MOULTRIE — A California-based energy company made its pitch Tuesday to area farmers to convert some of their cropland to switchgrass. The appeal came during the annual Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition Field Day at Spence Field.

Ceres Inc., based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., has entered into a partnership with the University of Georgia to develop varieties and management practices to grow the crop in the Southeastern United States.

That research is taking place at the Expo field plots, where the crop was planted for the first time this year.

Frank Hardimon, director of sales for Ceres, said that switchgrass is a promising component in a “second generation” of clean-energy production.

Through a cellulosic process switchgrass can be turned into ethanol, and it also can be turned into pellets that can be used either in coal-fired electric plants or for residential heating and cooking.

“A lot of plants, coal plants specifically, are going to co-fire with switchgrass,” he said.

In 2008 Ceres announced it will collaborate with Range Fuels Inc., which is building a large cellulosic ethanol plant near Soperton which plans to begin production next year.

Farmers who took the tour at Field Day were curious about the crop, quizzing Hardimon about yield, pricing and viability of switchgrass as fuel.

During an interview at the site, Hardimon said that switchgrass can produce about 100 gallons of ethanol per ton. He estimated that in the third year of production, growers in this part of the country could see yields of up to 10 tons per acre.

The crop growing in Moultrie is part of research that developed varieties that perform better in the area, he said.

Switchgrass can be harvested like hay, he said.

Also at Field Day, the field area was dedicated to former Expo Farm Manager Darrell Williams, who died earlier this year. More than a dozen family members were on hand for the unveiling of the sign at the farm site.

His son, Michael, who took over as manager, said he was honored that his father was remembered in such a positive way.

“He was very passionate about it,” Michael Williams said of his father’s work at Expo. “He was a perfectionist here. This was kind of like a second home to him. It’s kind of developed into a second home for me. Every since I was 10 years old this was like the family farm.”

Darrell Williams’ daughter Michelle Williams said her father was dedicated to the show.

“It’s really a good thing to know other people thought of him like we did,” she said. “He was one to never really want any recognition, but he would have been really honored.”

Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock said that the recent rainfall may have kept farmers out of the field, meaning more people had an opportunity to come out on the 31st Field Day event.

He estimated that attendance could be as high as 500.

The farm crew experienced adversity this year as spring rains drowned corn plants, making it necessary to replant 100 of 120 acres of the crop, Blalock said.

“It’s just been an interesting year with extreme temperatures and rain,” he said.

The Expo show in October has an estimated $16 million economic impact in a 20-county area, Blalock said, and when Field Day, the two Calico shows, auctions and other events held at the site are factored in that figure doubles.

“Over the next 10 years we will have a $300 million impact throughout the region,” he said.