The content featured in this article is produced by Nuseed Carinata, an independently certified sustainable, non-food cover crop contract grown between main crop rotations to regenerate soil and harvested for certified sustainable lower carbon feedstock. Nuseed is the seed technologies platform for Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF).
The Nuseed Carinata Forum brought together agriculture, energy, and transportation industry leaders to share insights about the importance of bioenergy feedstock for the energy transition and the role sustainable aviation fuel plays in driving change.
Growers, policymakers, researchers, agronomists, and business leaders gathered in Jacksonville, Florida, last week for a global sustainability forum and field tour organized by Nuseed, Nufarm’s seed technologies platform.
Nuseed hosted the forum as part of its ongoing commitment to driving innovation and sustainability across agriculture, energy, and transport. The forum explored critical topics like decarbonization and scaling non-food cover crops to meet the global market’s growing demand for sustainable aviation fuel.
Forum participants were also invited to learn more about the economic and agronomic benefits of Nuseed Carinata as a renewable bioenergy feedstock, including its ability to provide a drop-in ready alternative to traditional fossil fuels that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact.
“Hosting a forum that brings stakeholders together from multiple sectors is crucial in recognizing that how we grow bioenergy feedstock matters,” said Alex Clayton, Global Strategy Development and Commercial Lead, Bioenergy, at Nuseed. “Having leaders from multiple industries here to discuss bioenergy feedstocks and energy transition is a big milestone and marks a collaborative effort towards sustainable solutions that can make an impact today and towards identifying the leaders that want to shape the impact going forward.”
Nuseed Carinata doesn’t compete with food crops as it’s grown between main crop seasons, it protects land from erosion, and it sequesters carbon. When Nuseed Carinata is harvested and its oilseeds are crushed into oil, it is then processed to biofuel to offer a drop-in, lower-carbon solution for hard-to-abate sectors like aviation.
“We’ve gone through the corn ethanol phase, and we’ve gone through all of the food versus fuel debate,” said Sheeja George, Research Coordinator of Grants and Programs at the University of Florida. “And more and more, how feedstock is grown is under so much scrutiny. Not all bioenergy feedstocks are equal — that’s why it matters how we grow feedstock for bioenergy.”
The collaboration amongst growers, policymakers, industry leaders, and agricultural experts underscores the importance of collective action in addressing complex environmental challenges.
“We have to be sustainable at the farm level,” explained De Broughton, a Certified Crop Adviser with 6 Gen Ag Services, and an agent with Nuseed. “From the time that we sow that seed, the diesel that’s burned every time we pass over the field, the energy and effort in growing that crop should be sustainable as well. In a system where we’re promoting sustainable biofuel crops, we need to be sustainable.”
The forum featured various panel discussions and opportunities for leaders from across the bioenergy value chain to engage with one another on such topics as public policy enablement, cross-industry collaboration, challenges and opportunities to scale low-carbon transportation fuels. Discussions also centered around the robust global standards that are key to market confidence and stability in this nascent market, underscoring the importance of traceability and certification of bioenergy feedstocks.
“A certification system can help to provide evidence that these positive impacts are really happening, and help tell the story of bioenergy to the public,” said Elena Schmidt, Executive Director of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). “There are critical risks involved when we are growing our energy feedstocks and to maintain trust with policymakers and with the public, it is important that we can showcase how we are mitigating all the [sustainability] risks.”
Delegates also experienced a learning and discovery session in a field of Nuseed Carinata which is being grown following the corn harvest and before the next peanut crop is planted, when soil is typically exposed to erosion, carbon loss and weed pressure. The tour provided an interactive opportunity to discuss and learn about the growing, certification, production processes and market advantages to planting cover crops like Nuseed Carinata.
By bringing together diverse stakeholders and fostering collaboration, the forum laid the foundation for ongoing conversations that will continue to lead to solutions on the journey towards a greener, more sustainable world.
