Va. Needs New Ag Technology

Va. Needs New Ag Technology
By Terry McAuliffe, Harrisonburg Daily News Record
March 4, 2009

LIKE MOST FARMERS here in the Valley, Buff Showalter pays close attention to fertilizer prices and heating bills, the extra costs that can make or break a harvest. He uses his own chicken litter as a primary fertilizer. But last year Buff had to spend about $5,000 on commercial fertilizer for his corn and hay crops. He also spent $12,000 on gasoline to heat his broiler house.

That's part of the reason why he and his business partner, Oren Heatwole, a former farmer himself, jumped at the opportunity to test a new machine that converts chicken litter into two things that Buff could really use: a high-quality fertilizer and a high-energy fuel.

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The joys of chicken waste

This weekend, Terry traveled to the Shenandoah Valley to hold an economic roundtable and look at some exciting research that could yield new sources of renewable energy in the near future.

He recorded a short video message and I wanted to share it with you.

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McAuliffe stumps in Dayton, City

February 23rd, 2009
The Daily News Record
Jeff Mellott

HARRISONBURG – Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe’s campaign swing through the central Valley on Saturday focused largely on agriculture, its role in the production of alternative fuels and how that might help the sagging economy.

McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who ran Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid, visited two farms in the Dayton area. Both are participating in a Virginia Tech pilot project that’s testing ways to convert farm waste into fuels and other uses.

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