Systems Informatics and Analysis - Engineering and Science of Biomass Feedstock Production and Provision - page 202

can potentially be applied to study bioenergy crop production. However, literature
review showed that work focused solely on farm-level production processes has
been limited for bioenergy crops. Many studies perform a case-specifi c analysis
without developing a generic model [ 14 , 60 - 63 ]. We believe that this lack of empha-
sis is due to following reasons:

• Lack of commercial, large-scale farming of energy crops means that issues such
as optimal equipment selection and sizing have not come to the fore yet.
• Lack of fi eld data pertaining to equipment performance, especially for novel
crops such as Miscanthus, as highlighted in Chap. 5 , hinders the application of
modeling tools and limits the validation opportunities.
• It is generally believed that biomass transportation is a very important compo-
nent of the feedstock production systems. Therefore, many studies that focus on
the farm production also consider the transportation of biomass as a related
activity [ 13 , 64 , 65 ].

8.3.2.1 Whole-Farm Management Tools

Some farm management models are designed to consider conventional agricultural
crops as well as novel energy crops such as perennials. I-FARM is a database-driven
farming system simulation model that integrates crop and livestock farming [ 20 ]
( http://i-farmtools.org/ ) . The main goal is to develop a framework for the agroeco-
systems in the USA that can be used by farmers as well as decision makers to study
economic returns and environmental impacts of different farming practices. It is a
web-based application accessible through the Internet, consequently requiring no
installation, data collection, or programming from the user. This provides a signifi -
cant advantage for nontechnical users, such as farmers. The model is an integration
of multiple models from the literature such as a crop growth model, erosion model,
soil organic matter model, livestock and manure model, and water quality model.
The models are interconnected in a web-based application that uses a formal DBMS
for data storage and as an input/output medium. In addition to many conventional
agricultural crops, it can model switchgrass, poplar, and willow. The data for these
crops, including tillage practices, fertilization, harvesting, are maintained on the
database server. I-FARM gives estimates for erosion, carbon sequestration, nutrient
balancing, required labor, energy consumption, costs, government payments, and
expected revenues, which can be used for decision making and policy recommenda-
tions. Bioresource4Energy ( http://bioresource4energy.eu/ ) is another web-based tool
for farmers to investigate machinery and labor selection; evaluate fi eld size, distance,
and irrigation systems; and as a result determine the cost of biomass production.
FEAT (Farm Energy Analysis Tool) is a recently developed Microsoft Excel ® -
based static, database-driven model to calculate the energy consumption and GHG
emissions for farm operations [ 66 ]. The spreadsheets can be used for data entry and
modifi cation. The user must enter data such as farm area, tillage type, and residue to
be harvested to develop a scenario. Other parameters such as yield, moisture con-
tent, and fertilization and herbicide rates have default values that can be modifi ed by