I am surprised how little attention Jerusalem artichokes (JA) get. To me, they seem the perfect choice for ethanol. They grow anywhere and the entire plant can be used.

Farmers can get a yield of approx. 5 tons of tubers per acre, and that can yeild up to 1,200 gallons of alcohol (compared to 400 gallons per acre from corn).

Down here in Texas, farmers curse ‘em as a weed for being so prolific. They’ve been sucessfully raised in the poor soils of Wyoming, of all places. Previously, their cultivation has been restricted because of a lack of effective harvesting equipment, but now there are several folks who have come up with solutions to that, making it more viable as a cash crop.

Ethanol isn’t the only use, as you mentioned, and not only do humans eat them, but they can be a good suppliment, or maintenance food for livestock.

But I guess that until Big Agriculture (the agrarian version of Big Oil) is able to see past the money that silos full of corn bring them, we the people will continue to be at the mercy of corporate and political short-sightedness.

I am surprised how little attention Jerusalem artichokes (JA) get. To me, they seem the perfect choice for ethanol. They grow anywhere and the entire plant can be used.

Farmers can get a yield of approx. 5 tons of tubers per acre, and that can yeild up to 1,200 gallons of alcohol (compared to 400 gallons per acre from corn).

Down here in Texas, farmers curse ‘em as a weed for being so prolific. They’ve been sucessfully raised in the poor soils of Wyoming, of all places. Previously, their cultivation has been restricted because of a lack of effective harvesting equipment, but now there are several folks who have come up with solutions to that, making it more viable as a cash crop.

Ethanol isn’t the only use, as you mentioned, and not only do humans eat them, but they can be a good suppliment, or maintenance food for livestock.

But I guess that until Big Agriculture (the agrarian version of Big Oil) is able to see past the money that silos full of corn bring them, we the people will continue to be at the mercy of corporate and political short-sightedness.

Jerusalem artichokes, that’s right up my alley! They grow like mad in my garden; it’s a problem. We do eat them.

Jerusalem artichokes, that’s right up my alley! They grow like mad in my garden; it’s a problem. We do eat them.

Sweet.

Sweet.

I have no doubts that you have raised a happy and emotionally healthy child. In no way did I mean to impugn your parenting. We all have our methods and I’m sure yours work as well for you as mine did for me. Kids are resilient and tned to be kids, regardless of what we parents do.

I apologize if I dwelt on the Santa thing. I sometimes wax overly loquacious (rolls eyes!).

Another soapbox I keep handy is my belief that Jerusalem Artichokes are an ideal non-food, renewable alternative fuel crop.

Since this is an archive for cellulosic ethanol, I would be interested in your thoughts. I have posted more in depth on this in another thread about non-food crops in this archive.

I think ethanol would qualify as “something that is not gasoline”, don’t you?

BTW-I failed to mention how thoughtful your daughter’s letter was. You are obviously raising her to be “selfless” and not “selfish”.

I have no doubts that you have raised a happy and emotionally healthy child. In no way did I mean to impugn your parenting. We all have our methods and I’m sure yours work as well for you as mine did for me. Kids are resilient and tned to be kids, regardless of what we parents do.

I apologize if I dwelt on the Santa thing. I sometimes wax overly loquacious (rolls eyes!).

Another soapbox I keep handy is my belief that Jerusalem Artichokes are an ideal non-food, renewable alternative fuel crop.

Since this is an archive for cellulosic ethanol, I would be interested in your thoughts. I have posted more in depth on this in another thread about non-food crops in this archive.

I think ethanol would qualify as “something that is not gasoline”, don’t you?

BTW-I failed to mention how thoughtful your daughter’s letter was. You are obviously raising her to be “selfless” and not “selfish”.

Lonnie, thank you for sharing your beliefs. We have taught our children to enjoy the story of Santa and let it “reside in their imagination”. They enjoy holiday stories, movies, decorations, parties, etc. as much as any other child I know.

As far as an electric car goes, it would be perfect for our daily trips to school (20 miles roundtrip), but it would not get us to town and back (220 miles round trip), or we would have to sit in town and wait for it to charge before running errands or heading home. An EV would be great for the majority of our needs, especially since we live off-the-grid and could charge it for free off our micro hydro turbine. We also require a serious 4WD most of the year to get to town, so this is another problem with lighter weight, efficient vehicles.

Lonnie, thank you for sharing your beliefs. We have taught our children to enjoy the story of Santa and let it “reside in their imagination”. They enjoy holiday stories, movies, decorations, parties, etc. as much as any other child I know.

As far as an electric car goes, it would be perfect for our daily trips to school (20 miles roundtrip), but it would not get us to town and back (220 miles round trip), or we would have to sit in town and wait for it to charge before running errands or heading home. An EV would be great for the majority of our needs, especially since we live off-the-grid and could charge it for free off our micro hydro turbine. We also require a serious 4WD most of the year to get to town, so this is another problem with lighter weight, efficient vehicles.