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Higher U.S. Crop Prices Trigger Little Area Expansion So Marginal Land for Biofuels is Limited

Author

Listed:
  • Swinton, Scott
  • Babcock, Bruce A.
  • James, Laura K.
  • Bandaru, Varaprasad

Abstract

By expanding energy biomass production on marginal lands that are not currently used for crops, food prices increase and indirect climate change effects can be mitigated. Studies of the availability of marginal lands for dedicated bioenergy crops have focused on biophysical land traits, ignoring the human role in decisions to convert marginal land to bioenergy crops. Recent history offers insights about farmer willingness to put non-crop land into crop production. The 2006–09 leap in field crop prices and the attendant 64% gain in typical profitability led to only a 2% increase in crop planted area, mostly in the prairie states. At this rate, a doubling of expected profitability from biomass crops would expand cropland supply by only 3.2%. Yet targets for cellulosic ethanol production in the US Energy Independence and Security Act imply boosting US planted area by 10% or more with perennial biomass crops. Given landowner reluctance to expand crop area with familiar crops in the short run, large scale expansion of the area in dedicated bioenergy crops will likely be difficult and costly to achieve.

Suggested Citation

  • Swinton, Scott & Babcock, Bruce A. & James, Laura K. & Bandaru, Varaprasad, 2011. "Higher U.S. Crop Prices Trigger Little Area Expansion So Marginal Land for Biofuels is Limited," Staff General Research Papers Archive 34897, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:isu:genres:34897
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    1. repec:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/413548 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Jennifer Ifft & Deepak Rajagopal & Ryan Weldzuis, 2019. "Ethanol Plant Location and Land Use: A Case Study of CRP and the Ethanol Mandate," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(1), pages 37-55, March.
    3. Piroli, Giuseppe & Ciaian, Pavel & Kancs, d'Artis, 2012. "Land use change impacts of biofuels: Near-VAR evidence from the US," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 98-109.
    4. Kauffman, Nathan S. & Hayes, Dermot J., 2013. "The trade-off between bioenergy and emissions with land constraints," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 300-310.
    5. P. A. Turner & C. B. Field & D. B. Lobell & D. L. Sanchez & K. J. Mach, 2018. "Unprecedented rates of land-use transformation in modelled climate change mitigation pathways," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(5), pages 240-245, May.
    6. Chen, Xiaoguang & Khanna, Madhu, 2018. "Effect of corn ethanol production on Conservation Reserve Program acres in the US," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 124-134.
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    8. Ifft, Jennifer & Rajagopal, Deepak & Ryan, Weldzius, 2016. "The effect of the ethanol mandate on the Conservation Reserve Program," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236178, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Ribeiro, Barbara E. & Quintanilla, Miguel A., 2015. "Transitions in biofuel technologies: An appraisal of the social impacts of cellulosic ethanol using the Delphi method," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 53-68.
    10. Miroslava Rajcaniova & d'Artis Kancs & Pavel Ciaian, 2014. "Bioenergy and global land-use change," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(26), pages 3163-3179, September.
    11. De Laporte, Aaron V. & Ripplinger, David G., 2019. "The effects of site selection, opportunity costs and transportation costs on bioethanol production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 73-82.
    12. Van Deynze, B., 2018. "The Effects of Experience on Landowner Preferences over Bioenergy Feedstocks," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277001, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Ren, Jie & Campbell, James B. & Shao, Yang, 2016. "Spatial and temporal dimensions of agricultural land use changes, 2001–2012, East-Central Iowa," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 149-158.
    14. Chamberlain, Jim F. & Miller, Shelie A., 2012. "Policy incentives for switchgrass production using valuation of non-market ecosystem services," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 526-536.
    15. Wilson, P. & Glithero, N.J. & Ramsden, S.J., 2014. "Prospects for dedicated energy crop production and attitudes towards agricultural straw use: The case of livestock farmers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 101-110.
    16. Brown, Jesslyn F. & Pervez, Md Shahriar, 2014. "Merging remote sensing data and national agricultural statistics to model change in irrigated agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 28-40.
    17. Dumortier, Jerome, 2015. "Impact of agronomic uncertainty in biomass production and endogenous commodity prices on cellulosic biofuel feedstock composition," IU SPEA AgEcon Papers 198707, Indiana University, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
    18. Burli, Pralhad & Lal, Pankaj & Wolde, Bernabas & Jose, Shibu & Bardhan, Sougata, 2021. "Perceptions about switchgrass and land allocation decisions: Evidence from a farmer survey in Missouri," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    19. Mellor, P. & Lord, R.A. & João, E. & Thomas, R. & Hursthouse, A., 2021. "Identifying non-agricultural marginal lands as a route to sustainable bioenergy provision - A review and holistic definition," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).

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