About this Course

This course presents the economic and market issues existing in bioenergy crop production. In many respects, this is the proverbial “chicken and egg” issue. Farmers will not plant new energy crops if there aren’t any markets or if the markets are uncertain. Likewise, facility managers and shareholders need assurance that there will be a steady feedstock supply before they will build a processing facility or convert from fossil fuel to a biofuel. There are policy and economic factors affecting the development of the market of bioenergy crops. 

Raising crops for bioenergy use incurs many of the same production costs as growing crops for feed or food: seeds or plants, pest control chemicals, fertilizer, fuel, labor and machine use and upkeep. However, farmers wishing to grow crops for the bioenergy market must also consider the costs of dry-down, baling and storage of biomass.

Learning Outcomes & Objectives:

• Utilize economic assessment tools to determine farmer return on investment for various bioenergy crops.
• Identify economic and environmental concerns and ecosystem services enhancement opportunities.
• Characterize a range of energy crops and analyze the regional suitability of each
• Detail environmental growing requirements and cultural practices for a range of bioenergy crops.
• Determine yield potential of various bioenergy crops.
• Describe harvest, storage, processing, and transportation requirements for various bioenergy crops.
• Help farmers identify on-farm bioenergy production opportunities.