Farmer experiments with power of switchgrass
Biofuel crop could diversify income, aid environment
Wednesday, July 9, 20081
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SUNDERLAND - They may be sprouts now, but Robert Williams of Mount Toby Farm in Sunderland hopes to heat his dairy farm and home for one year with the biofuel he will reap from an acre of switchgrass.
Williams is one of the few farmers in Massachusetts growing plants for "second generation" or "advanced" biofuels - biological energy sources that do not deplete corn, sugar or other food crops.
Through a partnership with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Extension Program and several state agencies, 10 farmers in western Massachusetts are growing switchgrass and crambe, an oil-seed plant.
"We're going to need something besides oil and propane," said Williams, a seventh-generation farmer. "We're doing a small amount now, see how it pans out."
Over the last few years, as oil prices climbed to $145 a barrel and concern about the environmental effects of carbon emissions has grown, the state has pumped up biofuels.
Bay State farmers are just now beginning to invest their land in the process.
In Massachusetts, as elsewhere in the world, biofuels face an uphill battle against black, bubbling crude. Biofuels must straddle a line in sharing land with and not depleting food crops.
And the infrastructure needed to convert biomass into fuel and distribute it does not yet exist.
All the while, oil and food prices soar. The price of cereal, for example, increased by more than 60 percent from 2005 to 2006, due in part to biofuel production, according to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
And it's getting harder and harder to make a living as a farmer, especially on small parcels in Massachusetts.
On the farm
Here, biofuel experiments are starting small, through one-acre test plots that researchers and state agencies hope farmers will be able to convert to biofuel for their own use.
"It's something small to help the small farm be sustainable," said Gerald Palano, a renewable energy coordinator for the state Department of Agricultural Resources.
"The biofuel addition may be something that we find to be a supplement to help diversify farms, but it's not the silver bullet," Palano said. "It's something that should be looked at and assessed to keep our farmers alive."
Biofuels may be starting small, but the state has grand plans for the potentially energy-packed plants.
In April, the state's Advanced Biofuels Task Force released a report outlining how the Bay State might benefit from biofuel production. It spelled out steps needed to achieve this goal.
At best, biofuels derived from feedstock grown in Massachusetts could replace 6 percent of the state's gasoline use, according to the report.
Due to a lack of appropriate land, combined with harsh winters, Massachusetts is ill-positioned to become a major biofuel producer.
However, a mature advanced biofuel industry - which includes technology development, feedstock cultivation and processing into fuel - could contribute $280 million to $1 billion per year to the Massachusetts economy by 2025.
This move could generate 1,000 to 4,000 jobs, the report said.
If Massachusetts dumped gasoline in favor of cellulosic ethanol made out of products such as tree trimmings, feedstocks and switchgrass, the state could cut its carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 90 percent.
By comparison, a switch to corn ethanol would reduce carbon emissions by 20 percent, the report states.
To bring biofuel production along, the task force recommended that the state partner with UMass to provide additional research and outreach coupled with tax and other state incentives to support the development of biofuels.
The task force also recommended legislation that would require diesel and home-heating fuel providers to blend more biobased fuels (making up 5 percent of consumer fuel composition) with their products.
"We need to be thinking about more appropriate technology," said Stephen J. Herbert, a UMass professor of plant soil and insect sciences working with farmers on biofuel research. "Part of the reason we're doing this research is to find out about different constraints to or opportunities for biofuel."
At Mount Toby Farm
On Tuesday, Williams inspected his switchgrass crop. Two weeks ago, using seed provided by UMass, Williams tore up an acre of corn - a crop whose price has risen by 250 percent over the last two years due in part to demand for corn ethanol - and planted switchgrass.
"With the price of corn, that might seem like something that's not good to do," said Williams. "Using corn for ethanol, I've never been a fan of that. They'll say it isn't causing a rise in food prices, but I beg to differ."
Increased demand for biofuels is contributing by 15-30 percent to food price increases, according to the International Monetary Fund. However, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer has said that biofuel demand has only contributed to a 2-3 percent increase in food costs.
Thin, green, blade-like sprouts shot up from the earth in rows on Williams' farm.
Having never grown switchgrass, Williams said he is concerned other grasses might take over his field and choke out the crop.
Switchgrass, a perennial that survives for about 15 years, takes two years to get established in the land. After that, the crop grows with little to no fertilization.
"It's a good start," said Williams surveying his acre of switchgrass. "It won't be a loss. I know I can do something with it."
Williams said he was interested in growing switchgrass, a hearty plant that can thrive in mediocre soil, because he was looking to diversify his 250-acre farm, save on energy costs and possibly define a new revenue source.
In Hampshire County, the average crop-producing farmer earned $24,000 in 2007.
One acre of switchgrass should produce 400 gallons or more of biofuel per year. Williams said he plans to pelletize the switchgrass, purchase a pellet burner (a commercial sized burner that can produce 500,000 BTUs costs around $12,000) and run his farm and home for a year.
If this idea doesn't pan out for Williams, or if he isn't able to get a grant to purchase a burner, he may end up selling the switchgrass as bedding or hay-like bales.
"Switchgrass is the way to go," said Williams. "The beauty is it grows back every year so it takes very little input, it's a light feeder, you don't need to use a lot of nutrients, so it wouldn't be a burden to take care of. It is a little tricky to get started, though."
