A change in agricultural policy focus could lead to greater energy security, lower greenhouse emissions and a cleaner environment, according to researchers at ORNL and the University of Tennessee. With a doubling of bioenergy crop yields in the United States and changes in payment programs, the nation's dependence on foreign oil could be cut significantly and net farm income could increase an estimated $6 billion annually by 2020. Advances in the understanding of gene function in plants could lead to a two-fold increase in crop yield, the researchers claim. That and a shift from traditional crops to switchgrass, hybrid poplar and willow could offset projected 2020 Persian Gulf oil imports used for gasoline with only limited impacts on food production.
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