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On-Farm Oil Seed / Biodiesel Project State Line Farm, Shaftsbury, VT

On-Farm Oil Seed / Biodiesel Project State Line Farm, Shaftsbury, VT. A lot of farms and farmers in the Northeast are looking for new, ‘non-commodity’ enterprises. A lot of farms are also looking for sources of renewable energy. Our goal.

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On-Farm Oil Seed / Biodiesel Project State Line Farm, Shaftsbury, VT

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  1. On-Farm Oil Seed / Biodiesel Project State Line Farm, Shaftsbury, VT

  2. A lot of farms and farmers in the Northeast are looking for new, ‘non-commodity’ enterprises. A lot of farms are also looking for sources of renewable energy

  3. Our goal • Farms working together to make their own fuel, using their own raw materials, with sustainable practices.

  4. Making biodiesel from waste vegetable oil in the old dairy barn

  5. The first crop of oil seed crops, but no way to extract the oil for fuel.

  6. In 2005 an oil seed press was purchased.

  7. Other farmers helped buy the press, and grew test plots of sunflower, canola, other oil seed crops.

  8. May 4, 2006 preparing to plant

  9. Brillion seed drill used to sow canola

  10. Canola in flower on July 1

  11. Canola seed pods on August 1

  12. Canola seed nearly dry on August 18

  13. Sunflowers on July 1

  14. Sunflowers on August 1

  15. Sunflowers on October 2

  16. The crop looks good now, but deer and bird damage, or diseases can be a problem.

  17. 2007 sunflower variety trial at State Line Farm; yields ranged from 1,247 to 2,396 lb/acre

  18. Get the 1960’s combine ready

  19. In northern VT canola trials with 24 varieties had an average yield of 1,800 lb/acre

  20. First set up for pressing the seed for oil and meal

  21. a temporary settling tank

  22. Seed meal = livestock feed, worth about $200+ per ton, roughly twice that if organic

  23. Chinese oil press recently arrived at Rainville Farm in VT

  24. Sweet sorghum (for ethanol) August 1

  25. old Sweet sorghum press

  26. Extracting sweet sorghum juice

  27. This still makes ethanol from fermented ‘sugar crop’ juices

  28. Scaling the project up in 2006…with funding from VT Sustainable Jobs Fund

  29. John and Steve designed and built the building

  30. Vermont’s first on-farm oil seed processing facility

  31. Putting the system together – many used parts!

  32. methanol condensor seed oil press reaction vessel oil tank farmer seedmeal fuel drain glycerin drain

  33. “Farm fresh” biodiesel – but not ASTM tested (that’s another story)

  34. Future work • Oil and alcohol crop production trials • Economic analysis • Comparing processing equipment • Market development, co-operative formation? • Regulatory issues

  35. Project reports at: www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry click ‘Energy on the Farm’

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