Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2021
Keywords
switchgrass; net greenhouse gas emissions; hay quality; cow-calf production
Abstract
Meeting biorefineries' demands for lignocellulosic biomass will require sourcing feedstock without affecting the food or animal-feed supply. A decision-aid model can assess the dual use of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) to maintain animal production while providing biomass. We simulated a mixed-farm operation with 156 ha of hay+pasture, 96 beef cows (Bos spp.), and poultry (Gallus gallus L.) production wherein the hay land was converted to switchgrass for dual use as biomass and forage. The cow-calf simulator tracked changes in forage and cattle production, economic returns, and net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Dual use of switchgrass consisted of harvesting the first cutting (mid-June) for hay and the second cutting (October-November) for biomass. Dual use required a modest increase in fertilizer application and supplementing cows with corn grain to meet nutritional requirements. Converting hay land to dual-use switchgrass produced 122 Mg of switchgrass, reduced net GHG emissions for autumn- and spring-calving operations by 3.4 and 3.6%, respectively, and increased the farm profit by approximately $1500 when priced at $50 Mg-1 regardless of the calving season. This simulation provided evidence that conversion of hay lands (in a beef cow-calf and poultry farm) to dual-use switchgrass can avoid displacing food production, while supplying bioenergy feedstock and reducing climate-forcing gases.
Citation
Popp, M. P., Ashworth, A. J., & West, C. P. (2021). Simulating the Feasibility of Dual Use Switchgrass on Cow-Calf Operations. Energies, 14 (9), 2422. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14092422
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
