AMES, Iowa –Registration is open for the upcoming conference titled “Anaerobic Digestion on the Farm – Optimizing Environmental and Economic Outcomes for Rural Communities and Beyond,” Nov. 6-8, 2023, at Iowa State University in Ames. Early-bird rates are available through Oct. 6.
The conference will be hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. It will feature presentations, exhibits and discussion panel sessions covering a variety of anaerobic digestion topics. The conference will also include virtual tours of anaerobic digestion facilities and a poster session.
Featured conference kick-off speakers will be Lisa Schulte Moore, Iowa State professor and co-director of the ISU Bioeconomy Institute; Mike Naig, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture; Meg McCollister, EPA Region 7 administrator; and Rod Snyder, senior advisor for agriculture to the EPA administrator. Other keynote speakers include Marcelo Mena-Carrasco, Rudi Roeslein and Jerry Flint.
Marcelo Mena-Carrasco is CEO of the Global Methane Hub, an international alliance for developing and implementing global methane reduction solutions. In 2021, he launched the Global Methane Pledge with over 110 countries, including the U.S., signing on to reduce methane emissions by more than 30% by 2030. Previously, Mena-Carrasco served as climate change advisor and practice manager for the World Bank, as minister and vice minister for the environment in Chile, and as co-chair for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
Rudi Roeslein is founder and CEO of Roeslein & Associates and sister company Roeslein Alternative Energy. Roeslein and RAE develop and operate renewable energy production facilities that convert agricultural and industrial wastes, along with renewable biomass feedstocks, into renewable natural gas and sustainable co-products.
Jerry Flint is the chief administrative officer for the National Pork Board. Flint was born and raised on his family’s farm in western Ohio and has spent his career in agriculture with progressive leadership roles in production agriculture, science, research, biotechnology and sustainability. He currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Agriculture at Purdue University, has served as the past president of the American Seed Trade Association and past chair of the Biotech Innovation Organization Food and Agriculture Governing Board, and has served on the USDA Agriculture Advisory Council.
Anaerobic digestion is the natural process in which microorganisms break down organic materials in a sealed reactor without oxygen. Organic inputs may include a variety of materials, such as animal manure, dedicated grassy biomass, food waste, and wastewater biosolids. Outputs include methane-rich biogas and digestate, which may be used to make a variety of products, such as soil amendments, fertilizer, animal bedding, electricity, heat, and vehicle fuel.
A full conference agenda and registration information are available on EPA’s conference webpage.
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Contacts:
Vivian M. Cook, Bioeconomy Institute, 515-294-2559, vmcook@iastate.edu