Switch Grass?

[ASRG]

It seems to me a common theme anymore is tough weather conditions through out western Canada and increasing (and volatile) costs to grow annual food crops?
I'm no expert on switch grass or the economics of growing it for ethanol...but if it would work up here it could be a very good option?
Apparently it also produces polymers which could be used for plastics!
Because it is a grass it does not need to be planted every spring and harvest would take place before the snow flies!
I assume it would have an excellent carbon footprint....which might be a real important consideration if/when carbon cap and trade prices approach that $100/t rate?
Is any government in Canada researching or promoting this crop? It might be a real boon for the Western Canadian farmer?

[BreadWinner]

The carbon credit scam has been exposed and you can forget cashing in. The world is not heating up and the scientists have gone back to thier labs to dream up another theory.

[charliep]

Don't have a real answer to your questions but a couple of comments I
have heard.

Second generation biofuels (of which fibre is one) is advancing in
technology but isn't necessarily there yet. Will come eventually.

Things that make large biomass crops like switch grass a crop that can
be used as a biofuel feedstock (competitiveness with other crops, ability
to survive in a wide variety of conditions/climate, etc.) also make them
good weeds. They have the ability to spread quickly into traditional
crops and natural areas - needs to thought about when they are
introduced.

[wmoebis]

Agree Charlie.

Not like it was thought out when people were selling and planting Kochia on alkali for forage and then let it go to seed. Just because it grows doesn't mean we should grow it.

[theplowboy]

Expensive grain will encourage ethanol producers
to search for cheaper alternative feedstocks.

Maybe switchgrass someday but not likely for
few years.

[ColevilleH2S]

It seems to me that second generation cellulosic biofuels have been 5 years away, for the last 15 years now.

[ASRG]

Charlie: I'm old enough to remember the old farmers saying canola was nothing more than an invasive weed...even before round up ready!

[charliep]

Not sure what has been done with switch grass in Canada and the ability to control it.

Lots of other biomass crops that can be used as well - hemp, poplar trees, straw, etc. All will be looked at.

You are also in an area that bio mass as a feed stock - livestock in this case in the forms of silage, greenfeed, hay, etc for cattle.