Agriculture conference to focus on energy

Renewable energy will be a major focus of the AgOutlook 2008 conference Feb. 25-27 in Monroe.

The conference will focus on opportunities a variety of renewable energy sources such as ethanol, biodiesel and other products can provide to increase agriculture's contribution to the Louisiana economy.

Sponsored by the LSU AgCenter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Rural Development, the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the conference theme is "Connecting Agriculture and Renewable Energy Opportunities."

"The purpose of the 2008 AgOutlook Conference is to provide current information on large-scale and small-scale technologies for producing fuel products from a wide array of agricultural products, identifying bioenergy opportunities that are ripe for development, providing economic information on various alternative energy enterprises, highlighting several alternative energy success stories, and providing information on grant opportunities and other support for new bioenergy businesses," said LSU AgCenter regional director Dr. Bob Hutchinson, who is one of the conference organizers.

"This will also be a great opportunity for attendees to network and exchange ideas on alternative energy opportunities that may result in new and exciting collaborative ventures," he said.

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