Dutch veal farmer finds fuel savings in elephant grass

ACHTERBERG – A Dutch veal farmer was seen harvesting his second crop of elephant grass, a bamboo reed resembling plants more commonly found in East African countries (the plant is also known as Napier Grass and Uganda Grass). The crop is used as a biomass to fuel the farm’s heating installation, saving the veal operation about 45,000 cubic meters of natural gas annually. The plant species grows on its own and can be harvested for 25 years. Because of a dry weather spell, harvesting the reed turned out to be a very dusty job this season.