11am to 3pm Saturday September 18th An indepth look at Cold Press Seed Crushing with the maker of the acclaimed Komet series seedpress.
Piedmont Biofuels is pleased to announce that it will be hosting Dirk Skuras of IBG Monforts for a half-day oilseed pressing workshop. IBG Monforts is the maker of the famous Komet press from Germany, and has over 50 years experience in oil extraction.

Dirk will demonstration proper oil press usage, explain optimum conditions for oilseed pressing, explain the use of different types of seeds and nuts in oilseed presses and answer any questions that you may have in regards to the use of the Komet press.

The half day workshop will take place on Saturday, September 18th from 11:00am – 3:00pm at Piedmont Biofuels Industrial in Pittsboro, North Carolina. We will be trialing a variety of seeds including muscadine grapeseed, sunflower seeds, canola and cottonseed. Participants will see hands on work with the Komet DD85 and CA59 seed presses. We also have the option of working with CCCC’s new Oil Filterpress.

There is no cost to attend this half-day workshop, though we do ask that you RSVP to chris@biofuels.coop by September 10th if you plan to attend as we will limit the number of participants to no more than 30.

Live at the Plant!  The Naked Gods with Jack Maverick and his Wild Rebels.  Join us for one of the best shows of the summer.  The Naked Gods are a rag-tag group of roving minstrels hailing from the mountain region of Boone, NC.  Last time these Naked Gods came to town it was an all out rock and roll night.  Yes, the police showed up and shut us down after midnight.  Yes, the band blew all expectations, and YES, you won’t want to miss this!

Doors at 7:30, music begins promptly at 8pm.  tickets are $5 in advance and $8 at the door.  Get your tickets here.  Delicious wood-fired pizzas will be served.

Come out and enjoy a beautiful night on the lawn here at Piedmont Biofuels.  Check the Late Shift page for more details.

Birds and Arrows with Big Al and His Marching Rams. $8 at the door. Check the Late Shift page for more info.

Wednesday August 18th from 6:30 pm. At Top of the Hill, on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
We like to support the restaurants that give us the grease to keep making biodiesel, we call it Partners in Sustainability. We honestly can’t do it without restaurants like Top of the Hill. So we invite you to come out and join us in a celebration of grease, and sustainability.

Tuesday July 13th at 6:30pm please come out and join us for a Grease Appreciation night at Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro. We’re supporting our restaurant suppliers for working with us to bring local, renewable biodiesel to the community. We couldn’t do it without restaurants like Carolina Brewery participating with us.

Join us from 6:30pm till … out on the patio at Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro.

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On Wednesday, June 23rd, we are gathering at Tyler’s Taproom in Apex, NC at 6:30pm for our Grease Appreciation Dinner!

In April, we had a great time over at the Mez! Check out the pictures on our Team Grease facebook page…%3

The second round of cutting-edge biofuel and oilseed-crushing workshops is coming to farmers in Virginia on March 26th and April 1st. Biofuel continues to be a prime opportunity for small-scale family farmers to make their own fuel or add value to their crops. In addition, the crushing of oilseeds to make valuable food grade oils (such as flax seed or sunflower oil) is growing in popularity among savvy farmers.

“The 2010 biofuel & seed-crushing roadshow” will feature a team of expert professionals offering workshops at rural locations in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia.

The workshop on March 26, 2010 is part of the Southern Virginia Bioenergy Conference. The cost of this event is free. Registration is required.

The workshop on April 1, 2010 is being hosted by Virginia Cooperative Extension, James Madison University, and Piedmont Biofuels.

All of the workshops will be conducted by Piedmont Biofuels Coop, one of the leading community-based biofuel producers in the country. (More information on Piedmont Biofuels at www.biofuels.coop.)

The workshops are three hours long and include an overview of small-scale biodiesel production, as well as an introduction to oilseed crushing machines and techniques. The Piedmont Biofuels mobile training lab includes a biodiesel reactor and a German-made Momfort Komet seed press. The organization has conducted dozens of workshops across the nation in recent years and is in high demand.

Rachel Burton of Piedmont Biofuels said, “We are so pleased to be coming to communities to meet farmers and anyone who is interested. We think every rural community can benefit from this type of hands-on training.”

The team will make enough biodiesel at each stop to fuel its own pick-up truck for the tour.

The 2010 Biofuel and Seed-Crushing Roadshow is coordinated by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, based in Pittsboro, NC. Funding is provided by the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, through a grant to the non-profit National Center for Appropriate Technology.

For general information about the tour, contact Fred Broadwell at Carolina Farm Stewardship Association at 919-542-2402 (office) or 919-943-1068 (cell). Site-specific contacts are below.

Roadshow dates and locations*

Virginia

March 26th

Southern Virginia Bioenergy Conference

Workshop Location: Institute for Advanced Learning and Research
150 Slayton Avenue
Danville, Virginia 24540

April 1st

Virginia Cooperative Extension, Shenandoah Valley

Workshop location: Montezuma Hall, Montezuma, VA

Workshop time: Starts at 10AM

Contact:  To register for this event please contact the Rockingham County Extension Office at 540-564-3080

The registration fee is $10 and includes lunch.

ALABAMA

Wed. & Thurs. February 17, 18

At the 118^th Annual Tuskegee Farmer’s Conference, Tuskegee, AL

Hosted by the Tuskegee Institute

Biofuels/seedcrushing workshops both days.

www.tuskegee.edu (click on “Outreach” for conference registration)

Contact: Barrett Vaughn  (334)727-8527or (334) 552-1152

GEORGIA

Friday February 19

Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA

10:30 AM  – 2 PM

Contact: Leon Porter, porterl@fvsu.edu, 478-987-2028, ext 245

Also Friday February 19

Koinonia Partners, Americus, GA

Call for time.

www.koinoniapartners.org

Contact:  Sarah Prendergast, sarah@koinoniapartners.org, 877-738-1741

FLORIDA

Saturday February 20

Wildwood Farmers Market, Wildwood City Hall, Wildwood, FL

Hosted by UF/IFAS Sumter County Extension Service

9 AM to 12 noon

Contact:  Susan Kelly, sakelly@ufl.edu, 352-793-2728

Monday February 21

Crescent Moon Organic Farm, Sopchoppy, FL

Hosted by Florida A&M University Statewide Small Farm Programs

1PM to 4:00PM

Contact: Jennifer Taylor, Jennifer.taylor@famu.edu, 850-412-5260

SOUTH CAROLINA

Tuesday February 22

Low Country Council of Government offices, Yemassee, SC

Hosted by Clemson University Cooperative Extension

1:30 to 4:30 PM

Contact: York Glover:  yglover@exchange.clemson.edu, 843-812-2909

*Note:  More dates are planned in March in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.

7^th Annual Biodiesel Summit Redefines Sustainability

Join Piedmont Biofuels at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s 24th annual conference. The event will be held December 4-6, 2009 at the Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC. The event provides educational workshops for beginning gardeners, advanced organic farmers and folks interested in sustainable living. The movement’s most respected organic educators will be with us at the Blue Ridge Assembly, a retreat center amidst 1200 acres of Appalachian mountains and home to hiking trails, mountain streams, historic buildings, and a crafts center for the kids! Conference meals will feature local and organic farm food, including breakfast both days. Representatives from Piedmont Biofuels will be two workshops on Sunday, one on oil seed crops and crushing for oil extraction and another on small scale biodiesel production.

Biodiesel Comprehensive 5 Day workshop

From humble beginnings as a biodiesel co-op to commercial biodiesel production, PB has first hand experience with all scales of sustainable biodiesel production. They are the smallest bq9000 certified producer in the world recognized nationally as fuel quality experts and internationally for their biodiesel education programs. Come experience life in a local economy and spend 5 days learning about production, plant design, methanol recovery and glycerin refining, fuel quality testing, regulatory and safety, and the fundamentals of the biodiesel business.

Register here:

http://theabundancefoundation.org/biodiesel-workshop/

Workshop dates: October 26-30, 2009 –

$650 – Pre-Registration & Payment by August 30
$700 – Registration & Payment from September 1 to October 1
$750– Registration after October 1