BCAP Project Approved in Kansas and Oklahoma; Public Information Meetings Announced

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BCAP Project Approved in Kansas and Oklahoma; Public Information Meetings Announced

08/12/2011 12:11 PM EDT

August 11, 2011

Contact:
Shelly Bilderback
405-742-1041
Shelly.bilderback@ok.usda.gov

BCAP Project Approved in Kansas and Oklahoma; Public Information Meetings Announced

STILLWATER, Okla., August 11, 2011 – Francie Tolle, executive director of the Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA), announced USDA’s seventh Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) Project Area to provide financial incentives to interested farmers, ranchers and forest landowners for the voluntary establishment and production of biomass crops for conversion to cellulosic liquid ethanol.

The boundary for the project is a 6-county area located in Kansas and Oklahoma. Eligible counties are: Grant, Haskell, Morton, Seward and Stevens County in Kansas; and Texas County in Oklahoma.

Producers can learn more about the BCAP Project at a public information meeting:

• Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 9:30 a.m., Oklahoma Panhandle Research & Extension Center, Hwy 54, Goodwell, Oklahoma.

• Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 1:30 p.m., Fairgrounds Building, 1130 S. Trindle St., Hugoton, Kansas.

USDA announced that Abengoa Bioenergy, LLC, will get the seventh BCAP project to encourage producers in the Kansas and Oklahoma project area to grow large quantities of energy crops. “Up to 20,000 acres are expected to be enrolled and dedicated to the planting of native grasses and herbaceous plants for energy purposes,” said Tolle. “The selection of this project area is another step in the effort to assist the nation's advanced biofuel industry produce energy in commercial quantities from sustainable rural resources.”

Eligible land includes cropland and non-crop agricultural land such as grassland, pastureland and hay land. Eligible land must be suitable for establishing and harvesting the biomass crops included in the project area.

The project will support the establishment of mixtures of perennial native grasses and forbs, such as Switchgrass, Big Bluestem, Sand Bluestem, Indiangrass, Illinois Bundleflower, Alfalfa, and Purple Prairie Clover. Additionally, the project will allow enrollment of existing suitable stands of native grasses, legumes and forbs.

Producers will be eligible for:

• 5-Year Contract
• Annual payments for the land enrolled.
• Establishment cost-share payments for perennial biomass crops.
• Matching payments for up to two years for the collection, harvest, storage and transport of the biomass to a qualified biomass conversion facility, provided funds are available.

The principal goal of BCAP is to be a catalyst in the development of the next generation biomass crops, which are typically unconventional and normally require years to establish, which can serve as a foundation for a future strong biomass feedstock source. “Reducing our dependence on foreign oil and controlling fuel prices will require investments in projects like this,” said Tolle.

Signup for this project area will be held August 8, 2011 through September 16, 2011.

For additional details contact Abengoa Bioenergy, LLC, 1519 W. 10^th Street, Hugoton, KS 67951, Phone (620) 544-7780, or visit us on-line at www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap.

USDA is an equal opportunity employer, provider and lender.

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