Jiang, Y., and S. M. Swinton. 2008. Market interactions, farmer choices, and the sustainability of growing advanced biofuels. Staff Paper No. 2008-03. Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University

Advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol are of great interest for their potential to supply a
significant portion of U.S. fuel needs plus advantages over corn grain-based ethanol. The
sustainability of agriculture-based advanced biofuels depends on how farmers would respond in
providing biomass feedstock, yet economic behavior by farmers has been under recognized by
the science community. Focusing on markets and policy incentives, this research shows that
farmers are unlikely to convert current grain cropland to grow a dedicated cellulosic biomass
crop such as switchgrass. However, the financial incentives to harvest cellulosic biomass
provided by the 2008 farm bill may stimulate corn production due to demand for corn grain for
feed and ethanol and corn residues for advanced biofuels. The prospect of continuous, possibly
expanding corn production for advanced biofuels raises the same environmental issues as for
corn grain-based ethanol. To assure the environmental sustainability of advanced biofuels
production, environmental policies are needed to complement existing bioenergy initiatives.

DOI:

Associated Treatment Areas:

1. Modeling

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