SALEM, Ore. -- The Oregon Department of Agriculture will provide Lane County with a $250,000 grant to study whether it is feasible to turn annual ryegrass straw into alternative energy.

The hope, according to Lane County's grant proposal, is to provide growers with an economic alternative to field burning in the Willamette Valley.

To date, virtually no market exists for the straw left after harvest of annual ryegrass seed. And growers in the south valley, where a sizable percentage of the state's annual ryegrass seed is produced, burn much of their acreage.

The grant has the support of the Oregon Seed Council's research committee.

The study will look at turning straw into cellulosic ethanol, pellets for boiler system technology and using straw in anaerobic digestion.

According to the department, combining straw with other feedstock might make it a valuable renewable energy feedstock.