William T. Hlubik, Agricultural Agent, Professor
Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County
Challenges and Opportunities for On-Farm BioEnergy Production
Overview -
Bill Hlubik describes his efforts on taking early research done on Switchgrass in universities and
government, and apply it to real-world, commercial scale farm trials. His focus is on discovering if it will
be profitable for NJ farmers to grow biofuel crops such as Switchgrass using their own existing
conventional equipment and infrastructure. Many trials must still go on to overcome issues such as weed
control and to increase yields. To date, the most directly useful application of Switchgrass is through
combustion in the form of pellets, briquettes and logs. The final goal of Hlubick’s research is to find the
most appropriate crop that can be profitable through sale locally (within the 5-25 mile range), decrease
emissions, and/or reduce farm overall costs by growing their own sources of energy. Other benefits of
Switchgrass described are; nitrogen capture, nutrient recycling, wildlife habitats, and carbon sink.
Key Words
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Real-World Applications
Switchgrass
Combustion – Pellets, Briquettes, Logs
Root System – Nitrogen Capture, Nutrient Recycling, Carbon Sink
Marginal Land
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About Bill Hlubik is the agricultural agent for Middlesex County, N.J. and has served as a faculty member
at Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Cook College, for over ten years. He grew up on a family farm in
Chesterfield, New Jersey, and his interest in plants and agriculture continued throughout college and
graduate school at Cook College, Rutgers University. Bill serves as host, producer, and director of If Plants
Could Talk.
1. Universities such as the Rutgers Cooperative Extension and many other government agencies are trying
to find a crop which can be grown to produce energy on the farm. What are some of the many
characteristics the appropriate species must contain both biologically and economically?
The biological and economic characteristics a crop must have to be used for on-farm energy production
are; the ability of the entire plant to be processed into energy as opposed to just a portion, the capacity to
be grown on marginal land to preserve prime land for food crops, have a low to no need of additional
inputs such as water, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, etc. and the ability to be easily grown, harvested
and processed using existing farm equipment and infrastructure. All these characteristics can be found
in native plant species such as Switchgrass.
2. Farmer Brown used pelletized switchgrass he grew, harvested and processed on farm to heat his
greenhouse in years X,Y and Z rather than natural gas. After going through his financial records for the
past few years, he discovered that he saved money using pellets in years X and Z but spent more money
in year Y. Why might this have been? Discuss possibilities either within his control on his farm, and
not in his control outside his farm.
Some possibilities of why Farmer Brown lost money in year Y which were within his control could have
been; he applied more inputs such as water and fertilizers when it was not necessary, he harvested his
Switchgrass at the wrong time of the season or did not allow it to dry properly before baling which
resulted in crop loss or equipment damage. A cause which may have occurred that was beyond his
control was the price of natural gas dropped sharply in year Y, resulting in the cost of harvesting and
processing his Switchgrass was higher than the price of natural gas.
Multiple Choice1. Farmers can easily process bioenergy crops on-farm by converting them to:
a. Pellets
b. Ethanol
c. Briquettes
d. Logs
2. Drying biofeedstock crops can easily be done:
a. In the field
b. In large, commercial driers
c. Not necessary
d. By the final purchaser
3. Switchgrass production will be viable if yields increase, and costs decrease by:
a. 10%
b. 20%
c. 30%
d. 40%
4. Each farm has their own unique challenges within the same region except for:
a. Equipment
b. Soil quality
c. Commodity prices
d. Field slope and elevation
5. Another source of combustion materials free to farmers to use on-farm is:
a. Corn
b. Waxed cardboard
c. Leaf mulch
d. Natural gas
6. All are future challenges to the feasibility of growing bioenergy crops except:
a. Disease and pest resistance
b. Decrease input costs
c. Increase yields
d. Increase public awareness
True/False1. It is usually more profitable for a farmer to grow crops for human consumption rather than energy due to
the variations in the weather from year to year. – False
2. Switchgrass has a very shallow root system. – False
3. Switchgrass can out-compete many weed species. – True
4. Switchgrass is just as profitable as traditional food crops such as tomatoes and eggplant when grown in
similar prime agricultural plots. – False
Fill in the Blank1. When harvesting switchgrass, it should contain,_______% moisture. (15%)
2. A group of farmers working together to share the costs of equipment, harvesting and processing, etc. is
called a________. (Co-op)