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Will switchgrass as a bio-crop be adopted by the farmers?

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  • Anand, Mohit
  • Duffy, Patricia
  • Bransby, David

Abstract

Adoption of bio-crops has been suggested as a possible solution to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Although switchgrass is a potential bio-crop, it is still not adopted by the farmers commercially for energy use. In this study, first an in-depth literature review has been done to analyze some of the important decisive factors which should be considered by farmers before adopting switchgrass as a bio-crop. Then an economic analysis has been done on the risks and returns to the farmers for including switchgrass in the farm mix. This study uses 21 years of experimental yield data for switchgrass, from a long term experiment in Alabama. For economic analysis, two hypothetical sample farms of 400 acres each, with and without switchgrass are compared. The yield and price data are simulated with 1000 iterations and return on investments for different cases are compared for final results. The results show that adoption of switchgrass as a bio-crop can be a viable addition to the farm mix which can both improve profitability as well as reducing profits variability in addition to other benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Anand, Mohit & Duffy, Patricia & Bransby, David, 2017. "Will switchgrass as a bio-crop be adopted by the farmers?," 2017 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2017, Mobile, Alabama 252724, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:saea17:252724
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.252724
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jensen, Kimberly L. & Clark, Christopher D. & Ellis, Pamela & English, Burton C. & Menard, R. Jamey & Walsh, Marie E., 2006. "Farmer Willingness to Grow Switchgrass for Energy Production," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21355, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    2. Lowenberg-DeBoer, J. & Cherney, J. H., 1989. "Biophysical simulation for evaluating new crops: The case of switchgrass for biomass energy feedstock," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 233-246.
    3. Emily Heaton & Stephen Long & Thomas Voigt & Michael Jones & John Clifton-Brown, 2004. "Miscanthus for Renewable Energy Generation: European Union Experience and Projections for Illinois," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 433-451, October.
    4. Larson, James A. & English, Burton C. & Hellwinckel, Chad M. & Torre Ugarte, Daniel de la & Walsh, Marie E., 2005. "A Farm-Level Evaluation of Conditions Under Which Farmers Will Supply Biomass Feedstocks for Energy Production," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19161, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    5. Debnath, Deepayan & Stoecker, Arthur L. & Epplin, Francis M., 2013. "Impact of Environmental Values on the Breakeven Price of Switchgrass," 2013 Annual Meeting, February 2-5, 2013, Orlando, Florida 142563, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    6. Bocquého, G. & Jacquet, F., 2010. "The adoption of switchgrass and miscanthus by farmers: Impact of liquidity constraints and risk preferences," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 2598-2607, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mohit Anand & Ruiqing Miao & Madhu Khanna, 2019. "Adopting bioenergy crops: Does farmers’ attitude toward loss matter?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(4), pages 435-450, July.

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    Keywords

    Agribusiness; Crop Production/Industries; Land Economics/Use; Production Economics;
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