Greenhouse Gas vs. Greenhouse Farming: Carbon Offsets, BioFuels, Manure Digesters and More;

November 17, 2009

Troy, NY — How climate change may shape the future of New York farming will be discussed in depth at the 9th Annual Innovations in Agriculture Conference, on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn, 235 Hoosick Street, Troy. State officials and experts in energy and environmental fields related to crop and livestock farming will host presentations by Cornell University, SUNY Colleges of Environmental Science and Forestry and Morrisville, Columbia University and industry leaders.

Topics to be covered include: Growing biofuel crops, minimizing livestock water and air pollution, utilizing controlled-environment agriculture, reducing farm utility costs, cogenerating electricity, accessing state and federal incentives. Information also will be presented regarding policies to ease farmer access to future energy and environmental technologies.

Francis J. Murray, Jr. President and CEO of conference host NYSERDA said: “NYSERDA’s pioneering efforts in reducing farm electric costs and helping control water and air emissions have become the standard for large farms across the state. In conjunction with the Department of Agriculture and Markets, we offer programs and incentives to ease installation costs of these future technologies; we are already saving farms millions in costs and under Governor Paterson’s energy efficiency vision, we are expanding our efforts to smaller farm businesses.”

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said, “We are pleased to once again work with NYSERDA in presenting some of the new and exciting technology and programs that could significantly help our farmers with energy. Whether it’s new ways to produce energy, lower costs or the ancillary benefits of both, this conference always proves to be a bright spot for the agricultural industry.”

State Senator Darrel J. Aubertine, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Senate Energy and Telecommunications committees who will address the conference said: “Agriculture and energy have become increasingly linked in recent years with a growing interest in environmentally sustainable, carbon-neutral energy sources, including biofuels as a supplement to food production. Likewise, one of the major costs for farms is energy and it is important we find innovative ways to reduce energy costs and help our farmers enter into these new markets.”

The conference opens Tuesday, Nov. 17 with 8 am registration and 9 am welcoming remarks by State officials. 

CONTACT:

Colleen Ryan,
NYSERDA
518-862-1090, ext 3359
cqr@nyserda.ny.gov