Native Grasses for Biomass Production at High Elevations - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 120

crop consultants, extension agents, and others. Parameters can be adjusted to reflect
variations in location, crop management, best/worst case scenarios, or optimizing a
specific input. For the purposes of this paper, the parameters of the crop enterprise
budget have been adjusted to reflect specific agronomic scenarios. Naturally, these
scenarios, and the corresponding results, can vary according to the agronomic
model.
As demonstrated in the crop enterprise budget scenarios presented in Table 6.2 ,
of the four species, the introduced grass species demonstrates the lowest per hectare
break-even price ($51.59) when grown using efficient agronomic management. In
contrast, the native grass mix demonstrates a relatively lower yield and a substan-
tially higher break-even price, at $315.35 per hectare, even with efficient agro-
nomic practices. Increases in two key costs, diesel fuel, and irrigation water, not
unexpectedly, directly affect production costs. Regardless of the scenario, pro-
ducers with capital equipment constraints (e.g., no disking) incur approximately
20 % higher break-even prices due to reduced yields. The crop enterprise budget
tool quantitatively shows how changing different input parameters affects potential
profitability.
As additional agronomic data becomes available, comparisons can be made
about the expected break-even costs in the years following crop establishment. At
the moment, it appears that establishment costs for the native grass mix and
switchgrass are higher than the introduced grass mix, because yields are not as
high during the first 2 years of production. Preliminary data from Pearson
et al. [ 121 ] demonstrates considerable increases in switchgrass yields in its third
year of production. Thus, while there could be a higher opportunity cost at least

Table 6.2 Enterprise budget scenarios for biomass species trials in Fruita, Colorado
Switchgrass Tall fescue Introduced mix Native mix
Biomass production costs Assumes 2 cuttings with the average yield per species, per cut,
expressed in tons/acre for average of 2011 and 2012 (early
establishment years' yields)

Efficient management
Cost per acre $182.70 $152.10 $154.78 $157.67

Break-even price per acre $121.80 $152.10 $51.59 $315.35

Inefficient management
Cost per acre $229.97 $191.72 $195.08 $198.69

Break-even price per acre $153.31 $191.72 $65.03 $397.38

a

Inefficient management is defined as a scenario in which the agricultural production is the capital
equipment constrained so that production is conducted at 80 % of the efficiency of an optimal
producer. The following input parameters were assumed for both management scenarios: $30/acre
cost for deficit irrigation in a typical non-drought year, $10/h labor costs, 3 % operating loan,
$4.00/gallon diesel fuel prices, and two cuttings. Yields of 1.5, 1.0, 3.0, and 0.5 t/acre, respec-
tively, were used for switchgrass, tall fescue, and introduced and native species. These reflected
the approximate 2-year average yields for early establishment years at the Fruita site (2011 and
2012)