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Bio diesel and the quest to be self suffient

Anything that might not belong on the other message boards!
400lbsonacubseatspring
10+ Years
10+ Years

Postby 400lbsonacubseatspring » Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:55 pm

Billy,

I know that you and I briefly discussed Sugar Beets as a possible crop in your area for ethanol feedstock (I don't know what you'd do with the dried chips.....I don't know if horses will eat them or not...cattle will).

Another idea for northern climates would be Jerusalem Artichoke (a perrenial sunflower, actually)....it's wicked hardy, and needs little in the way of fertilization...maybe just a little horse manure here and there in the spring. It spreads quickly, though, and is difficult to eradicate once established. Some of the roots can be dug in early spring and replanted like potatoes to increase acreage planted. Some roots can be dug in the fall and fed to pigs, cattle, or eaten by humans like potatoes.

You'd have to have a cane press of some sort, though, because the sugar comes from the stalk, like sorghum, syrup corn, or sugar cane.

Once your plantings were established, you could harvest with a corn binder, I'd imagine, a little at a time, and run it through the press, and process a little every day. The maturity would come in the early fall, I think, just after they flower, but we'd have to check on that for sure. Might work out really well for home ethanol production.

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cowboy
10+ Years
10+ Years
Posts: 3414
Joined: Sat May 15, 2004 11:10 am
Zip Code: 49229
Location: MI, Britton

Postby cowboy » Thu Jun 29, 2006 7:15 pm

:D Thanks Tom

Thinking of the last one. A person could run it through a chopper. It would be easier to handle and would process faster.

Billy
Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you. 1964 cub. Farmall 100 and 130.

"Those that say it can’t be done should not interrupt the ones who are doing it.”


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