The search for sources of biofuels that won’t negatively impact the world’s food supply and add to global warming appears to be bearing some fruit.  One company that thinks it has a solution, Great Plains – The Camelina Company, has proclaimed itself the “world’s largest camelina producer.”  Just what is camelina?  Camelina is an oilseed crop in the same family as mustard, rapeseed and cabbage, that’s beginning to be grown and crushed throughout the United States and Canada for both fuel and cattle feed.  Camelina is well on its way to a low cost, high yield, alternative to crops like corn or soy as source of biodiesel.

Federal mandates to increase alternative fuel production have contributed to the rising cost of consumer goods and food, and may actually increase global warming as valuable farmland is being used to grow crops for fuel.  Camelina offers one solution for reaching biodiesel production goals by providing a sustainable, low-input biofuel feedstock that doesn’t interfere with food production. Camelina, unlike many other crops, is virtually 100 percent efficient. It can be harvested and crushed for fuel and the remaining parts can be used to produce high quality omega-3 rich animal feed, fiberboard and glycerin. It actually produces both food and fuel.

more after the jump…

Camelina has the ability to grow on marginal land, utilizing very little moisture, in cold states as far north as Montana and Canada. Camelina is also an excellent rotational crop and has been shown to enhance the yield of subsequent crops such as wheat by up to 15 percent.

Great Plains has contracted with several crushing partners in North America to produce over 10 million road miles of camelina biodiesel to date, and plans to boost production to 100 million gallons by the year 2012.  If you’re a potential grower you may want to contact Great Plains.

find out more @ Great Plains- The Camelina Company  or from their competitor Sustainable Oils