Analysis of Factors Affecting Farmers’ Willingness to Adopt Switchgrass Production

D. Joshua Qualls, Kimberly Jensen, Burton English, James Larson () and Christopher Clark

No 98625, 2011 Annual Meeting, February 5-8, 2011, Corpus Christi, Texas from Southern Agricultural Economics Association

Abstract: In the United States, biomass is the largest source of renewable energy accounting for over 3 percent of the energy consumed domestically and is currently the only source for liquid, renewable, transportation fuels. Continued development of biomass as a renewable energy source is being driven in large part by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which mandates that by 2022 at least 36 billion gallons of fuel ethanol be produced, with at least 16 billion gallons being derived from cellulose, hemi-cellulose, or lignin. However, the market for cellulosic biofuels is still under development. As such, little is known about producer response to feedstock prices paid for dedicated energy crops. While there have been some studies done on factors that determine farmers’ willingness to produce switchgrass, these have been very regional in nature. This study will provide information regarding potential switchgrass adoption by agricultural producers in twelve southeastern states. The objectives of this research are 1) to determine the likelihood of farmers growing switchgrass as a biomass feedstock and the acres they would be willing to devote to switchgrass production and 2) to evaluate some of the factors that are likely to influence these decisions, including the price of switchgrass.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29
Date: 2011
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-ene
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:saea11:98625

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.98625

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