Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

• Danniel Howe, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, presented: Field to Fuel Performance Testing of Lignocellulosic Biomass: Production and Catalytic Upgrading of Bio-oil to Refinery Blendstocks • The possibility of submitting a grant was discussed when a request for proposal is announced, likely next year. • The time and location for the next meeting was discussed and the consensus was that we meet in conjunction with the ASA-CSSA annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN - Nov. 15-18, 2015. • It was requested that publications and other activities for the fiscal year be collected and entered into the annual report.

The meetings have led to greater cooperation in research and Extension projects and grants. Members of this WERA group submitted a USDA AFRI Cap grant in the Water for Agriculture Challenge Area: Adaptive Controls for Sustainable and Synergistic Food-Energy-Water-Economic Security under Altered Climates in the PNW & Intermountain U.S. Dr. Shewmaker, University of Idaho, led this effort and is still pending: Tracking Number GRANT11727434 Application Title Adaptive Controls for Sustainable and Synergistic Food-Energy-Water-Economic Security under Altered Climates in the PNW & Intermountain U.S. Time of Submission Wed Aug 13 16:25:41 EDT 2014 CFDA 10.310 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Funding Opportunity USDA-NIFA-AFRI-004468 A second grant proposal was discussed and Steve Fransen will lead submitting a proposal to DOE: Concept Paper Details for FOA# DE-FOA-0001179 1179-1554: Development, Adoption, and Verification of Redesigned Agricultural Landscapes for Bioenergy Crops in the United States

Larson, Steven R., Kevin B. Jensen, Joseph G. Robins, and Blair L. Waldron. 2014. Genes and Quantitative Trait Loci Controlling Biomass Yield and Forage Quality Traits in Perennial Wildrye. Crop Sci. 54:1–16 (2014). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2013.04.0261 Kelkar, S., Z. Li, J. Bovee, K.D. Thelen, R. Kriegel, and C.M. Saffron. 2014. Pyrolysis of North-American grass species: effect of feedstock composition and taxonomy on pyrolysis products. Biomass and Bionergy 64:152-161. Hedtcke, J.L., G.R. Sanford, K.E. Hadley, and K.D. Thelen. 2014. Maximizing land use during switchgrass establishment in the North Central United States. Agron J. 106:596-604. Ganjegunte, G.K., Z. Sheng, and J.A. Clark. 2014. Soil Salinity and Sodicity Appraisal by Electromagnetic Induction in Irrigated Cotton Soils. Land Degradation & Development. 25:228-235. Sun, Y., G. Niu, P. Osuna, L. Zhao, G. K. Ganjegunte, G. Peterson, J.R. Peralta-Videa, and J. L. Gardea-Torresdey. 2014. Variability in Salt Tolerance of Sorghum bicolor L. Agricultural Science. 2:9-21 Proceedings publications Wang, S., P. Tumbalam, and K.D. Thelen. 2014. Integrating cover crops into annual cropping systems to increase total ethanol yield and environmental sustainability. Amer. Soc. of Agron. Abstracts, CD. Thelen, K.D., K.E. Hadley, G. Sanford, R. Jackson, and G.P. Robertson. 2014. An analysis of bioenergy cropping systems in the Great Lakes Region. Amer. Soc. of Agron. Abstracts, CD. Sanford, G., G. Oates, K. D. Thelen, J. Simmons, G. P. Robertson, and. R. Jackson. 2014. Establishing perennial biomass crops difficult but persistence-­?phase yields compare favorably with corn. GLBRC All Scientists Meeting. May 20-22, 2014. Tumbalam, P., and K. D. Thelen. 2014. Corn stover ethanol yield as affected by grain yield, Bt trait, and Environment. GLBRC All Scientists Meeting. May 20-22, 2014. Tanner, S., S.M. Swinton, T. Skevas, G. Sanford, and K.D. Thelen. 2014. How does production risk influence farmer decisions to adopt perennial bioenergy crops. GLBRC All Scientists Meeting. May 20-22, 2014 Ganjegunte, G.K., G. Niu, A.L. Ulery, Y. Wu, and C. Wang 2014. Developing Alternative Water Sources for Bioenergy Crop Production on Marginal Lands. Proceedings of ASA, CSSA and SSSA International Meetings “Grand Challenges Grand Solutions”, 1 page [on Web], November 2-5, 2014, Long Beach, CA. Abstract. Ganjegunte, G.K., and J.A. Clark. 2014. Improved Irrigation Scheduling for Freshwater Conservation in Pecan Fields of EL Paso, TX. Proceedings of ASA, CSSA and SSSA International Meetings “Grand Challenges Grand Solutions”, 1 page [on Web], November 2-5, 2014, Long Beach, CA. Abstract.