Debnath, et al, estimated that these intangible benefits could raise the value of a switchgrass crop by $13 to $46 per ton relative to intangible benefits from no-till wheat. Cellulose first must be broken down into starch and sugar before it can be fermented into alcohol. According to the team’s calculations, heating with switchgrass pellets would continue to be less expensive even if switchgrass production costs rose 200 percent and the price of fuel oil dropped 70 percent. The Market value of Switchgrass Pellet Switchgrass in particular has attracted attention as a fiber source for bio fuel since it will typically result in lower ash content than other fiber sources. *It's not about fancy blends and deer cover mixes! But do the economics justify that? A number of cellulosic ethanol plants are in operation, including one in York, Neb., but most are pilot-scale plants. Perrin, Richard, Kenneth Vogel, Marty Schmer, and Rob Mitchell. Since then, corn ethanol has increased to almost the maximum limit specified by the RFS2, but the cellulosic ethanol mandate is far behind schedule. All switchgrass grown for biomass is likely to be grown under contract with biorefineries because these plants will require a steady supply of large amounts of feedstock.Â, The economics of switchgrass for bioenergy are influenced not only by feedstock prices and production costs, but also by competing uses and products. Base bids did not differ much, with most being in the $200–$250 per acre range. At an assumed farm-gate price of $55 per dry ton for a mature yield of 7 tons per acre, annual revenue would be $385 per acre per year. Field shown had a five year cumulative average cost of $35/U.S. In the study, two farmers with previous experience growing switchgrass had the lowest production costs of $39 per ton. Switchgrass is a 3' to 7'+ tall native perennial bunch grass and is one of our most important tall warm season grasses. Land was marginal cropland that would have qualified for the Conservation Reserve Program. In the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) legislation passed in 2007, Congress escalated mandates for the amounts of biofuels to be used in transportation fuel sold in the U.S. Increasing land rents will significantly increase production costs because they account for nearly half of all production costs. Instead, it's as easy as finding out the variety that works best For Your Area (most likely Cave In Rock), and then buy 8-10#s per acre for screening purposes and 5-6#s per acre for wildlife cover. At the switchgrass price of $54/ton, the shadow price of land is about $6/acre in region 18, and is almost zero in region 14A. Switchgrass offers additional environmental benefits such as helping to improve water quality and wildlife habitat, helping to reduce carbon emissions through carbon sequestration in the soil, and serving as a replacement for fossil fuel… Research Partners lead by Iowa State University: USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Purdue University, University of Illinois, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Vermont, and University of Wisconsin. These findings are based on the average heating-oil price from the 2010-2011 heating season, which was $0.90 per liter. Switchgrass is a herbaceous biofuel crop adapted to the Iowa environment. 2010. Switchgrass production costs ranged from just over $40 per ton on marginal soils to $34.80 per ton on highly productive soils. The five farmers with the lowest costs had production costs of less than $50 per ton, which should be achievable by other farmers as they gain production experience, Perrin said. This estimate is based on: The final production cost per ton depends on average yields. 2007. Estimating production cost at $50 per ton and assuming a conversion efficiency of 80 to 90 gallons per ton, the cost of switchgrass feedstock delivered to the refinery would be equivalent to 58 cents to 66 cents per gallon of ethanol. Switchgrass is one of the grass crops promoted as a cellulosic biofuel feedstock. It has adapted regionally to widely differing soils, rainfall, and climate conditions over most of the US. These benefits include reduced soil erosion and fertilizer runoff, increased soil organic carbon that retains moisture and maintains fertility, and wildlife habitat. CenUSA Bioenergy is a coordinated research and education effort investigating the creation of a regional system in the Central US for producing advanced transportation fuels from perennial grasses on land that is either unsuitable  or marginal for row crop production. Bransby, C.O. These alternative feedstocks will limit the amount that processors are willing to pay for switchgrass. With reported prices for miscanthus pellets bound for Europe at $100 per ton, a 10 ton per acre yield of the tall perennial grass would be competitive with even high-priced corn. They were also asked for a base bid in dollars per acre plus an incentive payment in dollars per dry ton of switchgrass produced, assuming an average yield of 5.5 tons per acre. These plants are expected to produce more than 130 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Switchgrass pellets are only half the cost of conventional fuels for farmers. It is very winter-hardy and drought resistant. The startup loan section (Figure 1.) A comparison across harvest systems indicates that for most of the species, the double harvest system more than doubles the optimum N application. CenUSA is supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. However, on land that cannot consistently produce at least 60 bushels per acre or so, according to our calculations, switchgrass could be more profitable. •Extrapolated farm gate costs (10 yr) were $54 ton-1. Assuming a farm price of $120/tonne, switchgrass pellets provide the same cost for heating as oil at 25 cents per litre. 2015-41595-24254 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. It prefers Lowland, moist sites, but is adapted to a wide range of soils and climates including sand. Brown, Tristan R., Rajeeva Thilakaratne, Robert C. Brown and Guiping Hu. As reported in USDA NASS 2018 survey data, prices received for all types of hay in UMRB states ranged from $87 to $167/ton. switchgrass yield is assumed to be 10 tons per year, the stand life as 10 years and the transportation distan ce as 50 miles. experience with switchgrass grows and new ethanol-friendly cultivars are developed. Table 2. This land faction is the same as … Researchers offered a speculative scenario that factored in transportation and ethanol production costs. Transportation is a tradeoff to capital costs. In addition to producing advanced biofuels, the proposed system will improve the sustainability of existing cropping systems by reducing agricultural runoff of nutrients in soil and increasing carbon sequestration. Cash spot markets for biomass will be limited. “Switchgrass Cost of Production: Data from On-Farm Trials, 2001-2005”. The suggested price per ton is $75.00 USD. Owens, V.N., D.R. Regions: 1,2,3,4,5,6. Switchgrass as a cellulosic fuel feedstock will also face competition from other cellulosic sources, such as wood processing waste. Therefore, the success of cellulosic ethanol is likely to depend on mandates or subsidies. These analyses indicate that switchgrass would compete successfully with conventional crops on approximately 98% of the 3.9 M ha that would be available at a price of $38.5/Mg ($35/ton) for switchgrass (and identical prices per unit of energy content for the two other crops). ?Cost beyond the farm gate is more speculative,? Switchgrass is a warm season, native bunch grass. If the RFS2 mandate is fully enforced, refiners might pay $150 per ton or more if corn stover (a cheaper cellulosic feedstock) is not available. In this article, we summarize the economics of producing switchgrass for biomass. Given budgeted costs for a pyrolytic biorefinery that produces half gasoline/half diesel, the price of oil must reach the vicinity of $110 per barrel in order to allow a switchgrass-based refinery to pay farm gate prices at or above current production costs. At a minimum, they will have to pay at least its value as livestock feed, which is expected to be about $95 per ton of DM (equivalent to $83 per ton of 15%-moisture hay). 2013. This market is too new to reliably determine the value of switchgrass for use as fuel pellets. The technology to convert cellulosic materials to ethanol on a commercial scale has been difficult to develop. The breakeven farm-gate price for switchgrass ranged from $56 per ton for the two lowest profitability groups to over $94 per ton for the most profitable producers. When figuring the operating cost per ton, it was $65 per ton for switchgrass and $50 per ton for miscanthus. Hong. The on-farm cost of producing switchgrass for cellulosic ethanol averages about $60 per ton, according to a new study by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural economist and others. Eleven bids were received and five were accepted. Soil Carbon Storage by Switchgrass Grown for Bioenergy. In these situations, marginal substitution of switchgrass for coal might be cheaper than substitution of other renewable fuels. ?This is the most comprehensive study to date on assessing the economic costs of producing switchgrass biomass in commercial fields,? There are several pathways for converting cellulosic feedstocks such as switchgrass into bioenergy products, including hydrolysis and fermentation, pyrolysis, and gasification. For more information about the study, see the March 12 edition of Cornhusker Economics at www.agecon.unl.edu/Cornhuskereconomics.html.Rapid City Journal, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12155-008-9005-y, www.agecon.unl.edu/Cornhuskereconomics.html, Making carbon trading globally legitimate: the road show has begun. When burned, such as in a furnace, Switchgrass produces 7,500 BTU's per pound. Debnath, Deepayan, Artthur L. Stoeker and Francis M. Epplin. 3.1.2 Economics of Switchgrass preparation Helsel said 1 ton of Switchgrass hay produced the same amount of energy as 100 gallons of fuel oil. 2009. It is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12155-008-9005-y. ton including land costs. And without mandates, cellulosic ethanol is unlikely to be competitive with gasoline unless petroleum prices are consistently above $110 per barrel. Â. switchgrass for biomass •Perrin et al., 2008 BioEnergy Research •On-average, farm gate costs (5 yr) were $60 ton-1 ($0.68 per gallon of ethanol delivered). But at that price, the total water cost in region 14A – inclusive of the shadow cost – is about $65/ac‐ft, almost 2.4 times that of region 18, $27/ac‐ft. There is also an ethanol plant in Upton, Wyo., which produces cellulosic ethanol from wood waste. These two prices are only used as examples. Fike, R. Ferris, E. Heaton, D.I. The Upton plant is operated by an affiliate of KL Process Design Group LLC of Rapid City. 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