Kleinschmit said that farmers’ risks switching from growing foodstock-based sources for bioenergy will have to be mitigated by supporting locally owned systems and integrating water quality, climate and conservation issues into farm policy.

To ensure that both agricultural interests and the environment are going to benefit from the increasing demand for bioenergy will require establishing some standards and infrastructure to deal with what likely will be a dramatic change in the Minnesota landscape.

“We’ll have to think differently,” he said. “Will it be technology or the landscape that will be the driving force?