Achievement

One component of this IGERT project is studying farmers’ willingness to grow biomass for bioenergy under different contractual and pricing arrangements. This assessment has allowed us to understand agronomic, logistical, and economic concerns farmers have about producing bioenergy crops. Studying how biomass removal affects soil quality and biological processes for subsequent crops demonstrates the importance of integrating scientific information into economic research. Working in a core research team is beneficial for applying findings to what may happen in practice. While one can assess probabilities that farmers may adopt bioenergy crops under specific assumptions and attempt to determine a biomass price, learning more about what happens in practice to the land and how well certain types of biomass can be stored and transported improves understanding of practical issues confronting farmers.