Switchgrass Cost of Production: Data from On-Farm Trial, 2001-2005

Authors

Richard K. Perrin, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Kenneth P. Vogel, USDA-ARSFollow
Marty R. Schmer, USDA-ARS, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Robert B. Mitchell, USDA-ARSFollow

ORCID IDs

Richard K. Perrin

Date of this Version

3-24-2008

Comments

Published in Agricultural Economics Report (March 2008) 184. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Abstract

Switchgrass is considered a potential commercial biomass feedstock but field scale production and production cost data have been limited. The costs of production incurred on ten commercial-sized fields in the northern Great Plains, between 2000 and 2005 have been reported in a scientific journal paper4. This report provides the detailed information, in English metric units, that was used to conduct the economic analyses. The average annualized cost to produce and store switchgrass on these farms was $60 per ton of dry matter, which translates to an ethanol feedstock cost of about $0.66-0.75 per gallon of ethanol, depending upon the ultimate ethanol yield.