Biomass yield to nitrogen response functions were determined for four perennial grass species. The species, nitrogen level, and harvest frequency that maximize expected net returns given the climate and soils of the U.S. Southern Plains were determined. For most combinations of biomass and...

Switchgrass has been proposed as a dedicated energy crop to fulfill long-term policy goals. Production costs were determined for switchgrass and three alternative perennial grass species for four levels of nitrogen fertilizer and two harvest systems. For the alternatives evaluated, biomass...

Technology that would enable use of lignocellulosic biomass for biorefinery feedstock is under development. The 2002 Farm Bill permitted managed harvesting of biomass from Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. This study was conducted to determine the cost to procure, harvest, store, and...

The objective of this paper is to determine production costs of switchgrass, eastern gammagrass, and giant miscanthus using Mississippi and Oklahoma data. Production costs were computed using a standard enterprise budgeting approach by species and method of harvest. Results indicate cost...

Technology that would enable use of lignocellulosic biomass for biorefinery feedstock is under development. The 2002 Farm Bill permitted managed harvesting of biomass from Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. This study was conducted to determine the cost to procure, harvest, store, and...

Topic Relevance Foliar diseases often reduce grain yields of winter wheat in the southern Great Plains, with some individual year yield losses in excess of 10%. At current prices, the gross value of these losses for the region could exceed a quarter of a billion dollars annually. Historically,...

If switchgrass harvest is delayed until after senescence, some nutrients will translocate to the plant’s crown and roots. Biomass yield and fertilizer requirements depend on harvest date. The objective is to determine switchgrass biomass yield, nutrient concentration in biomass, fertilizer...

Biorefineries that plan to use switchgrass exclusively will have to account for year-to-year variability in feedstock production. The objective of this research is to determine the quantity, class, and location of land to lease for switchgrass production to provide for the needs of a...