This Establishment and Management of Native Warm-Season Grasses for Bioenergy and Forage module is part of the Biomass Energy Training Curriculum, 13 modules developed through a Southern SARE grant and collaboration between Tennessee State University, the University of Tennessee, eXtension.org, and USDA-Rural Development. While it is written as a training guide for TN producers, much of the information is applicable throughout the Southeastern US region.
This curriculum is designed to increase the knowledge base of extension agents and local officials on biomass energy; so that they may, in turn, provide this information to their stakeholders.
Link to the full Biomass Energy Training Curriculum
This module covers: forage and bioenergy uses of native warm-season grasses (NWSG), and establishment practices: planning, weed management and planting.
Learning objectives: Participants will be able to explain the best ways to prepare, plant and manage NWSGs for establishment, identify the uses of NWSGs for bioenergy production and identify assistance programs that provide funding for establishing NWSGs.
Curriculum Materials – Establishment and Management of Native Warm-Season Grasses for Bioenergy and Forage:
- Presentation slides
- Participant handout
- Lesson guide,- provides informative notes, test questions, and an evaluation form.
- Factsheets:
- Calibrating seed drill seeding rates for native warm-season grasses, Tennessee State University ANR-B2. 2012.
- Improving switchgrass yields for bioenergy production, Tennessee State University ANR-B1. 2011.
More Information from other specialists:
- References and Additional Resources for Biomass Training Curriculum
- Renewable Energy Resources – Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Learning Center
- Switchgrass Factsheets from Extension specialists across the U.S.: breeding, establishment and production practices. eXtension.org
- Training course: Bioenergy Crop Production – eXtension.org
Module Author Jason de Koff is an Associate Professor of Agronomy and Soil Science for Tennessee State University’s Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. His research focuses on bioenergy crop production, with specific interests in switchgrass and winter canola production. His extension training programs and educational resources provide current bioenergy production information to producers. Find his latest on Twitter: @TSUBioenergy
These training resources are freely available for educational purposes under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please provide attribution: The Biomass Energy Training Curriculum by Jason de Koff, Tennessee State University; funded by Southern SARE.
If you wish to adapt these curriculum materials for your own educational purposes, please contact the Curriculum Author for permission and files:
Specialists from Tennessee State University, the University of Tennessee, eXtension.org, and USDA-Rural Development developed this Biomass Energy Curriculum, with funding from Southern SARE.
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program’s mission is to advance—to the whole of American agriculture—innovations that improve profitability, stewardship and quality of life by investing in groundbreaking research and education. SARE is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA. www.sare.org.