowledge and project management experience to OMAFRA. In her recent role with the Rural Agri-InnovationnNetwork (RAIN), Christine worked closely with farmers on app

Switchgrass can improve soil quality on eroded farms, University of Missouri study finds. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnThe MU researchers studiednplots with varying amounts of topsoil. Each plot included corn, soybeans andnswitchgrass. They found that switchgrass grew well in areas without topsoil andnactually improved the soil in those areas.Access full article in MU News Bureaunn

As new deliverables of the 2-year KTT initiative (Knowledge Translation & Transfer) the project team has released 3 more videos, addressing Animal Bedding, Animal Feed and Ginseng Mulch. Links to these videos can be accessed on theOBPC website.  The project team is currently putting the final touches on guides, addressing biomass based animal bedding and feed. During the winter season the project team has planned several “roadshow” initiatives, starting with a presentation at