Switchgrass is a deep-rooted perennial crop that grows well on small fields and marginal land in most areas where there is enough warmth and moisture to raise corn silage, says Roger Samson, executive director of Resource Efficient Agricultural Production Canada (REAP-Canada).
Many conventional farmers view REAP as being on the fringes with a focus on low-input and some would say low-efficiency agriculture. But REAP has also had more staying power than its critics expected, and it has been one of the country’s most vocal supporters of switchgrass.
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“I think it’s ready to take off in a big way,” says Samson, who goes on to say, “We’ve been working on it for a long time — and this is the first time we’re really confident that it’s going to become a commercial crop.” He should know: he has been working with the crop for 19 years.
Switchgrass is actually a native of Quebec, Ontario and parts of the West. Under good conditions, it grows well over six feet tall, producing up to eight tons per acre of harvestable top growth.
Bio-Combustible president Ingrid Marini says that from an energy perspective, switchgrass pellets are comparable to wood pellets. Where switchgrass shines, she says, is in the fact that when left to dry in the field over winter, it doesn’t need to be dried like wood. That means less energy is used to make the pellets. And when consumed locally, less energy is used for transport.
Samson points to “significant grower interest,” coupled with an attractive business and political climate. He says switchgrass can mitigate 13,000 kg of carbon dioxide per hectare when replacing coal, versus 500 kg per hectare with corn ethanol. To him it’s a no-brainer — and when ethanol is no longer the political flavour of the day, he expects switchgrass to emerge as the logical, agriculturally based biofuel.
Samson adds that switchgrass has other uses besides biofuel pellets. It can be used as livestock bedding, as switchgrass-based compost in mushroom production, and is a highly regarded building material for straw-bale construction.
