Connecticut FarmLink Biodiesel Information Page

According to state statute, The Connecticut FarmLink Program is to provide information on biodiesel, and encourage the use of Connecticut farmland for alternative energy crops.

Our state is committed to keeping farmland in production. Farmland is irreplaceable. 

We hope you use this page to find more information on using land for biodiesel or alternative energy crops. We also hope to provide information about alternative energy that is useful to the public.

Help us to keep farmland working. Use this site to find farmland partners, to transition and plan, and help us keep farming in Connecticut, for generations to come.

If you have any suggestions or questions, or need further assistance, please call the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Marketing Division at  (860) 713-2503.

Where Do I Begin?

To start, you should spend some time visit several national websites that will help you to understand biodiesel basics!

The Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University is Connecticut's source of biodiesel education http://www.easternct.edu/depts/sustainenergy/about_us/welcome.html

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy offers this document, "Just the Basics":

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehicles/pdfs/basics/jtb_biodiesel.pdf

and definitions you may need can be found on their site too! visit:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/fuels/biodiesel.html

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

has an educational site on biomass, the general term for all feedstocks for alternative energy plants
http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_biomass.html

Iowa's Ag Marketing Resource Center contains an overview of the Biodiesel Industry

http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/energy/biodiesel/

and, more, including cost analyses:

http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/energy/biodiesel/biodieselprofile.htm

How Do I grow crops for Biodiesel?

Vermont Cooperative Extension http://www.uvm.edu/

completed a paper on New England opportunities for biodiesel in our region. it includes how to grow crops and what you can expect in yields and costs associated with growing these crops. It gives you lots of links to equipment resources, designs for other equipment. A good read for those interested about this new market. Go to

http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/Pubs/Final%20Report%205-15-2007.pdf

We are looking for farmers willing to grow biomass crops to join the FarmLink Program and others to offer land to grow biomass crops on their land.

Please contact us at

(860) 713-2503.