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Suddenly, there was camelinaGILLETTE, Wyo. (AP)--Gillette farmer Tom Stanley this year planted what could someday turn out to be a new cash crop for Wyoming farmers and ranchers--34 acres of an ancient, high-protein, fast-growing, oil-rich mustard plant called camelina. His experiment resulted in millions of seed pods filled with millions and millions of seeds, seeds that have recently been rediscovered and used in other places as both a biofuel and cattle feed. As one of the only farmers in Campbell County willing to take a risk on the odd-sounding plant, Stanley is on the front lines of what could be a whole new way in Wyoming to farm and/or ranch while also making some extra money. Could be. "I darn near was ready to give up on it a few weeks ago," Stanley said earlier this summer. "Then it got warm and all of a sudden it grew two feet in less than two weeks. Not only that, but it put on flower and seed in that time. Now look at it." He has turned a field of his into a giant laboratory to test the plant under different conditions, showing it to a group of University of Wyoming Extension agents and other agriculture specialists. It's starting to fulfill the promises that have sent neighboring Montana into ecstasy in the last few years--to the point that Gov. Brian Schweitzer has been known to introduce the plant as his girlfriend, camelina. That's because camelina grows very fast once it decides to grow, it has a seed full of high protein oil, it is hardy and can survive Wyoming's weather. Best of all, it can be planted in such a time and way as to not compete with a farmer's other crops. All of this is why Stanley, tired of spending $700 on a tank of diesel that cost him $300 just a year ago, took the leap and turned some of his wheat and barley fields into camelina. But there are still a lot of hurdles that he--and the plant--may have to go through to convince Wyoming ranchers and farmers that the mustard seed is a good gamble. "We're still at the very beginning of learning how to grow camelina," said Lindsey Taylor, a University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension office agent in Gillette. "We've tried feeding the seed meal to cattle and after they get used to it, they get happy and fat with shiny coats. But we're still working on tests for cattle feed and still looking for a way to crush the seed in the local area." She's also been working to find a buyer for Stanley's seed, maybe even the University of Wyoming, who would use the seed for building a seed bank for long-term research. The oil is making a name for itself in the health and cosmetics world, which might be another option. She's also applied for a grant for a mobile processing plant that could be moved around northeast Wyoming and a grant to create a short course on biofuels through the community college's in Gillette and Sheridan. In the meantime, Stanley says he's glad to be part of the experiment, even if it is costing him some time and money. "If I could get enough to fill my fuel tanks someday soon, that would be something," he said. Date: 9/17/08 Advertisement
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