IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaea12/124985.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Does Soil Nutrient and Remobilization Affect Harvest Strategy and Nutrient Management Decisions for Switchgrass Feedstock?

Author

Listed:
  • Haque, Mohua
  • Biermacher, Jon T.
  • Guretzky, John A.
  • Kering, Maru K.

Abstract

Conventional analytical methods used to determine the most economical farmer-based harvest system and corresponding nutrient management strategy for producing switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) feedstock do not consider agronomic and subsequent economic problems associated with soil nutrient mining. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term, economically sustainable harvest system and corresponding rates of N, P and K for producing switchgrass feedstock in the southern Great Plains. Data collected from a four-year, two-location agronomic field trial in south-central Oklahoma were used for analyses that included two harvest systems, including (1) a single cut after a hard freeze, after plant senescence (WNTR), and a summer cut at plant maturity in July followed by a second cut after a hard freeze, after plant senescence (SMWNTR). Each system received 0, 45, 90, 135, 179, and 224 kg of N ha-1 yr-1, and received 67 and 135 kg ha-1 yr-1 of P2O5, and K2O, respectively. A standard forage analysis was used to determine the concentrations of N, P and K nutrients in the feedstock harvested from each plot in each year and location and converted to N, P2O5 and K2O (kg ha-1) equivalents. These data were used to determine the extent of soil nutrient mining or nutrient remobilization for each harvest system. Two separate econometric models were estimated and used with enterprise budgeting techniques to compare the effects of harvest system and nutrient levels on yield and economic net return. Model 1 represents the conventional economic approach that uses the fertilizer treatments applied in the experiment. Model 2 reflects the long-term, economic sustainability approach and uses the nutrient concentration levels calculated from the switchgrass forage samples collected in the study. For a farm-gate feedstock price of $83 Mg-1 and nutrients priced at 2012 market rates, the results showed that it was economically sustainable to harvest only once after a hard freeze (i.e., the WNTR system) and apply 84, 28 and 50 kg ha-1 yr-1 of N, P2O5 and K2O, respectively. For this base-case scenario, farmers earned $79 ha-1 more net return with the economic sustainability approach compared to the results generated from the conventional economic approach. However, the comparative results between the two economic approaches are quite sensitive to the assumptions about yield response to nutrient concentration levels and assumptions about the percentage of nutrients remobilized in the WNTR system that are actually available for reuse by switchgrass plants.

Suggested Citation

  • Haque, Mohua & Biermacher, Jon T. & Guretzky, John A. & Kering, Maru K., 2012. "Does Soil Nutrient and Remobilization Affect Harvest Strategy and Nutrient Management Decisions for Switchgrass Feedstock?," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124985, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea12:124985
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.124985
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/124985/files/AAEA%20SG%20N%20x%20H%202012%20MH%20JTB%20Final.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.124985?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Haque, Mohua & Epplin, Francis M., 2010. "Switchgrass to Ethanol: A Field to Fuel Approach," 2010 Annual Meeting, July 25-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado 61294, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Epplin, Francis M. & Clark, Christopher D. & Roberts, Roland K. & Hwang, Seonghuyk, 2007. "AJAE Appendix: Challenges to the Development of a Dedicated Energy Crop," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Pollak, Robert A. & Wales, Terence J., 1991. "The likelihood dominance criterion : A new approach to model selection," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2-3), pages 227-242, February.
    4. Mooney, Daniel F. & Roberts, Roland K. & English, Burton C. & Larson, James A. & Tyler, Donald D., 2010. "Is Switchgrass Yield Response to Nitrogen Fertilizer Dynamic? Implications for Profitability and Sustainability at the Farm Level," 2010 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2010, Orlando, Florida 57623, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    5. Gelson Tembo & B. Wade Brorsen & Francis M. Epplin & Emílio Tostão, 2008. "Crop Input Response Functions with Stochastic Plateaus," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 90(2), pages 424-434.
    6. Wu, Jinzhuo & Sperow, Mark & Wang, Jingxin, 2010. "Economic Feasibility of a Woody Biomass- Based Ethanol Plant in Central Appalachia," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 35(3), pages 1-23, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tumusiime, Emmanuel & B. Wade, Brorsen & Mosali, Jagadeesh & Johnson, Jim & Locke, James & Biermacher, Jon T., 2011. "Determining Optimal Levels of Nitrogen Fertilizer Using Random Parameter Models," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(4), pages 541-552, November.
    2. Haankuku, Choolwe & Epplin, Francis M. & Kakani, Gopal V., 2015. "Energy Sugar Beets to Biofuel: Field to Fuel Production System and Cost Estimates," 2015 Annual Meeting, January 31-February 3, 2015, Atlanta, Georgia 196777, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    3. Biermacher, Jon T. & Haque, Mohua & Kering, Maru K. & Guretzky, John A., 2013. "PR - Economic Costs Of Soil Nutrient Mining And Benefits From Plant Nutrient Recycling: The Case Of Switchgrass Produced For Bioenergy Feedstock," 19th Congress, Warsaw, Poland, 2013 345659, International Farm Management Association.
    4. Frederic Ouedraogo & B. Wade Brorsen, 2018. "Hierarchical Bayesian Estimation of a Stochastic Plateau Response Function: Determining Optimal Levels of Nitrogen Fertilization," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 66(1), pages 87-102, March.
    5. Carriquiry, Miguel A. & Du, Xiaodong & Timilsina, Govinda R., 2011. "Second generation biofuels: Economics and policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4222-4234, July.
    6. Zhou, Xia “Vivian” & Clark, Christopher D. & Lambert, Dayton M. & English, Burton C. & Larson, James A. & Boyer, Christopher N., 2015. "Biomass supply and nutrient runoff abatement under alternative biofuel feedstock production subsidies," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 250-259.
    7. Jensen, Kimberly L. & English, Burton C. & Clark, Christopher D. & Menard, R. Jamey, 2011. "Preferences for Marketing Arrangements by Potential Switchgrass Growers," Journal of Cooperatives, NCERA-210, vol. 25, pages 1-28.
    8. Li, Haoyang & Ross, Brent R., 2014. "Farmers’ Switchgrass Adoption Decision Under A Single-Procurer Market: An Agent Based Simulation Approach," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170502, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Venkatesh Shankar & Pablo Azar & Matthew Fuller, 2008. "—: A Multicategory Brand Equity Model and Its Application at Allstate," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 567-584, 07-08.
    10. Asci, Serhat & Borisova, Tatiana & VanSickle, John J., 2015. "Role of economics in developing fertilizer best management practices," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 251-261.
    11. Burton, Diana M. & Love, H. Alan, 1996. "A Review of Alternative Expectations Regimes in Commodity Markets: Specification, Estimation, and Hypothesis Testing Using Structural Models," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(2), pages 213-231, October.
    12. P. Kearns & A.R. Pagan, 1993. "Australian Stock Market Volatility: 1875–1987," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 69(2), pages 163-178, June.
    13. Herriges, Joseph A. & Phaneuf, Daniel J., 1999. "Controlling for Correlation Across Choice Occasions and Sites in a Repeated Mixed Logit Model of Recreation Demand," Western Region Archives 321717, Western Region - Western Extension Directors Association (WEDA).
    14. Boyer, Christopher N. & Griffith, Andrew P. & Roberts, Roland K. & Savoy, Hubert J. & Leib, Brian G., 2014. "Managing Nitrate Levels in Bermudagrass Hay: Implications for Net Returns," Journal of the ASFMRA, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, vol. 2014, pages 1-16.
    15. Holt, Matthew T., 2002. "Inverse demand systems and choice of functional form," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 117-142, January.
    16. Fumasi, Roland J. & Richardson, James W. & Outlaw, Joe L., 2008. "The Economics Of Growing And Delivering Cellulosic Feedstocks In The Beaumont, Texas Area," 2008 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2008, Dallas, Texas 6788, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    17. Beatrice Dingha & Leah Sandler & Arnab Bhowmik & Clement Akotsen-Mensah & Louis Jackai & Kevin Gibson & Ronald Turco, 2019. "Industrial Hemp Knowledge and Interest among North Carolina Organic Farmers in the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    18. Haque, Mohua & Biermacher, Jon T. & Kering, Maru K. & Guretzky, John A., 2012. "Managing Nitrogen and Phosphorus Nutrients for Switchgrass Produced for Bioenergy Feedstock in Phosphorus-Deficient Soil," 2012 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2012, Birmingham, Alabama 119765, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    19. Granoszewski, Karol & Spiller, Achim, 2013. "Langfristige Rohstoffsicherung in der Supply Chain Biogas: Status Quo und Potenziale vertraglicher Zusammenarbeit," Department of Agricultural and Rural Development (DARE) Discussion Papers 260820, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    20. Boland, Michael A. & Foster, Kenneth A. & Preckel, Paul V., 1999. "Nutrition And The Economics Of Swine Management," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 31(1), pages 1-14, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aaea12:124985. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.