FAQs about Perennial Grass (Switchgrass) Production for Biofuels


Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

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Switchgrass a source of biomass energy
Switchgrass. Photo: Dennis Pennington, Bioenergy Educator, Michigan State University.

Research Summary: Switchgrass Hay Utillization as Roughage in Beef Diets

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Switchgrass Hay Could Be a Useful Roughage in Beef Diets While Offering a Market Alternative to Biofuels.

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Introduction

Feedlots could use hay from perennial grasses such as switchgrass as an additional source of roughage in beef rations, at the same time providing a needed alternative market for producers who …

Making Business Decisions with Precision Data Can Encourage Perennial Grass Production

Case Study: AgSolver, an Iowa-based company, helps producers shift to perennial grass production using software tools that assess crop potential and profitability.

 

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Introduction

Not all cropland can profitably grow crops such as corn and soybeans. Even with the help of the newest technologies, farmers don’t necessarily make money—or reap …

Evaluation of Anthracnose Severity on Switchgrass Cultivars and Accessions

Anthracnose may significantly decrease biomass yield of switchgrass. Research explores tolerance of cultivars to Colletotrichum navitas.

 

 

 

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Anthracnose (caused by Colletotrichum navitas) may negatively impact biomass yield of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), often grown for bioenergy purposes. Consequently, evaluating cultivar and accession response to anthracnose is crucial for maximizing production efficiency and developing cultivars …

ReEnergy Holdings: Offering Markets for Biomass in the Northeast

ag energy, newbio, willow
Biomass fuel is loaded into boilers at ReEnergy’s green energy facilities. Photo: ReEnergy.

ReEnergy Holdings LLC works with willow growers and uses waste and shrub willow wood to generate electricity.

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Introduction

As a vertically integrated renewable energy company, ReEnergy Holdings LLC is an important link in the Northeast’s bioenergy supply …

Research Summary: Biofuel Quality Improved by Delaying Harvest of Perennial Grass

Research shows how a simple management strategy can decrease nitrogen contaminants in perennial grasses, while also providing additional ecosystem services.

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Switchgrass Harvest
Photo: Rob Mitchell, USDA-ARS.

Abstract

Nitrogen ash and other mineral matter can be a problem in processing perennial grasses into biofuel through the fast pyrolysis method. Delaying biomass harvest …

New Holland Agriculture Expands Offerings for Biomass Harvest and Handling

Renewable energy production options are growing thanks to expanded farm equipment capabilities for harvesting biofuel feedstocks like shrub willow. 

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Willow harvester
Case New Holland’s 130 FB coppice header harvesting shrub willow by cutting and chipping the crop in one pass. Photo: SUNY-ESF.

Introduction

Harvesting is the single most expensive operation in the production of shrub willow biomass, …

Double A Willow Strengthens Biomass Supply Chain by Providing Willow Plantings to Biofuels Industry

As the largest supplier of shrub willow planting stock in the United States, Double A Willow is a critical link between research and the commercial development of renewable energy.

Double A Willow owner, Dennis Rak, with some of his original plantings.

 

 

 

 

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Introduction

Double A Willow in Fredonia, New York, is the main source of shrub willow planting material for biomass energy …

Ernst Conservation Seeds Transforms Leftover Biomass into Energy Product

Switchgrass biomass left over after seed harvest had little value for Ernst Conservation Seeds until the company began using it to manufacture pellets.

Switchgrass pellets. Photo credit: Calvin Ernst.

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Introduction

Ernst Conservation Seeds in Meadville, Pennsylvania has been growing and marketing grass seed for more than fifty …

Terra Green Energy: Pioneers in Torrefaction for Commercial Co-Combustion

A torrefaction demonstration facility employs a patented process to convert biomass into a renewable, energy-dense carbon carrier that functions much like coal, and which can be burned in existing coal-fired power plants

 

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Torrefaction reactor. Photo credit: Terra Green.

An Innovator in Commercial Torrefaction

Terra …