Murray State University’s Hutson School of Agriculture will celebrate the second annual National Bioenergy Day on Wednesday with eight guest presenters, a variety of workshops, the official firing of a bio burner and the harvest of the last of its hemp crop.
According to a press release from West Kentucky AgBioworks and MSU, the term “bioenergy” refers to an industry whose companies produce electricity and heat generated from wood and other organic materials. In addition to serving as a domestic energy source, these industries work closely together to keep American forests healthy and put organic byproducts like forest trimmings, industry byproducts and agricultural residuals to good use, the release said.
The celebration will be from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the MSU Equine Center at the West Farm. There will also be an agriculture hemp pre-session from 9-11:30 a.m. This will include updates on the national, Kentucky and MSU hemp programs from 9-11:15 a.m. and hemp harvesting demonstrations from 10-11:30 a.m.
From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be a free lunch with keynote speakers and the official lighting of MSU’s bio burner. The lunch will also feature the announcement of the State Wood Energy Grant.
There will be breakout sessions from 1:15-2:30 p.m. on the topics of livestock energy, biomass logistics and markets, government assistance programs and residential heating. Presenters include Dr. Len Peters of the Kentucky Energy and Environmental Cabinet; Bill McCloskey with the Governor’s Office of Agriculture Policy; Emily Ohds with the Division of Compliance Assistance; Scott Maas with the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Scott Laskowski with LEI Products; Steven Killian with Whayne Supply; Dr. Sam Jackson, vice president of business development at Genera Energy Inc.; AGCO Equipment Company and others.
There will also be optional plot tours from 2:45-4:30 p.m.
A press release from Genera Energy Inc. said the company is a recognized leader in biomass feedstock supply innovation and supply chain advancements and grows sustainable biomass energy crops, which are turned into biofuels, biopower and bioproducts. Jackson will present on “How Biomass Works,” where he will discuss the development, processing and benefits of biomass feedstocks.
In a telephone interview, Jackson said Genera has participated in several similar outreach events, field days and workshops. He said he has gotten to know Dr. Tony Brannon, dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture, over the years and he is very supportive of the research and development the school is doing in the area of bioenergy.
“We’re very supportive of the R and D work that Murray State’s doing, particularly around the variety of crops that they’ve worked with,” Jackson said. “What they’re doing from field (study) to end-use there with their bio burner is very unique ande very commendable. It’s a great opportunity to promote the biomass-based industry.”
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