A million dollar pledge from DuPont means Iowa State University can begin development of its “New Century Farm.” The farm will be the center for biofuel and biomaterial farm production research on the Iowa State campus.
DuPont has announced a pledge of $1 million to the Iowa State University (ISU) New Century Farm, the first research effort in the United States to focus on producing cellulosic ethanol on the farm. The research efforts also will focus on enhancing the production, processing and utilization of feedstocks for biofuels and biomaterials.
“The need for renewable sources of energy requires a dynamic new way of thinking. The New Century Farm will research the practical things farmers can do in the future to grow, harvest and store biomass in a sustainable manner,” said Dean Oestreich, DuPont vice president and general manager and president of Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. “We’re proud to partner with Iowa State to create a demonstration farm that will be the first of its kind to integrate both the growing and processing of biomass into biofuels.”
The New Century Farm will include a facility for research in biomass crop breeding, crop rotation needs and ways to efficiently store and process biomass material. It also will feature a teaching laboratory for training future scientists and farmers, and an extension facility to demonstrate the economic, social and environmental viability of bioenergy.
The funding from DuPont, through its Pioneer Hi-Bred business, will be allocated from 2008 to 2012.
“Supporting the bioeconomy is one of our highest priorities at Iowa State University, and the New Century Farm initiative is key to these efforts,” ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said. “We’re delighted to have Pioneer partnering with us in this important initiative.”
The New Century Farm will be constructed on the ISU Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Research Farm west of Ames, Iowa. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, with a completion date for the main bioprocessing facility a year later.
“We are excited to be working with Pioneer and others to create a facility that will help address the opportunities and challenges of producing biofuels and bioproducts from biomass,” Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at ISU, said. “At the New Century Farm, the opportunity is great to integrate directly into agricultural fields the connections with harvesting, transportation, storage and processing. The New Century Farm will not only provide a venue for cutting-edge research, it will also allow us to train the next generation of scientists in this critical growth area.”