Housing markets are strong in the metropolitan communities, but rapid growth in the oil and gas industry quickly exceeded the very limited excess housing capacity in western North Dakota.

The infrastructure to collect natural gas and move it is not fully developed, as evidenced by the continued flaring of gas. However, this is expected to change soon and in a big way.

Look for ways to reduce heating costs.

The NCAA Division I Football Championship series that the NDSU Bison are returning to for the third straight year provides the basis for an analogy with the renewable fuel standard, which is the federal policy that mandates minimum biofuel use.

Continued competitive pricing of higher blends of ethanol would move a lot of fuel.

We still do not produce all of the energy that we consume.

This year or next, more ethanol will be mandated to be used than can be blended into E10. The issue has been dubbed the “blend wall.”

Natural gas is among the biggest issues in renewables because its low cost has disrupted global energy and manufacturing, including biofuels and bioproducts.

How do these price changes affect the welfare of western North Dakotans? Additionally, what are the impacts of these economic activities on the rest of the state?

The results can vary greatly depending on the data and assumptions used.

As market conditions faced by a cooperative change, cooperative business leaders may seek funds to make additional investments or to maintain the ability to compete within a given region.

The administration’s plans are important to North Dakota, its businesses and residents because of the size of our energy and agricultural sectors and the energy budgets in many businesses and households.

The price of oil is at a level that many biofuels and bioproducts can compete against oil on a purely financial basis without even mentioning the environmental, rural economic development or energy security impacts.

The definition of bioproducts that I use in practice is products made using biomass that have a fossil fuel-based analog.

My job at NDSU is to develop (research) and provide science-based knowledge on the economics of producing, transporting, converting and marketing biomass into bioproducts.

At NDSU, the feasibility of using new sugar beet varieties, known as energy beets, for ethanol production is under study.

Along with the calorie information on menu boards or menus, the FDA’s proposed rule also states that restaurants would list 2,000 daily calories as a reference point while pointing out that people’s daily needs vary.

One of the first steps is understanding that projections of future oil activity do not exhibit the classic boom-and-bust cycles the state has experienced in the past.

Growth will require school districts to add classrooms and teachers and perhaps school buildings, depending on circumstances and existing infrastructure within individual school districts.

Standard demographic models and methods historically used to project population are inadequate because of the very rapid rate of change in western North Dakota and the unique nature of the Williston Basin workforce.

The means of transporting and disposing of this wastewater has become an issue.

The best way to avoid damage is to keep ice dams from forming.

Producers can compare projected fuel costs and use based on alternate crop acreages, tillage systems and crop rotations.

Recognizing the concerns of surface owners who do not own the minerals, North Dakota law has been modified through the years to offer the surface owner more property protection rights.

The population of Williams County could go as high as 70,000 by 2017.

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NDSU Extension has launched the North Dakota Consumer Price Survey.

Efforts to maintain environmental quality need not threaten economic growth.

State and local decision makers, regulators, developers and others are in need of information about the scope and scale of the growth and development of the petroleum industry to plan for the future.

For now, employment will be driven more by short-term or temporary jobs, such as those associated with construction, drilling and fracking. Long-term employment will be more closely associated with maintenance and oil field services.