Gov. Blagojevich announces $270,000 in sustainable agriculture grants to encourage environmentally friendly agricultural innovation         

[March 19, 2007]  SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich announced $270,000 in grants on March 14 to promote the development of innovative farming practices that are profitable and conserve natural resources. The grants, which are part of the governor's Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy, will be distributed through the Illinois Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program.

"Illinois farmers are among the most productive and efficient producers in the world because of the care they take to protect their land," Blagojevich said. "These grants will help ensure they continue to practice the most modern production techniques and our natural resources are conserved for generations of farmers to come."

The grants will fund seven on-the-farm or university research projects and nine educational outreach programs. Topics to be studied include the energy potential of biomass crops such as Miscanthus and switchgrass, the use of lake sediment as a soil amendment, and the use of cover crops to sustain pumpkin production in northern Illinois.

"Illinois' rich, fertile farmland is arguably its greatest natural resource," Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke said. "The crops this land grows are the foundation of a multi-billion industry that employs nearly a quarter of the state's work force. So, it's important this valuable resource isn't squandered. The research these grants fund will help spur the development of new, environmentally responsible farming techniques and make sure that doesn't happen."

The Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program was established as part of the Conservation 2000 program to research and implement methods of production that protect natural resources without sacrificing farm profitability.

The grant awards follow the governor's announcement of his energy independence plan to replace 50 percent of the state's current supply of imported oil with renewable, homegrown biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel.

The governor proposes investing $100 million over the next 5 years to build up to 20 new ethanol plants across Illinois. The additional ethanol production would generate an estimated $1.7 billion in business investment.

The Governor also proposes investing an additional $100 million over the next ten years to build four plants in downstate Illinois using new technology to create ethanol made from plant waste materials like corn husks and wood pulp -- or "cellulosic ethanol." This means boosting the state's annual ethanol production by more than 200 percent and meeting 50 percent of gasoline needs by 2017.

And, the Governor's plan would invest $25 million to help build five new biodiesel plants, boosting the state's production by 200 percent to 400 million gallons per year, or the equivalent to 25 percent of the state's annual diesel fuel needs by 2017. This additional biodiesel production will generate another $225 million in business investment in Illinois.

This plan would create almost 20,000 construction jobs and 10,000 permanent jobs.

The complete list of grant recipients is below. For additional information, contact the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Land and Water Resources, P.O. Box 19281, Springfield, IL 62794; or call 217-782-6297.

[Text from news release from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]

FY '07 Sustainable Agriculture Grants
Recipient	Project	Amount
Growing Home, Inc., Chicago	Four Seasons Food Growing Project	25,000
Omni Ventures, Inc., Virden	Evaluation of biomass crops for use in sustainable agriculture programs	25,000
University of Illinois Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration, Champaign	A Research-Based Program to Sustain Illinois Organic and Alternative Farms	24,948
Illinois Forage and Grassland Council, Shelbyville	Heart of America Grazing Conference	2,000
Shelby County Farm Bureau, Shelbyville	Heartland Graziers: A Network of Resources Among Producers	1,000
Prairie Rivers Resource Conservation & Development, Henry	Peoria County Chapter of Initiative for the Development of Entrepreneurs in Agriculture (IDEA)	17,875
University of Illinois Department of Crop Sciences, Urbana	Demonstration of a farming system that integrates beef cattle and grain crops	7,200
Illinois Ag in the Classroom, Bloomington	Sustainable Agriculture 101	24,450
Earth Partners, Champaign	Sustainable Agriculture: Making a Positive Impact on Our Environment and Lives Workshop for K-12 grade teachers	10,555
CSA Learning Center, Caledonia	Illinois Farm Beginnings: Preparing Farmers for a New Illinois Food System	25,000
University of Illinois Department of Crop Sciences, Urbana	Transition to Organic Systems: How to improve the use of Winter Cover Crops to enhance nitrogen cycling and reduce nitrate leaching	24,880
University of Illinois Department of Crop Sciences, Urbana	Bio-control of Internal Discoloration of Horseradish Root	25,000
University of Illinois Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration, Champaign	Using Compost and Lake Sediment as a Soil Amendment	4,602
University of Illinois Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration, Champaign	The performance of wheat, soybean, tomato and pumpkin in conventional, best management and organic cultural systems	24,818
University of Illinois Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration, Champaign	Investigating the biological basis of soil fertility: the effect of sustainable management practices on microbial populations that contribute to efficient nutrient cycling	13,750
Kane County Extension	Cover Crops for Sustainable Pumpkin Production in Northern Illinois	15,715
Total		271,793

[Chart copied from news release from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]