Using Advanced Biomass Crops as Regenerative Ag Tools to Diversify the Corn Belt

The Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) conservation webinar taking place Oct. 2 at noon CDT will feature Emily Heaton, professor of regenerative agriculture in the Crop Sciences department at the University of Illinois and affiliate professor in the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University. Heaton’s research investigates the growth and productivity of perennial C4 grasses to guide their management for biomass, ecosystem services, and profit. She serves as Feedstock Production Theme Leader for the Center of Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) and as director of I-Regen, an I-state Regenerative Agriculture Initiative focused on connecting researchers and stakeholders to advance knowledge and practices that foster health and wealth, particularly in disinvested Midwest communities. Heaton also owns and operates Caveny Farm near Monticello, IL with her family.

In the webinar, “Using Advanced Biomass Crops as Regenerative Ag Tools to Diversify the Corn Belt,” Heaton will highlight new, integrated research aimed at developing improved biomass crops and markets that complement and diversify the corn/soy system. She will also position these new efforts against the backdrop of the last biofuel expansion 15 years ago and its unintended consequences. Heaton will feature examples from projects in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana that demonstrate the opportunity for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage to offer pathways for rural economic growth and global climate stabilization. She is also eager to field questions from the audience about bioenergy!