Water Conservation in the Face of Increased in Ethanol Production from Corn

Corn is one of the feedstocks for ethanol production in the US. The country's increased use of corn for ethanol production as a response to the government's call for 35 gallons of ethanol production in 2017 is imminent. A study conducted by the National Research Council  to determine the increased cultivation of corn and planting of biofuel crops in dry areas showed that this could change current irrigation practices and greatly increase pressure on water resources in many parts of the US.

The council however noted that there are a number of agricultural practices and technologies that could be employed to conserve not only water but also soil and nutrients: cultivation of non-food feedstock that can be irrigated with waste water; use of drought tolerant genetically-modified crops; application of fertilizer that will not damage the drinking water table; and the use of perennial crops, like switchgrass, poplars or willows, or prairie polyculture, that hold soil and nutrients in place better than most row crops, among others. The Research Council believes that adaption of these practices by feedstock producers and the cooperation of ethanol plants to employ water-saving technologies in ethanol production can enormously impact water-saving initiatives.

See the full press release at:  http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12039