Biomass crop production on representative Southeastern US farms: Farm profitability, erosion control and the 1985 food security act

Abstract

Erosion control and farm profits are important agricultural policy concerns. Another important policy issue is the development of alternative renewable energy resources. Southeastern US farmers may be able to achieve both a high level of erosion control and an acceptable level of profitability through the production of a biomass energy crop on highly erodible cropland. This paper examines the feasibility of such a production technology in terms of farm profitability, erosion control, and level of government involvement. The micro-Oriented Agricultural Production System (MOAPS) was used in a representative farm approach to model the effects on farm profitability and erosion control of various farm organizations for one representative farm hypothetically located in Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 133 (southwest Georgia) and two in MLRA 134 (west Tennessee). Four alternative farming systems were modeled for each of the above farms, varying crops grown and government participation levels. Results indicate that erosion was likely to be reduced more by the diversion of cropland to permanent vegetative cover on farms similar to the more highly erodible MLRA 134 farms than on the less erodible MLRA 133 farm. Equivalent reductions in erosion rates resulted from entering highly erodible cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and from the production of switch-grass as a biomass-producing energy crop. Both biomass crop production and enrolling highly erodible cropland in the CRP resulted in decreased net returns, although biomass production was in general more profitable than CRP enrollment. Results also indicate that costs of government programs targeting erosion control could be reduced by allowing biomass crop production on highly erodible cropland which is currently enrolled in the CRP.