HC&S sugarcane field in Hawaii.

     Hawaii sees a sweet future with biofuels.  That's because the feds have turned to Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar for help in developing biofuels that can power the planes and ships operating out of the islands. Some 90 percent of Hawaii's energy needs are met with imported oil. The Navy and the USDA - talk about politics making strange - are cooperating on a project with HC&S to use the company's 35,000 acres of sugarcane fields to test a variety of crops for their biofuel potential. The Navy hopes to supply half its energy needs with biofuels by 2020, and Hawaii is its focal point. There are lots of planes and ships on the islands, and the climate is conducive to growing crops. They'll be testing sugarcane, of course, as well as sweet sorghum, jatropha and other alternatives, like algae. Audrey McAvoy, writinng for the Associated Press, reported that while the technology is promising, HC&S is being challenged by indigenous Hawaiin groups because of its use of Maui's fresh water resources. Also, everybody is trying to figure out what the heck is a jatropha. McAvoy's story can be read here: http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/business/article_85a37dac-7a01-5f1a-bb4a-6e7fe7490ca1.html 

This old stone house on the Patterson farm is still in use.

     Preserving history and paying the bills have come into conflict in Lower Makefield Township, Pa., a posh suburb 25 miles north of Philadelphia. The township father's bought the Colonial-era 177-acre Patterson farm for $7.2 million in 1998, and now its needs some work. According to Teddy Fedorchak, the township manager, the farm has become an expensive liability, and the historical buildings, some of which date back to the days of William Penn, need as much as $500,000 worth of maintenance. The board last month began a process that could result in a five-acre subdivision being carved out of the farm's 177 acres. Donna Doan, a township resident whose family once farmed the land, has mounted a campaign to make her fellow citizens aware of what she sees as a threat to the farm's future. Lancaster Farming staff writer Chris Torres looked into the issue and prepared a report for our current issue. Or you can read it on our website, which is here: http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/3106


     So you're looking for another source of farm income? I think this guy is serious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWb_amK812E