Switchgrass Makes Better Ethanol Than Corn

statemachine writes to mention that the USDA and farmers took part in a 5-year study of switchgrass, a grass native to North America. The study found that switchgrass ethanol can deliver around 540 percent of the energy used to produce it, as opposed to corn ethanol which can only yield around 24 percent. "But even a native prairie grass needs a helping hand from scientists and farmers to deliver the yields necessary to help ethanol become a viable alternative to petroleum-derived gasoline, Vogel argues. 'To really maximize their yield potential, you need to provide nitrogen fertilization,' he says, as well as improved breeding techniques and genetic strains. 'Low input systems are just not going to be able to get the energy per acre needed to provide feed, fuel and fiber.'"

Comments

Re:Would someone please explain to me...

[Surt]

When you replace oil with ethanol, you stop using carbon that was fixed a long time in the past (and thus did not contribute to present levels of co2), and instead use carbon that was fixed in the last growing cycle. The net co2 added to the atmosphere in a year is zero, because the corn/switchgrass has to fix the co2 before you can later release it in the burn cycle.

Re:Switchgrass is a one trick pony.

[sl0ppy]

except that many hops farmers have switched from farming hops on their premium farm land, to farming inefficient corn, thus driving up the price of beer.

it's hard for something to be "free, as in beer" when a bottle of beer is very expensive to make due to a hops shortage.

it never makes sense to burn our food.

Re:You can grow all three you know.

[cromar]

Hemp seed is actually really healthy and contains good amounts of all essential amino acids (and so is high in protein). It provides some iron, good amounts of manganese and magnesium, and is also a good source of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids. Hemp seeds are good for salad toppings, baking, etc (think multi-grain bread). Hemp oil is also highly nutritious and can be used as other vegetable oils are.

It's a shame that prohibition drives the seed prices through the roof.

Re:Almost anything is better than corn

[Paradise Pete]

That is so funny that I almost fell out of my seat. Corn prices have stayed fairly constant for the past three decades.

You must have a rather slippery seat.

The 2002 Farm Bill guarantees corn farmers a price of $2.60 per bushel in 2002-2003 and $2.63 per bushel in 2004-2007 for the corn that they produce. In order to realize this price, corn farmers are eligible to receive a combination of direct payments, loans, and counter-cyclical payments.

Fixed Direct Payments: Set at a fixed rate of $.28 per bushel for crop years 2002-2007. These payments are based on historic crop yields, so farmers are not obligated to grow any crop in order to receive benefits. Since these payments increase in direct proportion to the acreage and yield of eligible crops planted, they encourage larger tracts of land to be used for corn cultivation.

Loans: The marketing assistance loan program and the loan deficiency payment program work to bring the price of corn up above $1.98 per bushel in 2002-2003, and $1.95 per bushel in 2004- 2007. These non-recourse loans allow the producer to choose when and how much of the loan they are going to pay back. They skew market signals by acting as a price floor for current production and encourage overproduction. Counter-Cyclical Payments: If the price of corn is still below the $2.63 target, counter-cyclical payments are used. They work in the same way as direct payments, and are based upon historical crop acreage and yield instead of current production. Again, this means that producers do not have to produce in order to receive payments.

Conclusion:
Corn production is the most heavily subsidized commodity in the United States today. Payments are extremely concentrated and benefits flow overwhelmingly to corporate agribusiness. Current government policy is pumping up the bottom line of modern, profitable corporations and leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill.

pdf

Re:Switchgrass is a one trick pony.

[Anonymous Coward]

>Growing corn gets you fuel, OR food. Farms aren't going to use the
>same crop to produce fuel and food-- they'll produce one or the other.

I am a farmer, and I'm right in the middle of this. I'm hoping to profit nicely from ethanol demand.

The corn I grow is a commodity. I really don't care if the buyer uses it for food or ethanol production. I store it in my grain bins and sell it when the price is right.

Corn is a nicely flexible commodity. I like it.

>Also, should your fuel sources be competing
>with your food sources?

It doesn't really matter. We farmers can grow extreme amounts of corn without much effort. We're so good at it, we've had to hold ourselves back on production for decades.

Switchgrass, on the other hand, doesn't have much use other than (potentially) as fuel. I sure don't want to eat it. I could grow it quite easily if the market demands it, but I'd need to tool up with different equipment and farming techniques. It's a real hassle to bale and store hay...I don't expect switchgrass would be much different. The root system created by switchgrass would make a field hell to get back to where I could plant corn again if it were needed for food.

I can't think of any marginal land where growing switchgrass would make much sense, either. If it's not growing corn, I've got better uses for it, even if it is only grazing land for livestock.

>Growing hemp gets you fuel, food, and fiber.

Don't get me started on that damn ditchweed. It's rough on equipment. My family tried it years ago when it was needed during the wars. We're still trying to reclaim land lost to it. You can't eat it, and you sure as hell can't smoke it. About the only decent thing I can say about it is it's good for erosion control. That's why it's called ditchweed.

>Hemp doesn't produce a sizable amount of food.

Damn straight.