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PRAIRIE VOICES: Growing the Great Plains

2007-11-04

PRAIRIE VOICES: Growing the Great Plains

Biofuel refineries, fuel-cell factories and traceability networks could dot the landscape in years to come, the president of a regional think tank says.

By Dorreen Yellow Bird
Grand Forks Herald Staff Writer
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/3798775.htm

August 4, 2002--Northern Great Plains Inc. has recently released a report that identifies several trends affecting the economy of our region. What are some of the issues you think we need to give special attention to?
The report is titled, "Toward New Horizons." We worked with the departments of Transportation and Economic Development in the region to look at trends impacting agriculture, transportation, energy and the environment, manufacturing and information technology.

What are some of the trends?

In the project, we really tried to identify key economic trends that our region could either take advantage of to strengthen rural vitality, or make sure that we didn't lose a competitive position by missing. We especially tried to look at trends that would impact more than one economic sector at the same time, such as agriculture and manufacturing.

A few important trends that cross sectors include biofuels, the increasing demand for traceability in our food system, just-in-time demand for food products, manufacturer responsibility for management of discarded or used materials, and increased containerization in shipping.

Are there some pairings that can offer economic development opportunities for our region?

One area we are excited about is the whole biofuel sector.

Our region has a strong industrial, transportation and recreation equipment manufacturing sector. Many of the things we make in this region could be readily adaptable to a biofuel economy -- such as buses, tractors, skid-steer loaders or recreational vehicles. There is a real opportunity to link this manufacturing strength with our biofuel production potential, and our research universities to further develop these technologies and establish an international reputation in the area of renewable biofuels technologies.

There is also great interest in the environmental sector to look at fuel cells as an energy source. In fact the Bush administration has placed an emphasis on fuel cell development.

What do you mean by fuel cells?

Fuel cells are devices that generate power by converting the chemical energy of a fuel continuously into electrical energy by way of an electrochemical reaction. They do this silently and without emissions. Fuel cells typically use hydrogen as the fuel and oxygen from the air to cause the electrochemical reaction. The result is electricity with water and heat as byproducts.

Fuel cells offer a real opportunity for our region. While the technology to use fuel cells in transportation exists, nationally we don't have an infrastructure in place to access hydrogen like we do gasoline. In other words, we don't have a system of where you can stop and resupply your hydrogen.

However, almost everything we make in this region is something that goes out and returns home the same day, such as buses, snowmobiles, boats, or industrial equipment. These things would be ideal candidates for powering by fuel cells.

Two very nice things about fuel cells are that they are quiet and clean. Two criticisms of recreational equipment are that they are noisy and polluting. We think fuel cells offer a chance to address these concerns, and a collaborative effort between our region's equipment manufacturing sector and our research universities could again build an international strength.

You mentioned traceability in food as a trend. Could you please explain what you mean?
Traceability is basically a system of tracking everything that happens to a food product from the moment the seed is put in the ground or the animal is born until the final product reaches the store shelf. It is essentially a complete history of the food product.

There is a real opportunity here for producers in the Region. By providing products with this information, they will be producing a product that has higher value and a greater relationship with the customer.

Are you talking about organic farming?

Not necessarily, but it could be. The more likely scenario is that a food processor wants a very specific kind and quality of potato or carrot that performs in a certain way for the delicatessen salads they're making. For example, water and sugar content might be of critical importance. They want to be certain that they get the specific product, and they want it contamination-free. So, producers establish a relationship with the processors to provide them with the specific vegetables.

The result could be that you as a consumer would go to the grocery store and buy something, and embedded in the bar code on the package would be the complete history of the product. On that bar code, the information will tell you the date the seed went in the ground, everything that happened to that plant during its life in the ground, the day it was sprayed and what was sprayed on it, the day it was harvested, the day it was processed, the day it was shipped -- everything.

Is there an example of linking information technologies and transportation that you can give?

Yes. The Herald has carried several articles regarding concerns over small bridge quality in northwestern Minnesota and northeastern North Dakota. The issue is that these small bridges are considered substandard. There are something like 100 rural bridges in this region that fall into this category.

The standard is that the bridge must be able to support two fully loaded semi-trucks meeting simultaneously in the middle. With substandard access points, this will be a serious problem for rural communities and manufacturers.
We now have technology that could prevent that scenario from ever happening. With transponders or other communications devices, the bridge could have stoplights to regulate the flow of traffic. The bridge could then be considered to meet a new standard of supporting one truck. Then a rural community or manufacturer is no longer in position of having its access considered substandard.

That is the merging of information technology, transportation and manufacturing.

Yellow Bird writes columns and this Prairie Voices feature. To comment or to suggest people to profile in Prairie Voices, reach her at 780-1228, (800) 477-6572 ext. 228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com