Agriculture
Pennycress could be next cash crop
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By BECKY WILDT
Capital News Service
LANSING — A new crop could add a harvesting season for farmers in Michigan and elsewhere in the Midwest, a spring harvest rather than the traditional fall. Pennycress is planted in August or September, toward the end of the corn season. It continues until May. Because of this unique characteristic, this member of the mustard family could benefit both the environment and farming, according to agricultural researchers. The plant is valued for the oil produced from the seeds which can be used as a raw material for biodiesel.