Pennsylvania Biofuels: Promising new biofuel source being grown in northwestern Pennsylvania

From an article in Gantdaily.com (link).  In Northwestern Pennsylvania, farmers have formed a co-op in conjuntion with Penn State Cooperative Extension to grow a promising source of biofuels – Camelina.  Camelina is a flower that produces a seed that consists of 40% oil compared to soybeans, which are only 20% oil.  A dozen farms have planted 300 acres of the flower, which has a 85-105 day growing cycle – allowing for 2 growing cycles in a year.  Once the crop was proven to be viable in Pennsylvania’s climate – interest was so high amongst farmers that they had to turn people away at the door according to the article.  Montana is the only state with significant acreage with over 10,000 acres planted last year – up from a few hundred acres just a few years ago.  The advantage of Camelina is that it requires relatively little rain (less than 20″/year) and low soil nutrient.  It also has a very low break even cost for a farmer (~$1.23 bushel) compared to similar oil seeds like rapseed/canola, which is 3-4x more expensive to produce.  Roughly – a gallon of oil from Camelina costs $1.00 to produce.  What is even nicer about the product is that it works nicely with existing crop rotations.