Program Information

Renewable fuel sources are simply products like corn, barley, and soy beans that are used to create fuel and fuel additives. If America used more agricultural products for renewable fuels, this would not only decrease our dependency on foreign countries for oil, but would help U.S. farmers.

ABCs of Agriculture informs about Virginia's farming community and how it affects you. ABCs of Agriculture are produced by the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) - an educational program which encourages and enhances agricultural literacy in Grades K-5 and 6-8.

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the ABC’s of Agriculture! We’re here today to talk about the letter R which stands for renewable fuel sources.

Renewable fuel sources refer to products like corn, barley and soybeans that can be used to create fuel and fuel additives. If America used more agricultural products for renewable fuels… this would not only decrease our dependency on foreign countries for oil…but, would help U-S farmers!

Virginia is a corn-deficit state, which means that most of the corn grown in the commonwealth is used for animal feed… and more is imported from other states for that purpose. However, interest in ethanol plants on the East coast is high and could change the landscape of Virginia farm lands. Feasibility studies are underway to find out if Virginia could support a possible ethanol plant.

In the meantime, Consumers of diesel fuel in eastern Virginia have had access to soy biodiesel since mid-2002. Biodiesel is a homegrown alternative to diesel fuel, made usually from soybean oil. Most diesel engines can use the fuel with few or no modifications. Soy biodiesel currently is not produced in Virginia, but there is growing support for biodiesel use and production.

That would especially good news for Virginia’s soybean growers! Soybeans were the 7th largest cash crop for Virginia agriculture in 2001 with more than 80.4 million dollars in cash receipts! Now that is a whole lot of beans!

For the ABC’s of Agriculture, I’m Professor Brad… see you next time!

Virginia Standards