Switching to switchgrass?
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The Iowa State University Integrated Crop Management Conference is Iowa's premier crop production education event. No other program in Iowa brings together the diverse range of topics, slate of expert presenters and results of the latest University research.
The ICM Conference offers workshops focusing on the latest in crop production technology. Experts from Iowa and surrounding states will provide research updates and results in soil fertility, soil and water management, crop production and pest management.
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Abstract
Since the passage of the Renewable Fuels Standard, there has been a concerted effort to develop feedstocks for cellulosic biofuels. The CenUSA grant project, headed by Iowa State University, has been exploring the potential for perennial grasses over the past few years. “Liberty” switchgrass, developed by Rob Mitchell, a CenUSA researcher with USDA-ARS in Lincoln, Nebraska, has entered the market as a promising feedstock for cellulosic ethanol. In order to evaluate the potential for switchgrass on the Midwestern landscape, CenUSA researchers have created a decision tool to explore the costs and potential returns from switchgrass production and compare those returns to four alternatives: maintaining the acreage in the Conservation Reserve Program, utilizing the acreage for pasture, planting the acreage in the traditional corn/soybean rotation, or planting the acreage to continuous corn.