01/16/08 Seeking camelina growers

Willamette Biomass Processors hopes to find some eastern Oregon and Idaho farmers who would be willing to plant small plots of camelina. President Tim Parker says they'll be talking to farmers this weekend at the Treasure Valley Ag Show in Malheur County. PARKER "Camelina represents a dry land farmer's paradise in that it can be grown quite will under dry conditions and if a grower wants to or desires to it can be grown under irrigation as well. Much like what is happening in Montana is that it opens the dry land acres opportunity and alternative for him that maybe he's not had as a small grain rotation." Parker is breaking ground for an oil seed crushing plant and when he's fully operational later this year he'll have the potential to produce four million gallons of vegetable oil that can be converted into biodiesel. Parker says about 40 percent of the camelina seed that is crushed goes to oil, the rest into a feed source for dairy and beef cattle. That's why he's seeking growers in eastern Oregon and all of Idaho. PARKER "What we need are 100 growers, 200 growers, 300 hundred growers doing 25, 50 acres. In the very early spring that crop will come in and go out by mid-July and then a grower would come behind that and plant lets say his winter wheat for the next year." Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott