Hi Guys,

What kind of information do you have on growing you're own material to make bio-diesel (eg, Canola, Mustard and other forms of seeds/plants?)
Is it a possibility or pipe dream?
I understand the consequences of asking a popular question will result in someone showing me a previous thread...to be honest that’s what I want.

Thanks for your time!

Hi all,

I'm a new poster here, I think this is a great information forum. I'm also a farmer and use diesel predominantly.

Growing canola (rape, a mustard derivative) requires more fertilizer than dryland cereal crops, 2-3 times as much, to get an acceptable yield. Oil content of commmercial varieties is, hopefully, ~35%. And you still need the rainfall, I don't think irrigation is an option in oz.

I see the problems as being much like ethanol from farmed crops. The production for the required inputs make it a marginal operation. My father and his brothers used to farm with 14 draught horses. They made hay and chaff, kept grain they harvested to feed them all, and they needed an appreciable area to run just them. Plus the labour of maintaining them. This is analagous to growing a crop to make liquid fuel to use on farm, in a closed system.

Producing biodiesel from a genuine waste product, or algae, has a better large scale future, I think. I also think it strange that you may get paid more for producing a fuel, than food! If so, something is screwy in our system.

cheers,

Grant
farmer, grazier, pilot, engineer

I've mucked round with growing my own oil feedstock with mixed success, as I have very sandy soil. I've grown mustard and lost a lot of it to birds, the best results came from the weed wild radish which produces 40- 45% oil, needs no fertiliser and seems to grow just about anywhere. Being a declared weed, I've had to keep it in close check, which is easy as my growing area is surrounded by trees and scrub and the seeds that get away don't handle growing in the shaded bush. Plus the parrots don't seem to like the seed which is surprising. It makes good oil which seems thinner than commercial oils and remains thinner during winter. I've made BD with it but haven't used it straight as I have yet to de gum it for that purpose and I'm trying to work out a way to do all the processing in one hit. Sadly until I get a proper oil press, more oil ends up over me or back in the ground than is usable.

Unless you have a big cropping area and the machinery to process it, then it would be better to do it as a co-op with others and pool your resources.

I don;t believe fuel oil crops should encroach on food supplies, people are lazy so instead of looking for alternative companion oil crops, they just turn their harvest into fuel instead of food. Everyone has paddock lying fallow, so it wouldn't be hard to use them to grow alternative seed oils along with nitrogenous plants. Proper crop rotation gets a bigger return than having to spend your money on chemical soil destroying fertilisers which create huge amounts of green house gases, pollution and destroy soils over time in my opinion.

I'm surprised wild radish is that high in oil content, but you are right, finding the right plant for the job is imperative. something that yields in our climatic conditions without a lot of inputs. But that is a big ask, you don't get something for nothing (aka 1st law of thermodynamics).

Don't be deceived by all that supposed 'fallow ground' or spare paddocks you see. a viable farm these days makes use of every acre. I grow and graze cattle predominantly, and rotate my cattle around rather tha set-stock. Those spare paddocks are being rested and will be grazed heavily when their turn comes. Introduced species of grasses and legumes extend the growing season and fix nitrogen in the soil, plus moderate use of fertilizer. Grass + sunlight = beef, turning an undigestible to human fibre into food.

Grant

I have been advised by the Ag Dept of WA, that turning the stover and press meal back into the ground returns all of the nutrients as these are not present in the oil extracted from it. Thus no additional fertiliser is required for the following crop but fuel, to turn the press meal and stover back into the ground, is a significant input here.
Mustard meal turned back into the soil also provides a beneficial soil fumigation to control soil borne pests.

Regards,
Tony

I have been advised by the Ag Dept of WA, that turning the stover and press meal back into the ground returns all of the nutrients as these are not present in the oil extracted from it. Thus no additional fertiliser is required for the following crop, but fuel to turn the press meal and stover back into the ground, is a significant input here.
Mustard meal turned back into the soil also provides a beneficial soil fumigation to control soil borne pests.

Regards,
Tony