Thanks to the more than 200 individuals who took part in the Biomass Crop Assistance Webinar on Thursday June 25th, 2009. We had participants from all over the country, with a strong showing in the Midwest.
The webinar is now available online for those who would like to follow up or watch and listen for the first time. The presentations are also available for download. Please scroll down to learn more.
This 90-minute webinar was an introduction to the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), created as a key provision in the 2008 Farm Bill. BCAP looks to promote the cultivation of perennial bioenergy crops that show exceptional promise for producing highly energy-efficient bioenergy crops that preserve natural resources and that are not primarily grown for food or animal feed. BCAP will provide financial assistance to any biomass conversion facility or group of producers that contribute to the production of renewable biomass to use as an energy source. BCAP aims to relieve the dependency on commodity crops as an energy source and shift to less strained biomass materials.
1:30-1:40 – Introduction & Overview
Ryan Stockwell, Energy & Agriculture Director, The Minnesota Project
Contact: rstockwell@mnproject.org
1:45-2:00 – Implications for Biomass Crop Growers & Users
Joel Tallaksen, Gasification Project Coordinator, of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center
Contact: tall0007@umn.edu
2:00-2:20 –Policy Opportunities and Challenges for State Agencies
Gary Radloff, Director of Policy and Strategic Communications, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
Contact: gary.radloff@wisconsin.gov
2:20-2:35 –Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) Details
Kelly S. Novak, Planning and Analysis, USDA Farm Service Agency
Contact: Mike.Linsenbigler@wdc.usda.gov
2:35-3:05 – Question & Response Time
Questions we did not get to during the webinar have been answered by our presenters and are posted on The Minnesota Project’s blog. Click here to read post-webinar Q & A and add your own comments.
About the Speakers
Ryan Stockwell, Ph.D.
Ryan is the Clean Energy Program Manager at The Minnesota Project. He joined the Minnesota Project in October of 2008 as the Clean Energy Program Manager and is in the process of developing new initiatives to help meet the organization’s goals of expanding renewable energy production, maximizing the benefits to local communities derived from renewable energy projects, and improving the overall sustainability of Minnesota communities. Prior to joining the Minnesota Project Ryan worked as a regional organizer for the Western Organization of Resource Councils in Billings, Montana where he worked with organizations in western states on coal and climate change issues and developed collaborations with organizations across the United States on energy and environmental issues. While earning his Ph.D. in History from the University of Missouri, Ryan taught at the university and also worked as a policy analyst on energy, agricultural, and environmental issues in the Missouri House of Representatives. Ryan has an M.A. in History from Miami University and a B.A. in Social Change and Development from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Ryan grew up on a dairy and beef cattle farm in central Wisconsin.
Joel Tallaksen
Joel Tallaksen is the Gasification Project Coordinator at University of Minnesota, West Central Research and Outreach Center located in Morris, MN. Joel's research focus is identifying agricultural and other biomass that can be sustainably harvested for energy production.
Gary Radloff
Gary Radloff is the Director of Policy and Strategic Communications at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). In this role for DATCP, Radloff oversees all department-wide policy initiatives, communication strategies and homeland security staff. Radloff also serves as staff liaison to the North Central Bioeconomy Consortium (NCBEC), a 12-state partnership of Agriculture departments, University Extension offices and Agriculture Research Stations. Radloff serves on the Steering Committee for the Midwest Agriculture Energy Network (MAEN). Currently, he is also staff to the Agriculture and Forestry Work Group of the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming. He also assisted with policy planning and development for the Midwest Governor’s Association Energy Summit held in November 2007.
Kelly Novak
For the past year, Kelly has served as a Program Analyst for the USDA Farm Service Agency. She provides program analysis for several programs, including the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, Conservation Reserve Program, Emergency Conservation Program, and start ups of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program and Voluntary Public Access Program. Analysis includes cost benefit analysis and performance measure reporting. Novak also conducted rule writing for program development from the 2008 Farm Bill. Before joining FSA, Kelly was a research manager at Virginia Tech and the National Association of Development Organizations.
Webinar Host Locations
People gathered at the public hosting below—as well as private hostings not on the map—to view the BCAP webinar. Thank you again to our webinar hosts!
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Thanks to the more than 200 individuals who took part in the Biomass Crop Assistance Webinar on Thursday June 25th, 2009. We had participants from all over the country, with a strong showing in the Midwest.
For the most up-to-date information on BCAP, please click here to visit the official USDA-FSA webpage
Ryan Stockwell, Ph.D.
Joel Tallaksen
Gary Radloff
Kelly Novak