Projects
Agriculture as a Producer and Consumer of Energy – 2004
Agriculture’s need for and ability to produce energy was the subject of a June 24-25, 2004, conference sponsored by Farm Foundation and USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses. The conference, Agriculture as a Producer and Consumer of Energy, was the first major comprehensive examination of agriculture’s energy role in a decade. An executive summary is available.
Energy security issues have drawn more attention to agriculture’s role in the nation’s energy strategy. Policymakers are searching for ways to expanded domestic energy sources through the development of alternative fuels and energy-saving technologies. The 2002 Farm Bill was the first to include an energy title, aimed at expanding renewable energy supplies and increasing energy efficiency on U.S. farms.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman opened the two-day conference, which drew energy industry executives, commodity leaders, agribusiness managers, economists and government leaders. Their task was to develop a roadmap to guide policymakers in the development of future private and public agricultural energy policies.
Conference speakers included the authors of four commissioned papers: Vern Eidman of the University of Minnesota, John Marinowski of Iowa State University, Otto Doering of Purdue University, and Kevin Lindemer, director of strategy and business development for Irving Oil Ltd. Other featured speakers included Keith Collins, Chief Economist, USDA; and C. Boyden Gray of the Energy Future Coalition. The program is available.
The commissioned papers, and a number of selected papers, were the basis for conference discussions.
Commissioned papers:
Agriculture as a Producer of Energy
Vernon Eidman, Professor of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota
Energy Consumption in U.S. Agriculture
John A. Miranowski, Professor of Economics, Iowa State University
Energy Systems Integration: Fitting Biomass Energy From Agriculture Into U.S. Energy Systems
Otto C. Doeering III, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
Current Outlook for Energy Production and Consumption
Keith Lindemer, Irving Oil Ltd.
Selected Papers:
Session A, Group 1: Biomass and Biopower Economics I
Daniel De La Torre Ugarte, The Economic Competitiveness of, and Impacts on the Agricultural Sector, of Bioenergy Crop Production
Brian Herbst, Comparative Feasibility Analysis of a Biomass and Corn-Based Ethanol Production Facility
Doug G. Tiffany, Dry-Grind Ethanol Plant Economics and Sensitivities
Quinn Kelley, The Economic Effect of Governmental Incentives on the Ethanol Fuel Market
Session A, Group 2: Biomass and Biopower Economics II
Burton C. English, Economic Impacts Resulting From Co-Firing Biomass Feedstocks in Southeastern U.S. Coal-Fired Plants
Ira Altman, Transaction Cost Economics of Agriculture Product Exchanges for Biopower: Theory and Evidence
Francis M. Epplin, Economic Modeling of a Lignocellulosic Biomass Biorefining Industry
Bruce E. Dale, Life Cycle Assessment of Integrated Biorefinery-Cropping Systems: All Biomass is Local
Session B, Group 1: Experiences with Biofuels (other than maize)
Doug Boylan, Experiences Co-Firing Grasses in Existing Coal-Fired Power Plants
Burton C. English, Economic Impacts of Developing a Corn Stover to Ethanol Industry in the Midwest
John Sweeten, Animal Waste as a Source of Renewable Energy
Mark Downing, Hybrid Poplar Production In Minnesota at the Larger Scale
Session B, Group 2: Conservation and Efficiency
Mike Morris, Irrigation as if People Mattered: Energy Conservation Lessons from Montana
John W. Worley, Trends in U.S. Poultry Housing for Energy Conservation
R. Nolan Clark, Livestock Watering with Renewable Energy Systems
Verel W. Benson, Combining Electric Power Generation and Water Quality Enhancement in Southwest Missouri
Session C, Group 1: Biomass Supply/Demand Studies
Richard G. Nelson, Estimating the Supply of Agricultural Residues
Kurt K. Klein, Demand for Bio-fuels in the United States and Canada: A Rank ThreeDemand Analysis
Michael Lau, Forecasting Short-Fun Ethanol Prices Using an Error Correction Model and Simulation
John N. Ferris, Econometric Analysis of the Impact of the Expansion in the U.S. Production of Ethanol from Corn and Biodiesel from Soybeans on Major Agricultural Variables, 2005-2015
Session C, Group 2: Farm Energy Use
Elizabeth Brown, On-Farm Energy Use Characterizations and Energy Efficiency Potential
Robert Dubman, The Incidence of Direct Fuel Expenses in Agriculture from 1991 to 2002: Results from Large Federal Farm Surveys
Session D, Group 1: Greenhouse Gases, Anaerobic Digestion and Biomass
Paul R. Adler, National assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from bioenergy cropping systems using DAYCENT
Bruce McCarl, Greenhouse Gas Markets as an Economic Driver for Increased Biofuel Production: An Examination of Critical Factors
Daniel L. Scruton, The Vermont Experience with Anaerobic Digestion Systems
Session D, Group 2: Co-ops, Green Power, and Ethanol in Canada
Mark Downing, Development of New Generation Agricultural Cooperatives for Renewable Energy Development and Demonstration Projects
Carol Whitman, Bioenergy and Rural Electric Cooperatives
Kimberly L. Jensen, An Analysis of the Residential Preference for Green Power – The Role of Bioenergy
Kurt K. Klein, Ethanol and Bio-diesel Production in Canada
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