Tim Reinbott
University of Missouri
Bradford Research and Extension Center
 Plentiful
 12 Billion Bushel Crop, nearly 1 billion carryover
 Compact
 45 lbs/ft2
 Consistent
 Minnesota to Missouri is the Same
 Infrastructure in Place
 On Farm Storage
 Often Called Trash:
 But it Protects From and Provides
 Wind Erosion
 Water Erosion
 Soil Carbon-Organic Matter
 No Food or Fuel Debate?
 Is this always true?
Does Corn Residue Have
An
Economic Value?
 Harvest Index
 Corn-50%
 Soybean-40%
 Wheat-40%
 N, P, and K/ton
 19-4-36
 Tons/acre
 120 bu/acre :
120 x 56=6720 lbs
x 0.67=4500 lbs
or 2.25 tons/acre
• 2.25 tons/acre x 4 lbs P205/ton=9 lbs P2O5/acre
• 2.25 tons/acre x 36 lbs K20/ton=81 lbs K20/acre
• 9 x $0.78/lb P205=$7.02
• 81 x $0.78/lb K20=$63.18
• $70.2/acre or $31.2/ton
 Used in Power Plants or
Ethanol-Poet in South
Dakota
 15% of Residue=
 1000 lbs/acre
 Nutrient Removal
 1 lb P2O5 and 8 lb
K2O/acre-$7.5
 Specialized Equipment
• Harvest Index
=Grain Yield/total above ground
yield
Grain~52% and Stover ~48%
• Fertilizer Cost of Residue-P and
K=$70/acre
• Cost of Raking and Baling-
$12/bale
• Total Cost=$150/acre or $51/ton
 Soil Carbon or Organic
Matter
 In Missouri-~2%
 We have lost 50% from
tillage
 Can we maintain what
we have left and still
remove the crop residue?
 Soil Structure
 Erosion Control
 Soil Tilth
 Aeration
 Water Holding Capacity
 Nutrient Cycling
 Ion Exchange
 Microbial Activity
 After 8 years a drop in Soil Organic Matter when even
50% of Residue is removed.
Percent Organic
Matter
Percent Soil Organic Matter-8
years Continuous Corn
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.3
0
50
100
150
Amount of Previous Crop Residue
 A 120 bu/acre corn crop produces 6720 lbs of Corn
Stover. Which is minimal to maintain Soil
Organic Matter.
Amount of Cover to Maintain or Limit
12000
Soil Organic
Matter
Water Erosion
lbs/acre
10000
8000
Wind Erosion
6000
4000
2000
0
Plow
Notill
Continuous Corn
Plow
Notill
Corn Soybean Rotation
 Corn Residue has economic value-$70/acre
 Baling another $12/bale or $45/acre.
 Residue in Missouri Extremely Important for
Maintaining Soil Organic Matter and Reducing
Erosion
 Corn Cobs-OK, just make sure you get something for
them.
 Primary Forage in
Missouri-17 million acres
 Cool Season Grass
 Most Growth in Spring
and Fall
 Stockpiling
After Fescue Seed Harvest
Fescue Seed Harvest
 As a Forage-$20/bale
 As Biofuel-$35/bale
 Pelletizing
 Ethanol
Nutrient Costs?
Tall Fescue Hay 40-15-40/ton removed
P and K @ $0.78/lb = $42.9/ton
 Decent Quality Hay in Spring if Put Up Timely
 Often more than needed
 High Quality Grazing in Fall
 Aftermath of Seed Harvest-Poor Quality
 Planting-Seed of
Switchgrass is very easy
compared to Indian or
Big Bluestem
 Indian and Big Bluestem
must be deawned if you
do not have specialized
equipment
Standard Seed Metering
Fluffy Seed Attachment
 Switchgrass is a Early
Successional Species
 Will die out in 10-15
years
 Other NWSG persist
longer
 Switchgrass Has A lot of
Ecotypes Developed
 Upland-Cave In Rock
 Lowland-Alamo,
Kanlow
 Mow, Rake, Bale
 When
 Beginning in October
when dormant
 Can be delayed to allow
more nutrients to move
down to the root system
 In NE Missouri in 2008
at the Plant Materials
Center with 100 lbs
N/acre
 CIR Switchgrass-4.97
tons/acre
 Big Bluestem-5.6
tons/acre
 Rumsey Indiangrass-6.6
tons/acre
 Kanlow and Alamo SG7.9 tons/acre
 Our Plots without any N:
 Switchgrass-1.94
ton/acre
 Indian-2.14 ton/acre
 Big Bluestem-1.11
ton/acre
Switchgrass
Indiangrass
When it is icy many of the grasses can be broken down
Big Bluestem
Big Bluestem (left) compared to
Indiangrass (right).
 5 tons/acre
 100 lb N/acre-$80/acre
 Remove:
 P-9 lb/ton x 5 tons=45 lbs/acre
 K-46 lb/ton x 5 tons=230 lbs/acre*
 At $0.78/ lb P and K=$35+$179=$214+$80=$294/acre
 * this can go down if harvest is delayed until winter
 $294/acre/5 tons
 Or $58.8/ton
 1200 lb Big Round Bale=$35
 Cost of Baling-$20/bale
 Total Cost-$55/bale
 Does not include transport, time, etc.
 As much below ground
dry matter as above
 Very Deep-6 ft
 Not going to be a
problem
 50 million Gallon Ethanol Plant
 90 gallon/ton conversion
 550,000 tons or 925,000 big Round Bales
 At 5 tons/acre 111,000 acres within a 40 mile radius of
the ethanol plant
Enough to Fill Faurot Stadium 5 times
 An Answer Maybe In
Field Pelletizing or
Compression to a More
Compact Form
 Tall Fescue Aftermath From Seed Harvest Maybe the
Best Source of Biofuel
 Big Blustem and Indiangrass harder to establish than
Switchgrass but will live longer and give similar if not
greater yields
 Cost of fertilizer replacement is nearly $60/bale
 Concerns with year around storage
 Corn-1/3 Ethanol, 1/3 Distillers Grain, 1/3 CO2
 Cellulosic Ethanol or Pelleting-100% Fuel
 No animal feed
 A monoculture of a grass
will be essentially a
desert for wildlife
 Cost is driven up by N
fertilizer
 What if we had a mixed
stand?
 Minnesota Study
Published in Science
Found More Biomass
and Biofuel Potential
When As The Diversity
Increased
 Use of Natives?
 Use of Native Legumes
for a N source
 Also Provide Flexibility
for Livestock
 At MU Bradford
Research and Extension
Center
 Low Input/High Diverse
compared to a High
Input/Monoculture
 18 different forbs and
legumes
 Switchgrass and Big
Bluestem
 Cutting Height
 Seasonal Harvests
Depending on Need