Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries - Website

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries has been serving Alabama farmers and consumers for over 120 years. The department provides timely, fair and expert regulatory control over products, business entities, movement, and application of goods and services and strives to protect and serve consumers. Department personnel actively work to initiate and support economic development and promote domestic and international consumption of Alabama products. The department inspectors and lab personnel work hard to increase consumer confidence in the safety of our food supply. The Department of Agriculture and Industries touches the life of every person in the state each day.

 

Alabama Farmers Cooperative - Website

Alabama Farmers Cooperative, Inc. (AFC) is a regional federated cooperative. All facilities operated by AFC are governed by local, farmer-owned cooperatives. Each member co-op shares in the financial proceeds from AFC operations and benefits from the research and marketing services of the entire co-op system. An unselfish dedication to the mutual objectives of growth and success for its member farmers is the hallmark of this company. Through diversity and strong leadership AFC has grown to become one of the largest farmer owned agriculture related businesses in the Southeast.

 

Spongetech - Website

SpongeTech® Delivery Systems is a development stage company, which designs, produces, and markets a unique line of reusable cleaning products for household use. These sponge-based products utilize SpongeTech®'s proprietary, patent (and patent-pending) technologies involving hydrophilic (liquid absorbing) foam and polyurethane matrices. The Company's sponges are specially configured with an outer contact layer and an inner matrix, the latter of which comes pre-loaded with specially formulated soaps and wax that are released when the sponge is wetted and applied to a surface with minimal pressure. The Company's current product line is designed for Car Care and Pet Care, however, SpongeTech® is currently exploring additional applications for its technology including an anti-bacterial, kitchen and bath cleaner, as well as a unique 'foaming' bath sponge for children.

 

Price Biostock - Website

The Price Companies, the parent company of Price BIOstock, is an international supplier of upstream wood services for the paper and pulp industry. These services include procurement, logistical support, consulting, engineering design and construction of feedstock yards, biomass preparation, and facility operation/management. It currently
operates 21 wood-chipping facilities - primarily in the southeastern United States. Price BIOstock is its new division providing the same services for sustainable woody biomass and other feedstock. It has been contracted to supply woody biomass for the pioneering Range Fuels cellulosic ethanol project in Soperton, Georgia

 

KiOR - Website

KiOR Inc. is a joint venture between Khosla Ventures and BIOeCON. Its vision is to revolutionize the conversion of biomass to biofuels, and the company’s primary objective is to develop and commercialize biomass catalytic cracking (BCC) technology. This technology addresses the key technical problem of unlocking the biomass potential of solid, fibrous, woody material in an energy-efficient way. It converts lignocellulosic biomass into a bio-crude oil, which is suitable for upgrading to transportation fuels. This offers significant commercial benefits including using the non-food part of crops; environmental sustainability; reduced reliance on fossil fuels; and enabling economic development in rural areas.

 

LaFarge North America - Website

 

Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation - Website

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is an independent, nonprofit institute conducting plant science research and agricultural programs to enhance agricultural productivity. Founded in 1945 by oilman and philanthropist Lloyd Noble, the Noble Foundation's early efforts focused on educating and encouraging area farmers and ranchers to practice land stewardship and resource
conservation.Today, the Noble Foundation has 355 employees, representing more than 25
countries, and continues to develop one of the most comprehensive agriculture and plant science research institutions in the world - capable of coordinating the movement of plant science discoveries from the laboratory to the field to benefit livestock, agricultural
producers, and consumers.

 

Range Fuels - Website

Range Fuels, Inc is focused on the production of cellulosic ethanol using biomass that cannot be used for food, is sustainable, renewable and abundant.  The company's proprietary K2 system uses a two-step thermo-chemical conversion process to convert renewable and sustainable biomass to ethanol. The first step converts the biomass to synthesis gas and the second step converts the gas to ethanol. The company's business model is to design, build, own and operate its plants.  The leadership team melds experience from Silicon Valley's fast-paced, high-tech world, and the technologically intensive coal, coal gasification, power, and gas-to-liquids industries, the renewable fuel industry, and the pulp and paper industry.

 

Ernst Conservation Seeds - Website

Ernst Conservations Seeds, Inc. is located in northwest Pennsylvania, where the family farm has become one of the nation’s leading growers and distributors of native grasses and forbs for reclamation, conservation, and beautification.

Ernst has over 3,000 acres of switchgrass seed production in Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Canada, marketing and distributing 13 commercial switchgrass varieties and ecotypes, as well as several proprietary varieties, which are distributed throughout North America and internationally.

 

Mendel Biotechnology - Website

Mendel Biotechnology was founded in early 1997, with a mission to characterize a large class of genes called transcription factors, representing roughly 1,800 of the approximately 27,000 genes in the Arabidopsis genome. Mendel scientists discovered that single transcription factors control the ability of plants to withstand freezing or drought tolerance, yield, disease resistance, nitrogen use efficiency and other valuable traits. We have developed these technologies in collaboration with Monsanto, who is evaluating them in their R&D pipeline. As the global biofuels industry began growing at a rapid rate early this decade, it became clear that new, sustainable feedstocks would be required for material levels of biofuel production. Mendel has chosen to focus on Miscanthus and sorghum as feedstock crops, and to create a full product-to -market BioEnergy Seeds and Feedstocks business. Our variety development program was initiated in 2006, and accelerated through a long-term collaboration with BP in May 2007.

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