Pennycress:"A wonder weed to wonder fuel:Developing Commercial Farming Practices for Pennycress"

Pennycress is a non-food member of the mustard family that is grown as a winter annual producing seeds containing 36% oil or twice that of soybeans. This oil can be extracted and converted to high quality biodiesel fuel while the remaining de-oiled presscake biomass can be converted to other energy products. Planted in the fall after corn harvest, Pennycress is then harvested in the spring before planting soybeans. Farmers growing this crop can earn extra income on land that would otherwise be left bare during the winter while still growing corn and soybeans in a tradition rotation. One ton of seeds grown on one acre can produce 190 gallons of liquid fuel. To establish Pennycress as a viable energy crop, practical knowledge and optimized farming practices must be established through well-designed experiments that validate the findings. This project will establish the best farming practices to allow growers to maximize yields thus enhancing economic returns in the production of a dedicated energy crop. Field experiments will be conducted to establish optimized planting, harvesting and storage practices. This information will then be provided to regional farmers seeking to grow Pennycress benefiting the environment, rural economy and consumers.