This past week, 10 local cattle producers completed the requirements to become recognized and certified as Master Cattle Producers. I extend my congratulations to Mott R. Headley Jr., Mott Roland Headley III, Leon Gilmer, Matt Greer, Bill Madison, Bill Rutherford, Mindy Rutherford, Steve Sones, Elizabeth Wooten and Mary Jane Wooten. 

The comprehensive training program by the Mississippi State University Extension Service covers eight major beef-cattle production subject areas. These 10 individuals attended the 12-hour course over a two-week period and successfully completed eight written examinations.

John C. Coccaro is county Extension director. Write to him at 1100-C Grove St., Vicksburg, MS 39180 or call 601-636-5442. E-mail him at jcoccaro@ext.msstate.edu.

Also, last week I learned of more good news for forest landowners from MSU’s forest and wildlife research center. I am continuing to stay optimistic that the extensive forest resources we have in Warren County and throughout the southeastern United States will one day be a large part of the solution to many of our energy needs.

My just-arrived copy of MSU’s division of agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine annual report featured graduate student Sanjeev Gajjela, who has brought researchers one step closer to turning wood residues into liquid transportation fuels. 

Gajjela and one of his professors, Phil Steele, are credited with a recent breakthrough for converting bio-oil produced from wood biomass into a 100-percent hydrocarbon mixture with no detectable oxygen. 

Normally, raw bio-oil contains up to 45 percent oxygen by weight, which causes it to be highly reactive and to harden when distilled in traditional petroleum refineries. For the past two decades, researchers across the globe have been attempting to upgrade bio-oil to liquid transportation fuels. Gajjela developed a new catalyst and method to produce a zero-oxygen liquid hydrocarbon mixture from bio-oil, which allows current petroleum refineries to produce liquid fuels.

“The development of bio-oil with no oxygen is considered a very significant breakthrough for the 125,000 forest landowners in Mississippi,” Gajjela said. “This technology has the potential to create new markets for landowners and new industries for the state.”

There are other advantages, too. Raw bio-oil has environmental advantages over fossil fuels because combusted bio-oil produces lower to equal the nitrogen oxide and negligible quantities of sulfur oxide when compared to petroleum fuels.

As a fuel derived from a renewable resource, bio-oil is considered carbon neutral. And the raw material for bio-oil is readily available in Mississippi. In fact, the forest and wildlife research center at MSU has found 3.5 million dry tons of logging residues and unharvested materials are recoverable for bio-fuels each year in our state.

According to Steele, our available wood residue will produce 470 million gallons of raw bio-oil and 300 million gallons of bio-crude hydrocarbons. Steele also believes the use of this wood resource for producing bio-oil will create thousands of jobs near rural forests. 

Does this mean we are going to shift using our wood products from lumber and paper to fuel? Well, it does appear we are one step closer to doing just that.