Benefits for Farmers |
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One of the many benefits of biodiesel is that it can be made from a long list of oil vegetable or animal oils. The list of seed crops that convert beautifully into ASTM-D6751 grade biodiesel includes sunflower, safflower, canola, camelina, mustard seed, peanut, olive, soybean, rapeseed, jatropha, sesame, palm, cottonseed, coconut, etc. and the list continues to grow. We've selected a few interesting crops to call out below, but there are many others. See links on biodiesel made from animal tallow below.
As a result, we are seeing a growing number of farmers take the plunge and choose to make their own fuel. All a farmer needs is a BioPro™ and a seed crusher, and he can reduce his fuel operation bills significantly. We have yet to meet a farmer who isn't making their own fuel with a BioPro for less than the cost of regular diesel. Harvest the oil seed crop, crush the seeds, collect the oil, process the oil in a BioPro, sell the remaining high-protein bran as cattle feed, and save money! Johhny Davis (pictured at right) is doing it. Johnny is a semi-retired farmer and owner of the ARCO feedlot in DeWitt, AR. He operates a BioPro 380 and SpringPro T76 drywash system. With this set up, he is capable of producing 100 gallons every 13 hours. He is one of several farmers in the Arkansas Delta region working to convert camelina and other winter crops into ASTM-grade biodiesel. Read more about Johnny Davis' project here. |
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Case Study |
Colusa Indian Community Council |
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2009 Wedeberg Study
| Inputs | Type | Cost/Acre |
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| Crop | Sunflower | |
| Acres | 8 | |
| Fuel to plow, cultivate, harvest | 8.13 gallons | $24.39 |
| Starter fertilizer | $40.00 | |
| Seed | $16.00 | |
| Custom combining | $36.56 | |
| Cash rent | $100.00 | |
| Total crop/acre | $216.95 | |
| Oil yield/acre (gallons) | 76.4 | |
| Total crop cost/gallon | $2.84 | |
| BioPro inputs | $0.90 | |
| Total cost/gallon | $3.74 | |
| Revenues | ||
| Cost of diesel | $2.89 | |
| Cost of B100 | $3.23 | |
| Implied savings / (Loss) vs. diesel | ($0.85) | |
| Protein meal | 860 lbs/acre | |
| Protein meal – total value/acre | $4190.00 | |
| Total savings | $1520 |
And, the Wedeberg's have cattle!
Savings/gallon of B100 Produced in a BioPro on 8 acres:
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Henry Smith, board member of Farm Fuels Inc. stands with FFI's BioPro™ 190EX. Farm Fuels is small business located in Watsonville, CA. that was started by organic farmers. They are currently converting mustard seed into biodiesel fuel and are looking to expand their operation with the purchase of four more mustard seed presses. Check out their Indigogo project.
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Harry Smith of Farm Fuels, Inc.
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Local Farmer Greg Massa of Massa Farms just stepped up to the plate and stands here with his BioPro™ 190. Greg and his wife Raquel plan to press safflower seed to make biodiesel fuel for their farming equipment. Their plan includes selling the meal that is left over (after the oil is extruded) as cattle feed. They've taken a financially creative route to pay for the required equipment by putting up a crowd sourcing proposal. We applaud their initiative and urge anyone who can to contribute.
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Greg Massa of Mass Farms
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Related Links
- On-Farm Biodiesel Production – Farm To Plate newsletter
- Biodiesel: Your Farm Has Fuel – Hobby Farms
- Animal Fat based biodiesel – Biodiesel Magazine, 2009
- Rendered Fats for Biodiesel Industry – National Rendering Association, 2008
- Beef Tallow and Hydrogenated Oils in the BioPro – Springboard website
Please contact Springboard Biodiesel if you'd like more information.