BASSETT -- A "green" biodiesel truck stop has opened in Henry County.

Red Birch Energy Inc. said it uses canola seed to make biodiesel in a "farm to fuel" operation.

The canola seed is crushed to extract oil, which is refined and blended into biodiesel, and then sold at the company's pumps on U.S. 220 north of Martinsville.

The company says it contracts with farmers to grow canola on their idle fields in the winter. When the canola seed is crushed, a byproduct of meal is produced that is used as a feed supplement for farm animals.

-- The Associated Press