Oil seed crops may produce bio-diesel, support farmers

Report based on profitability for regional growers

DAYTON — A feasibility study may soon lead to new hope for farmers within the region.

Jennie Dickinson, president of the Blue Mountain Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council and executive director of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce, said that a study is being conducted to determine whether or not the area around Dayton will be able to use canola, mustard, flax and other oil seed crops to produce bio-diesel profitably and give farmers a good return on their crops.

Lisa Naylor, a Blue Mountain RC&D coordinator, explained that the idea of the study was to look at the geographic area around Dayton to determine if there was farm area and farmers willing to produce enough seeds to make a venture.

"Some of the concerns are transportation costs (and) price of the seeds," Naylor said. "(We're) not going to grow unless (we) break even. Things have been tough for grain producers the last several years."

Naylor said the oil seed crops would be another crop to factor into farmers' rotation, noting that not rotating leads to bugs and weeds, making it expensive to clean the fields up.

Dickinson said that she is expecting a final report from the first phase of the study sometime today.

"It does look feasible," she said. "We have already asked (contractors) to go ahead with a business and marketing plan, which we expect by Dec. 15."

Dickinson said that a grower first brought the idea of having a crushing facility in the region to a coordinator, noting that other facilities perform a similar function with soybeans, but not with the region.

"(It was a) project several people felt was very viable," she said, adding that the RC&D started doing research and wrote a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to conduct the study. "We're always looking for alternatives to make farming profitable. Some of those crops grow well here, but with the market they don't pay enough to cover the costs of growing."

Dickinson said that the project started with a growing area within a 50-mile radius of Dayton, and she thinks it will expand up to a 100-mile growing radius. How much crop land is necessary still has to be determined, she said, reiterating that the oil seed crops would be part of the crop rotation.

"We are really interested in helping growers in the region and we will be glad to field inquiries from the entire region on becoming a part of this project," Dickinson said. "(We are) truly viewing this as a regional project — eastern Washington, northeast Oregon, even western Idaho. Wherever we can help."

Dickinson said that in making choices for the parameters to use, a reasonable price for the crops was chosen so it would be profitable to farmers.

"The report is based on profitability for farmers," she said.