Grow Your Own Tires...

There's been a lot of blue sky talk lately about growing your own energy. Tractors that run on straight vegetable oil, in fact, could be on the market within five years. But what about growing your own tires? Science is working on it. Lei Jong and Jeffrey Byars, with the Agricultural Research Service in Peoria, Ill., are refining methods to transform defatted soybean oil into a replacement for carbon black, which is used in tire manufacturing as a pigment and strengthening agent. Carbon black is produced by burning heavy petroleum products to produce a maximum amount of soot. That soot is carbon black, which is messy and carcinogenic. A soybean replacement for carbon black would be more eco-friendly and provide another market for growers.  And, who knows, a used soybean-based 26/12.00-12 might provide enough base for a lifetime supply of chili.

Another way to recycle farm implements. Bob Cage, who lives in South Boston, Va., is a sculptor who uses things like worn out disc parts and plow points to create abstract visions with an agricultural feel. Cage's story appears in the current edition of Lancaster Farming.

Speaking of soybean marketing...these folks may never make it to Carnegie Hall.  Or even your local fire hall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5rAu02xVOc