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The Local Bioenergy Initiative: Perennial Biomass Craps in the Lae Decatur Watershed
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<br /> Perennial grasses for Bioenergy, forage, and clean water in a tile-drained landscape
<br /> Stephen F John—Agricultural Watershed Institute—sfjohn@agwatershed.org
<br /> Local Context: "The Story of a Lake" The Local Bioenergy Initiative—Overview
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<br /> Construction of Lake Decatur was linked to a business decision nearly a century Vision Statement
<br /> ago that changed the Midwest agricultural landscape.A.E.Staley wanted to i
<br /> i expand his company's grain processing operations in Decatur.The City Council Make the Lake Decatur Watershed a national showcase for
<br /> E agreed to build a new dam on the Sangamon River to provide water for Staley's € perennial biomass crops grown for both renewable energy&
<br /> mills and a growing city.Construction started in 1921. That same year,Staley enhanced water quality.
<br /> E announced plans for the first soybean crushing plant in Illinois.He went on to !
<br /> become a cheerleader for the new crop. - ( Sustainable Decatur Plan—Year 2020 Targets: j
<br /> Despite generally flat topography In the 925
<br /> spuare mile watershed,it soon became 10,0
<br /> — • 00 acres of perennial energy tro_ p s p
<br /> apparent that soil erosion was choking •75,000 tans/year of biomass used or exported
<br /> waterways and filling Lake Decatur with -_
<br /> i sediment.Soil conservationists hired by the Elements Of the�nt13t1Y@;
<br /> City helped to establish Soil&Water i
<br /> Conservation Districts(swc0s)In the 1. Outreach and technical/finandal assistance to farmers&
<br /> counties of the lake Decatur watershed. - -'^-• landowners
<br /> In 1949,University of Illinois Extension —• 2. Collaborate with public,private,and nonprofit sector partners
<br /> published a booklet titled"The Story of a j ! to develop markets for perennial biomass
<br /> Lake"that used Lake Decatur as a case study _
<br /> to drive home the importance of soil ; 3. Develop and demonstrate landscape design concepts for
<br /> conservation. The authors urged farmers to i coproduction of biomass and environmental benefits,
<br /> "put into crop production only land that .". ? especially water quality j
<br /> can be safety used for that purpose and
<br /> leave the rest for hay,pasture,and timber" ° •• '' perennial biomass
<br /> But about that time,production of Inorganic r
<br /> nitrogen fertilizer was beginning to make it " crops:
<br /> possible to grow corn without relying on '""' i •SWItChgra55 Miscanthus,
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<br /> livestock to provide manure. By 1970,hay and other grasses
<br /> and small grains were mostly gone and the
<br /> local landscape was dominated by corn and E IAL g
<br /> �>�.�� � i •Native warm season toss
<br /> ! soybeans.Today.about 87%of the �" .7 mixes
<br /> watershed area is In these two crops. ..•" - ! i
<br /> i •Native grass/forb
<br /> CWAre Int{pper5anisi nWatan*WCoutnWpofycuitures
<br /> i 5/idreredits�INxIaIsSro[e wn[er5urvey
<br /> "" "" ". •Willows and ather Short
<br /> Decatur has provided watershed
<br /> conservation funding to Macon Rotation Coppice trees
<br /> County SWCD since the mid-
<br /> -7
<br /> id-
<br /> 1980s. In 2003,the Agricultural
<br /> Watershed Institute(AWI)was
<br /> •• ,,,,;; ,. formed to conduct research and
<br /> education on practices to 3. Outreach&Assistance to Early Adopters
<br /> i address problems found in the
<br /> j Upper Sangamon and throughout the Midwest.Continuous living cover,with AWI and University of Illinois maintain energy grass small plots on the
<br /> an emphasis on perennial biomass crops,is a watershed protection strategy of
<br /> Awl and our partners. The advice offered by Extension scientists more than grounds of the farm Progress Show.Every other year when this major
<br /> 60 years ago Is relevant,and even Innovative,today, farm show is held in Decatur,we host an Energy Grass Education Area
<br /> with plots,exhibits,and equipment displays.
<br /> AWI partners with Caterpillar
<br /> ! National context: Cellulosic biomass,Gulf ? Inc.for 65 acres of Prairie for
<br /> hypoxia,and climate change 1 Bioenergy demonstration plots
<br /> i on company land near its
<br /> Decatur facility.Plots range from
<br /> i Corn-based ethanol,pioneered in Decatur by the Archer Daniels Midland r
<br /> Company,made agriculture a source of renewable energy. Intensive corn Switchgrass monoculture to a 33
<br /> production can have significant environmental impacts.One notable example species prairie polycuiture. Field
<br /> is that nitrogen and phosphorus lost from tile-drained corn fields contributes to days and small mammal studies
<br /> hypoxia In the Gulf of Mexico.The 2007 Federal Energy Act mandates ( are conducted on the site.
<br /> i dramatically increased production of advanced biofuels made from cellulosic ! During the drought of 2012, I
<br /> renewable biomass.Current energy policy does not mandate use of perennialSWItChgraSS was harvested for
<br /> biomass crops as feedstock for cellulosic biofuels. It is widely assumed that corn
<br /> stover will be the main cellulosic biofuel feedstock in Corn Belt states. If hay.Plans are being made to
<br /> implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard leads to more perennial crops harvest biomass in 2014 for
<br /> on the agricultural landscape,the outcomes could be to Increase soil carbon, forage and for use In bioenergy
<br /> reduce erosion and nutrient loss,enhance biodiversity and wildlife habitat,and i demonstrations.
<br /> generally make agriculture more resilient and sustainable.Perennial biomass ( ?'
<br /> i crops are the only source of renewable energy that can provide these E Extension educators,SWCDs,
<br /> environmental services. I
<br /> and AWI provide technical
<br /> j assistance to early adopters.
<br /> i As funding permits,financial
<br /> k
<br /> • € incentives are offered.A few
<br /> i y` on-farm energy grass plots
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<br /> The watersheds exporting ••� -t,` , ,''"` have been Planted with
<br /> high nitrate toads to the =T ! assistance designed to be
<br /> Guffore mainiy the tile- f' ""t" comparable to the initial and
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<br /> drained croplands of j annual payments in USDA's
<br /> Illinois,Iowa,and Indiana. I Biomass Crop Assistance
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<br /> Slide uedr,:US GeolagrmlSurveY [ Program(BCAP).
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