Doing More With Less: Biofuels And Rural Economic Development

Feb 13, 2013

And I think that is what’s at the heart of the biofuels movement: doing more with less. How can we deliver our energy needs from domestic sources and still deliver the food we all need? Well, as my grandmother pinpointed so many years ago, the answer lies in the waste.

…If there is waste from your crop, it now has value. New crop rotation can make your soil more fertile, and provide revenue opportunities during times of the year when the land may have previously laid fallow. Akin to farmers placing wind turbines on their land and receiving an income boost from energy production, we’re turning to farmers across the country and asking to partner with them on making greater use of their land.

…Producing energy in the future is a distributed opportunity. It makes the most sense from a fuel economy standpoint to use the fuel nearby where it is produced- not ship it halfway around the world. And if all communities, cities and states can produce the fuel we use, then we’re not just creating jobs – we’re keeping our money local too. We’ve got a long way to go before we can get there, but we have to start with the vision first.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.