Camelina

<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/02/23/news/state/23-camelina.txt">Fuel-maker offers more for camelina</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>Competition from surging grain prices prompted a Bigfork biofuels developer to announce Friday it will boost its contract price for the oilseed crop camelina.<br />n<br />nGreat Plains – The Camelina Co. is one of two groups with plans to produce a combined 200 million gallons of biofuels annually from camelina within the next two to three years.</blockquote><br />n<br />nIt will be interesting to see if they get many takers raising price to $9 a bushel while wheat is greater than $15 a bushel. Here is an interesting comment.<br />n<br />n<blockquote>To compete, Great Plains said Friday that it is increasing its camelina contract price to $9 per bushel. Company founder Sam Huttenbauer said the remaining gap with wheat prices would be covered by camelina's low "input" costs – meaning it needs fewer fertilizers and herbicides.</blockquote><br />n<br />nCamelian needs less fertilizers and herbicides. Interesting. I can't speak to the fertilizer situation but i have been informed that herbicide costs are less for camelina. That's because THERE ARE NO HERBICIDES LISTED FOR USE IN CAMELINA. So if you get a weed infestation, there isn't a damn thing you can do for it except watch the weeds take over the field. This "low input" cost doesn't do much good if you don't have a crop to sell.<br />n<br />nI think they are going to have to offer more money than $9 a bushel to get this going. With wheat prices the way they are most people are going to grow crops they are comfortable with and can mange. Not some crop that you can't even spray the weeds on. You have to give the company kudos for trying though.<br />n<br />n<strong>The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed. Clark Kerr </strong>