An Economic Analysis of Harvesting Cellulosic Biomass from Corn, Grain Sorghums, and Perennial Grasses

This study examines the economic potential of harvesting cellulosic biomass from corn and three types of grain sorghum rotated with soybeans, and harvesting perennial grasses instead of alfalfa. This research uses enterprise budgets based on experiment field data and Kansas Farm Management Association data. The results show that harvesting of crop residue from corn and sorghum, with the exception of an energy sorghum that does not produce grain is economically feasible under 2013 prices. A corn-soybean rotation has the highest net returns per acre. The dual purpose sorghum-soybean rotation has the second highest net returns per acre. Further, the annualized average net return from two of the perennial grasses grown on land typically used for alfalfa is also positive but not as positive as alfalfa.