192 



AARC 



Alternative Agricultural Research & Commercialization Center 



Milkweed Could Spin Profits 

 for Nebraska Farmers 



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Herb Knudsen, President of Natural 

 Fibers Corporation, isn't the first to 

 try to turn the troublesome "milk- 

 weed" into a commercial crop. Interest in 

 milkweed floss as an alternative to cotton 

 dates back to at least 1635; 200 years later 

 the French produced silk-like fabrics from 

 wild milkweed fibers: and in World War II. 

 U.S. sailors went to sea with milkweed-filled 

 life jackets. 



Today, Nebraska farmers are growing 

 milkweed on 160 acres to provide enough 

 floss for Knudsen 's company to fill "Ogallala 

 Down" pillows and comforters with the 

 super-soft and fluffy white non-allergenic 

 material. 



Growing milkweed presents more 

 problems, however, than just neighboring 

 farmers' complaints that the weed might 

 spread. Milkweed's biggest problem is that it 

 is easy prey for pests and diseases. So yields 

 remain too low and uncertain to justify full- 

 scale commercial production. Commercial 

 production would offer many advantages, 

 such as eliminating annual planting since 

 milkweed is a perennial and reducing both 

 fertilizer and irrigation requirements com- 

 pared to raising corn on the same Nebraska 

 fields where milkweed grows best. 



Milkweed's promise has sparked a con- 

 sortium effort to overcome the hurdles. A 

 group including the University of Nebraska, 

 North Coast Ventures, Milkweed Growers, and 

 various individuals is contributing 

 $1,050,000 to supplement the $4.2 milhon in 

 Natural Fibers Corporation assets. The 

 Alternative Agricultural Research and 

 Commercialization (AARC) Center, a branch 

 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is 

 investing $150,000 in public fimds to support 

 the group's program of agronomic research designed to raise milkweed yields to commercially viable levels. 



Once yields are up enough to make milkweed an alternative to raising corn, researchers conclude 

 that the down-comforter market alone could create demand for milkweed production from more than 

 10,000 acres within the next 10 years. 



Illustration by Ed Coi 



Natural Fibers Corporation, NE 



Sponsor's Contact: Herbert D Knudsen, (308) 284-8403 

 Raw Material: Milkweed - New Crop 



Product: Comforters & Pillows 



AARC: 



Cooperators Contributions (est.): 



$ 150,000 

 $1,050,000 



USOA-AARC CENTER • 12th & C St. S.W. • Washington, DC 20250 

 Telephone: (202) 401-4860 • Fax: (202) 401-6068 



Pnnted on recycled paper using soybean-based mk 



