Progress on the Eastern Sprayfields Project was presented on Thursday, 30 June 2011 at a meeting of the 1217 Interagency Committee, which regulates animal waste management rules for the state. The Eastern Sprayfields project is an initiative of the Biofuels Center to establish energy grasses in the southeastern part of the state on hog lagoon sprayfields and verify the economic opportunities for biofuels. New energy grasses are being grown at three sites in three eastern North Carolina counties: Duplin, Sampson, and Wayne.

The Prestage Farms site (the Keener Farm near Clinton) and the Maxwell Foods site (near Goldsboro) are being prepared for perennial grasses in the fall or spring 2012. Both sites have been growing Coastal Bermuda grass for many years, which must be eliminated before perennial grasses can be planted. This week, forage sorghum was no-till planted into the existing sod. The shading from the tall sorghum should assist in eliminating the Bermuda grass. Depending on the success in eradicating the Bermuda grass, the perennial grasses will be planted either this fall or next spring. Very little research has been conducted to test and evaluate fall plantings, so a risk-benefit analysis will be conducted to determine the best time to plant the perennial grasses.

In May and June 2011, the Cottle Farm near Kenansville (the Murphy-Brown site) was planted with Sweet Sorghum, Forage Sorghum, Switchgrass, Giant Miscanthus, and Coastal Bermuda grass. The crops are being subjected to the same nutrient application practices that are typical for Coastal Bermuda grass used on hog lagoon sprayfields. Both sweet and forage sorghum plots are doing well. The switchgrass transplants are also doing well. The transplants were moved from a hot tobacco float greenhouse directly to the fields. Due to a delay in planting, the heat and drought presented problems for the Giant Miscanthus. The transplants were kept in cold storage until the fields dried from rain, and were then planted in high heat. The resulting transplant shock caused an unusually low survival rate for the Miscanthus. Previous plantings of Miscanthus in the past three years have seen at least an 80-percent survival rate for transplants.

Read more about the Eastern Sprayfields project HERE.

"Annual State of the Coast looks at alternative energy sources," an article in the New Bern Sun Journal on the Energy Summit

North Carolina's Biofuels Campus plan is a little closer to completion.  The Biofuels Center, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and design firm OBrienAtkins have held three sessions requesting feedback on the latest draft of the Biofuels Campus Master Plan.  The sessions were held at the Biofuels Center in Oxford on 10 June, at OBrienAtkins offices' on 14 June and at the NCDA's office in downtown Raleigh on 20 June 2011.  Economic developers, town and county officials, NC State researchers, NCDA staff, Biofuels Center staff, industry representatives and other interested parties attended the meetings.  Feedback about the plan, which presents a framework for development of the Campus over the next decade, was uniformly positive.  Suggestions made at the meetings are being incorporated into the drawings and plan for presentation to the working group.