Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T08:44:41.567Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Switchgrass Harvest Time Effects on Nutrient Use and Yield: An Economic Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Nathanial Cahill ,
Michael Popp ,
Charles West ,
Alexandre Rocateli ,
Amanda Ashworth ,
Rodney Farris Sr.  and
Bruce Dixon
Nathanial Cahill
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Michael Popp
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Charles West
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
Alexandre Rocateli
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
Amanda Ashworth
Affiliation:
Center for Native Grasslands Management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Rodney Farris Sr.
Affiliation:
Oklahoma Eastern Research Station, Oklahoma State University, Haskell, Oklahoma
Bruce Dixon
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article analyzes economic tradeoffs among harvest date, fertilizer applied, nutrient removal, and switchgrass yield as they vary with respect to input and output prices. Economic sensitivity analyses suggest that higher biomass prices lead to earlier harvest. Optimal harvest time occurs beyond time of maximum yield because nutrient removal in the biomass is an important economic consideration. Switchgrass price premia that reflect the cost of non-optimal harvest time are driven by standing crop yield loss, nutrient removal, storage loss, and opportunity cost. These price premia could provide a mechanism to compensate producers for alternative harvest times and aid with logistics management.

Keywords

harvest datenutrient useswitchgrassQ15Q16Q42
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , November 2014 , pp. 487 - 507
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler, P.R., Sanderson, M.A., Boatang, A.A., Weimer, P.J., and Jung, H.G.. “Biomass Yield and Biofuel Quality of Switchgrass Harvested in Fall or Spring.” Agronomy Journal 98(2006):1518-25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashworth, A.J. “Biomass Production and Nutrient Removal of Switchgrass as a Bioenergy Feedstock.” Unpublished MSc Thesis, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas. 2010.Google Scholar
Debertin, D.L. Agricultural Production Economics. New York, NY: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1986, pp. 99–112.Google Scholar
Delaune, P.B., Moore, P.A. Jr., Carman, D.K., Sharpley, A.N., Haggard, B.E., and Daniel, T.C.. “Development of a Phosphorus Index for Pasture Fertilized with Poultry Litter—Factors Affecting Phosphorus Runoff.” Journal of Environmental Quality 33 (November/December 2004):2183-91.Google Scholar
Gouzaye, A., Epplin, F.M., Wu, Y., Makaju, S.O.. “Yield and Nutrient Concentration Response to Switchgrass Biomass Harvest Date.” Agronomy Journal 106(May/June 2014):793-99.Google Scholar
Guretzky, J.A., Biermacher, J.T., Cook, B.J., Kering, M.K., and Mosali, J.. “Switchgrass for Forage and Bioenergy: Harvest and Nitrogen Rate Effects on Biomass Yields and Nutrient Composition.” Plant and Soil 339(2011):69–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haque, M., Taliaferro, C. M., and Epplin, F.M.. “Nitrogen and Harvest Frequency Effect on Yield and Cost for Four Perennial Grasses.” Agronomy Journal 101 (November/December 2009): 1463-69.Google Scholar
Johnson, J.M.F., and Gresham, G.L.. “Do Yield and Quality of Big Bluestem and Switchgrass Feedstock Decline over Winter?” Bioenergy Research 7(2014):68–77.Google Scholar
Kering, M., Biermacher, J.T., Cook, B.J., and Guretzky, J.A.. “Switchgrass for Forage and Bioenergy: I. Effects of Nitrogen Rate and Harvest System. UC Davis.” The Proceedings of the International Plant Nutrition Colloquium XVI(2009):2009. Internet site: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0h9720ss (Accessed October 2013).Google Scholar
Kering, M. J., Biermacher, T., Mosali, J., and Guretzky, J.A.. “Effect of Potassium and Nitrogen Fertilizer on Switchgrass Productivity and Nutrient Removal Rates under Two Harvest Systems on a Low Potassium Soil.” Bioenergy Research 6(March 2013):329-35.Google Scholar
Larson, J.A., Yu, T.H., English, B.C., Mooney, D.F., and Wang, C.. “Cost Evaluation of Alternative Switchgrass Producing, Harvesting, Storing, and Transporting Systems and Their Logistics in the Southeastern USA.” Agricultural Finance Review 70,2(2010): 184–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lilien, D., Sueyoshi, G., Wilkins, C., Lian, G., Fuquay, P., Wong, J., Hu, X., Thomas, G., Startz, R., Hall, R., Kawakatsu, H., Engle, R., Ellsworth, S., and Noh, J.. Reviews 6. Irvine, CA: Quantitative Micro Software, 2007.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, S.B., and Kszos, L.A.. “Development of Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) as a Bioenergy Feedstock in the United States.” Biomass and Bioenergy 28(2005):515-35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mooney, D.F., Larson, J.A., English, B.C., and Tyler, D.D.. “Effect of Dry Matter Loss on Profitability of Outdoor Storage of Switch-grass.” Biomass and Bioenergy 44(2012):33–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parrish, D.J., and Fike, J.H.. “The Biology and Agronomy of Switchgrass for Biofuels.” Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 24,5-6(2005):423-59.Google Scholar
Reynolds, J.H., Walker, C.L., and Kirchner, M.J.. “Nitrogen Removal in Switchgrass Biomass under Two Harvest Systems.” Biomass and Bioenergy 19(2000):281-86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinehart, L. 2006. “Switchgrass as a Bioenergy Crop.” National Sustainability Agriculture Information Service of ATTRA. Internet site: www.attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/pdf/switchgrass.pdf (Accessed October 2013).Google Scholar
Rocateli, A.C., West, C.P., Popp, M.P., Brye, K.R., and Kiniry, J.R.. 2013. “Simulating Seasonal Trends in Switchgrass Biomass Using Almanac.” In: Annual meetings abstracts [CD-ROM]. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, Madison, WI.Google Scholar
Sanderson, M.A., Egg, R.P., and Wiselogel, A.E.. “Biomass Losses during Harvest and Storage of Switchgrass.” Biomass and Bioenergy 12,2(1997): 107-14.Google Scholar
Sanderson, M.A., Reed, R.L., McLaughlin, S.B., Wullschleger, S.D., Conger, B.V., Parrish, D.J., Wolf, D.D., Taliaferro, C., Hopkins, A.A., Ocumpaugh, W.R., Hussey, M.A., Read, J.C., and Tischler, C.R.. “Switchgrass as a Sustainable Bioenergy Crop.” Bioresource Technology 56(1996):83–93.Google Scholar
U.S. House. 110th Congress, 1st Session. H.R. 6, Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2007.Google Scholar
USERA. Renewable Fuel Standard Program (RFS2) Regulatory Impact Analysis. Washington, DC: US Environmental Protection Agency, 2010, p. 1120.Google Scholar