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Biofuels & Oils

“Biodiesel fuel can be used to power most any diesel engine equipment. When my grandfather bought this farm in 1936, he farmed with horses, and he grew oats for his horses. Now, we grow sunflowers and canola to make fuel to power our tractors. It’s really about the same thing; we’re just using a different kind of horsepower.”   John Williamson

Sunflower400x300How do you make Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a fuel made from a mix of vegetable oil (such as sunflower oil), lye and alcohol The mixture causes a chemical reaction that separates glycerin from the oil. The glycerin is a byproduct of the biodiesel.

Biodiesel can be burned in any diesel engine, it can also be used in home heating burners. We are able to help our customers with any part of this process, from harvesting of oil seed fields to cleaning and pressing of seed crops, to conversion of the oil to fuel.

About State Line Biofuels

From Cornell University “Sunflowers, From Field to Fuel”: “State Line Farm Biofuels is at the forefront of oilseed crop growing and biodiesel processing in the Northeast and the first to grow and process on-farm in Vermont. Located in North Bennington, the Williamson family has owned and operated State Line Farm since 1936. The falling milk prices of the 1990’s led to diversifying operations and today their maple syrup, honey, sorghum syrup, and hay are sold in local markets. In 2004 owner John Williamson and his family began experimenting with sunflower, canola, mustard, and flax varieties in an effort to fuel their farm with biodiesel.

Sunflowers are our signature crop, but can only be grown in the same field every 4 years.

“State Line Biofuels operates a 120,000 gallon/year (300 gallon per batch capacity) biodiesel production facility, providing biofuel and livestock meal for on-farm use. The production capacity of State Line Biofuels can additionally serve oilseed pressing and biodiesel production needs of 10-15 farms within a 30 mile radius, encompassing 1,500-2,000 acres of oilseed crops. State Line Biofuels is also an educational demonstration center for developing and teaching best practices for small-scale oilseed crops and biodiesel production in the Northeast.”

Contact us at State Line Biofuels about our project or, if your farm is in our area, ask about harvesting and processing your own oilseed crops.

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