Gogebic County BioFuel Road Show Held

A number of Gogebic County residents attended the county-wide UP BioFuel Road Show held on August 7.

Speakers at the road show included Kim Stoker, Executive Director of WUPPDR; Spencer Townsend, Forestry Technician at WUPPDR; and Roger Woods from the Michigan Technological School of Business and Economics.  Townsend shared information on the growth of biofuel crops in the Western Upper Peninsula.  Woods spoke on the development of a biofuel cooperative and the creation of a cooperative strategy, while Stoker focused on encouraging landowner participation.

Throughout the summer, Townsend has been conducting free land consultations with interested landowns. The site visit includes an assessment of the land to generate a cost estimate to clear, plant, and maintain the land for biofuel crops.  It’s not too late: landowners interested in the consultation are encouraged to sign up at www.upbiofuel.com and will be assisted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you are a landowner with 20 or more acres of land and were unable to attend the region-wide workshop or the workshop in Gogebic County, you still have two more chances to attend.  The next road show will be on Monday, August 13 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. CST in the Iron County Board of Commissioners Room.  The final road show will take place on Wednesday, August 15 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. EST in the Ontonagon County Circuit Court Room.

USDA Rural Development State Director, Jim Turner, will be on hand at the Ontonagon County Road Show to listen to the presentations and hear what the landowners have to say about the UP BioFuel Initiative.