Feasibility Assessment of Biomass Harvesting Cooperative

The paper summarizes the harvesting and transportation costs of biomass in an individual producer’s framework versus a cooperative framework using a feasibility template developed in MS Excel. The cost is compared between individual producer having 1000 acres of land and a cooperative with five members each having 1000 acres of land. The estimated total cost per ton for harvesting biomass and transporting it to a warehouse 20 mile far is $25.53 for individual producer and$18.00 for cooperative. The mowing, raking and baling cost per ton is estimated to be $5.71,$3.94 and $11.16 respectively for individual producer and$4.97, $2.00 and$5.85 respectively for cooperative.Biomass, Switchgrass, Harvesting, Transportation, Cooperative, Agricultural and Food Policy, Financial Economics, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Three essays: Switchgrass yield prediction; biomass harvesting cooperative; and Oklahoma grain infrastructure replacement

The first essay estimates switchgrass yields in Oklahoma using average temperature and total rainfall during summer months. The fitted model agrees well with available yield data and the estimated yields were consistent with most previous studies. The model's results indicated lower average yields and lower year-to-year variation in yields in the Western region with higher yields and higher year-to-year variation in the Central region. The model developed in this study shows a promising result which could be used to predict switchgrass yields for any county in Oklahoma and would likely apply across the Southern Plains.The second essay attempts to model the cost of harvesting and transporting biomass (switchgrass) in an individual producer versus a cooperative structure. The results show that small scale biomass harvesting cooperative (10-12 members) could have substantial cost savings versus individual member operations. For a five member cooperative the cost savings was not significant compared to the individual producers. With five members the cost savings was $3.47 Mg-1 while cost savings was$6.08 Mg-1 with eleven members. The cost savings are more if machineries are brought to enough use which could be obtained either by increasing the number of members in cooperative or by increasing the total hectares or by renting the machineries.The third essay uses a mixed integer programming model to forecasts grain facility replacement in Oklahoma. The results indicated regionalization in grain storage with fewer but larger capacity structures. The results of sequential replacement overtime indicated that there would be some abandonment of facilities and some shift to larger capacity structures. Producer's transportation cost did not increase with sequential replacement as expected because storage were added in places to the current deficits. The results were not sensitive to crop production, fuel and construction cost and amortization factors. Cost comparison per bushel between configuration after sequential replacement and unrestricted replacement show that transportation cost was $0.04 lower in sequential replacement but total cost was$0.02 higher than unrestricted replacement

Feasibility of On-farm Processing of Canola, Soybean and Sunflower into Biodiesel

The high volatility of fuel prices has forced farmers to consider alternative sources of energy for daily farm activities. Therefore, farmers are contemplating purchase of small scale biodiesel processors for on-farm use. However, they are uncertain about the economic cost and benefits of processing oilseeds into biodiesel on-farm. They are interested in moderating the risk of the increasing fuel prices by growing and processing small to moderate amounts of canola, sunflower or other oilseed crops. Therefore, in order to provide more information to potential investors about their investments, a Microsoft Excel based feasibility template was constructed to form a budget and project the cost and return for determining the economic feasibility of on-farm biodiesel production from canola, soybean and sunflower. Five feasibility measures were calculated including internal rate of return, net present value, return on assets, return on equity and payback period which were compared for five different potential scenarios. Three scenarios-100% canola, 100% sunflower and 50% canola-50% sunflower appeared profitable at baseline assumptions and prices. The breakeven biodiesel prices of $3.20-$3.30/gal for these scenarios at baseline were not competitive with the current biodiesel price of $3.08/gal at market. Therefore, the investments are not economically feasible unless producers anticipate an increase in the biodiesel price in future. Two scenarios-100% soybean and 50% canola-50% soybean had significant negative returns and did not prove profitable even at baseline assumptions and prices. The negative returns with soybean and its combination with canola was due to the low oil content of the soybean. Results of the sensitivity analysis show that the baseline scenario (100% canola) was sensitive to oil content, biodiesel prices, scale of equipment, canola yield, cost of production, cost of equipment, purchased oil prices and electricity cost. It was not sensitive to interest rates and maintenance cost. 100% sunflower and 50% canola-50% sunflower scenario were sensitive to biodiesel prices, purchased oil price and yield of the crops.Department of Agricultural Economic

Potential Biomass Yields in the South Central US

This paper describes research to create a national database of switchgrass supply as part of the biomass program launched by the Department of Energy. The paper provides an estimate of county level switchgrass yield data for the state of Oklahoma. The estimates are made for the top five most productive and abundant soils for each county in Oklahoma. A simple approach of ratio calculation and estimation is used to predict the switchgrass yield of one soil type by comparing it with the yield of several other crops in another soil type. The data for switchgrass yield for a particular soil type are obtained from the state research experiment stations. The yields for other crops for the top five soils are obtained from the NASS data sources. Switchgrass supply for Oklahoma was estimated to be 49.5 million tons from the top soils with the Northeast crop reporting district to be the dominant supplier.Biofuel, Switchgrass, Ratio Estimation, South Central, Oklahoma, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Understanding the causes of decline in the health of Rupa Lake, Nepal

Meeting: Celebrating Dialogue : An International SAS2 Forum, November 3, 2008, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, CASAS reports are made available in order to provide timely access to the information by interested researchers. This report has been subject to an internal review process to ensure accuracy and quality.This report provides information on the Social Analysis System (SAS) through which local groups were enabled to analyze the degradation and decline of their lake ecosystem. Effects can be traced to government policies that shifted ownership and control of forests from local communities to government agencies. Slash-and-burn agriculture on national forest land became common; flooding and numerous landslides were provoked by land clearing. The surface area of the lake has declined by almost 50%. All stakeholders made a commitment to strengthen and revitalize people-centered efforts, so that actions would have more local ownership and continuity

Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield of radish

Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) is necessary to enhance sustainable yield in an eco-friendly way. A field experiment was conducted in the research field of Midwest Academy and Research Institute College of Live Sciences, Tulsipur, Dang from November 2018 to January 2019 to investigate the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield of radish. Mino Early variety was used in the experiment. The experiment was laid out on Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications and 5 treatments. Nitrogen (N) was supplied through different sources. The treatment combinations were: control (T1), 100% recommended N through chemical fertilizer (T2), 50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through farmyard manure (FYM) (T3), 50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through poultry manure (T4) and 50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% vermicompost (T5). Significant effect was noted on leaf numbers, root length, root diameter and yield per ha but no significant effect was noted on the germination percentage and plant height. The highest germination percentage  (77.00 %), plant height (13.27 cm), root length (16.94 cm), root diameter (3.01 cm), and yield per ha (16.55 t/ha) was recorded at T4 (50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through poultry manure). T5 (50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% vermicompost) recorded the highest leaf numbers (10.40). In our experiment, T4 (50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through poultry manure) was found to be superior, so in inner terai places like Tulsipur, Dang it is suggested to apply 50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through poultry manure to obtain a high yield of radish

Adapting Small-Farm Systems to Climate Change: Preliminary Results from Participatory Community Assessments in Bajura District, Nepal

Western Nepal is a remote region that is home to a wide variety of small farm and livestock production systems. Communities here lack direct access to a suitable road infrastructure, and thus are isolated from the modern world. Farm families are often poverty stricken. Western Nepal is also enduring significant climate change, resulting in warmer and drier conditions that affect crop and livestock productivity. Our research team used Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) to convene the members of four small-farm communities in Bajura District, identify their priority problems and analyze how the production systems function. We then connected the prioritized problems to their sources, whether poverty or climate change, and charted a way forward that catalyzes an adaptation process to improve human welfare. Preliminary PRA results indicated that the top ranked problems across all four communities were: (1) Shortages of drinking water; (2) declining crop productivity and hence growing food insecurity; (3) the need to build capacity for people to find off-farm employment to increase incomes; and (4) the need to gain more income from livestock commercialization. Of these problems, declining crop productivity is most clearly connected to climate change because most crops are rainfall dependent. The other problems are more related to poverty, population growth, and a general lack of development investment. The PRA exercises helped formulate four Community Action Plans. These plans provide blueprints for effecting change and are the basis for future research that will document the effectiveness of interventions

Predicting the potential distribution and habitat variables associated with pangolins in Nepal

Pangolins are highly-threatened due to illegal hunting and poaching, and by the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of their habitats. In Nepal, effective conservation actions for pangolins are scarce due to limited information on the distribution of pangolins in many areas of the country. To identify the nationwide distribution of pangolins in Nepal, and assess the environmental variables associated with their habitat, we conducted an extensive literature review to collate data from previous studies, canvassed information from key informant interviews and expert opinion, and conducted transect surveys and sign surveys. The occurrence of pangolins was recorded based on sightings and indirect signs (such as burrows, digs, tracks, and scats) along 115 belt transects of 500-m length with a fixed width of 50-m, and habitat parameters were surveyed using 347 quadrats of 10 m*10 m. Pangolin presence was confirmed from 61 out of 75 districts from the eastern to the far western parts of the country. The highest frequency of burrows (74%) was observed in the forested habitat constituting brown soil with medium texture (0.02–2 mm) within an elevation range of 500–1500 m above sea level. Logistic regression suggested that the occurrence of pangolin was highly influenced by ground cover and canopy cover of 50–75%, litter depth, and the distance to termite mounds and roads. We used 4136 occurrence GPS points of pangolin burrows that were compiled and collected from the literature review and field surveys in order to predict the potential habitat distribution of pangolin using maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt 3.4.1). The model predicted 15.2% (22,393 km2) of the total land of Nepal as potentially suitable habitat for pangolin, with 38.3% (8574 km2) of potential habitat in the eastern region, followed by 37.6% (8432 km2) in the central and 24.1% (5,387 km2) in the western regions. The results of this study present a national baseline for pangolin distribution and serve as an important document for developing and executing conservation actions and management plans for the long-term conservation of pangolins in Nepal

Determinants of agriculture biodiversity in Western Terai landscape complex of Nepal

The study explored agriculture biodiversity around protected areas and identified factors affecting diversity of agriculture biodiversity in farming households. The study analyzed the data collected from household survey of about 907 farmers from Western-Terai Landscape Complex of Nepal. Intra-species and inter-species richness and evenness in agriculture landscape were estimated and compared across a spectrum of land-uses. The study identified different social, economic, technological and ecological factors affecting the richness of intra-species and inter-species diversity of agriculture biodiversity using generalized linear regression models. Technology index, information index, food security, animal holding, ethnicity, irrigation facility and land-use were found as major variables affecting agriculture. The results also indicated that buffer zones had higher diversity than other land-uses, indicating positive effects of protected-land on surrounding agriculture biodiversity. Results supported need of coordinated efforts to mainstream agriculture biodiversity conservation with landscape conservation plans and socio-economic developments of the region

Determinants of agriculture biodiversity in Western Terai landscape complex of Nepal

The study explored agriculture biodiversity around protected areas and identified factors affecting diversity of agriculture biodiversity in farming households. The study analyzed the data collected from household survey of about 907 farmers from Western-Terai Landscape Complex of Nepal. Intra-species and inter-species richness and evenness in agriculture landscape were estimated and compared across a spectrum of land-uses. The study identified different social, economic, technological and ecological factors affecting the richness of intra-species and inter-species diversity of agriculture biodiversity using generalized linear regression models. Technology index, information index, food security, animal holding, ethnicity, irrigation facility and land-use were found as major variables affecting agriculture. The results also indicated that buffer zones had higher diversity than other land-uses, indicating positive effects of protected-land on surrounding agriculture biodiversity. Results supported need of coordinated efforts to mainstream agriculture biodiversity conservation with landscape conservation plans and socio-economic developments of the region