Energy cane varieties are high-fiber sugarcane clones which represent a promising feedstock in the production of alternative biofuels and biobased products. This study explored the crop establishment and whole farm production costs of growing energy cane as a biofuel feedstock in the southeastern USA. More specifically, total production costs on a feedstock dry matter biomass basis were estimated for five perennial energy cane varieties over alternative crop cycle lengths. Variable production costs for energy cane production were estimated to be in the $63 to $76 Mg −1 range of biomass dry matter for crop cycles through harvest of fourth through sixth stubble crops. Total production costs, including charges for fixed equipment costs, general farm overhead, and land rent, were estimated to range between $105 and $127 Mg −1 of feedstock biomass dry matter material.

An unrestricted source differentiated LA/AIDS model was used to estimate Korean wine demand. In doing so, this study tested the null hypotheses of product aggregation, block separability and substitutability. The test results show that the unrestricted source differentiated model is significantly different from the aggregated model, separated model, and restricted source differentiated model at the conventional level. By using this system-wide model, this study estimated price and expenditure elasticities to identify the price effect on Korean wine consumption. (JEL Classification: F10, F11, F13)

Concentration of biofuel feedstock crop production in specific regions of the USA is dependent on the relative comparative advantage of production in a specific region based on several agronomic and economic factors. For the southeastern region of the USA, energy cane and sweet sorghum have been identified as two feedstock crops with the greatest potential for further development of production. This study utilized field trial data from yield studies in Louisiana to develop estimates of feedstock crop production costs and biofuel feedstock input costs for these two crops. Results indicated that feedstock production costs on a harvest yield basis, as well as the related dry matter basis, were heavily dependent on yield level. Economic research from this study indicated that energy cane had a slight cost advantage compared with sweet sorghum, although production of sorghum in certain periods during the growing season was very cost competitive with energy cane.

Farm-level returns can provide a measure of a grower’s conviction for crop choice and farm program preference among alternative enterprise and farm program choices across varying levels of risk aversion. The objectives of this study were to incorporate stochastic efficiency with respect to a function as a means of ranking alternative crop enterprise selections among corn, cotton, rice, and soybeans and to include farm program choice between the Agricultural Risk Coverage county option program and the Price Loss Coverage program (PLC) on two representative farms in Louisiana, one located in Rapides County/Parish (central) and one located in Tensas County/Parish (northeast), for grower profitability. Using certainty equivalent (CE) values as proxies for grower risk premium, farm analysis examined those CE values for enterprise and farm program selection on the basis of grower net returns. In the absence of farm program enrollment, a corn/soybean/cotton rotation was preferable for both farms. When farm program payments were considered, cotton/corn/rice rotation would be more profitable for both farms under PLC for the grower across multiple levels of risk aversion. Crop choice and program election have an important place in the farm management decision. As market conditions change, growers are more able to tailor their farm program choice to mitigate the type of risk they deem more imminent (revenue versus price).

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