Determining Switchgrass Breakeven Prices in a Landscape Design System

Where can switchgrass production be more profitable than corn and soybean? An integrated subfield assessment in Iowa, USA

“…Our approach to preselect underperforming cropland revealed opportunities that remain hidden in the above‐mentioned studies that used aggregated data. In a recent study, Soldavini & Tyner () estimated breakeven biomass prices for individual fields in Iowa when underperforming subfield areas were converted to switchgrass, using actual yield monitoring data. The higher breakeven price ($191 Mg −1 ) they found can be explained by their corn price assumption ($187 Mg −1 , or 35% higher than the average projected corn price in Table ), the addition of transport costs to a facility, and increasing of harvest costs by 10% to account for management inefficiencies of patch farming.…”

“…The enterprise budgets we assume for corn/soybean and switchgrass were not adjusted to reflect potential higher costs associated with small or fragmented fields, for several reasons: (1) our identified target fields vary widely in terms of size, shape, and fragmentation, therefore, a standardized adjustment to the budget, as assumed by Soldavini & Tyner (), would not improve the model, (2) we are not accounting for increased costs in corn/soybean fields of small sizes or odd shapes that are currently farmed, and (3) we are not similarly accounting for potential positive economic effects. For example, integrating perennials into corn/soybean fields could have a positive effect when placed strategically, by re‐shaping odd cropland shapes into tidy rectangles that can be farmed more efficiently (Tyndall et al ., ; Schulte et al ., ).…”

“…Other studies concluded that switchgrass cannot be economically viable, and cellulosic biomass can only be sourced from corn stover in this highly productive region (Dumortier et al, 2017;Efroymson & Langholtz, 2017). However, these studies did not take into account the heterogeneity of growing conditions within corn and soybean fields, which exist even in the fertile Corn Belt (but see Soldavini & Tyner, 2018). In Iowa, the heart of the Corn Belt, Brandes et al (2016), showed that differences in profitability across subfield areas within a farm can be substantial and estimated that a significant portion of the state's cropland, up to 25%, could have been incurring economic losses in the last decade.…”

“…Other studies concluded that switchgrass cannot be economically viable, and cellulosic biomass can only be sourced from corn stover in this highly productive region (Dumortier et al ., ; Efroymson & Langholtz, ). However, these studies did not take into account the heterogeneity of growing conditions within corn and soybean fields, which exist even in the fertile Corn Belt (but see Soldavini & Tyner, ). In Iowa, the heart of the Corn Belt, Brandes et al.…”

Waste to Worth: A Case Study of the Biogas Circular Economy in Pennsylvania

“…Our resource availability estimates show unused potential for digesting corn stover, switchgrass, winter rye, food waste, and manure, which could be maximized by considering crop profitability and productivity across the landscape. There has been an increased focus on identifying unprofitable agricultural areas and evaluating the benefits of incorporating perennial grass crops in these areas (Kreig et al, 2021;Brandes et al, 2018;Soldavini and Tyner, 2017). If these less productive fields can be converted into bioenergy crops through farm landscape management strategies, there may be economic benefits such as increased farm revenue and increased biomass feedstock availability for local energy production, along with various ecosystem services, such as increased wildlife habitat, decreased soil erosion, and nutrient loss.…”