Economic Analysis of Using Soybean Meal as a Mushroom Growing Substrate

Mushrooms have been grown commercially on many different substrates for years, usually agricultural by-products such as straw or stover. Increased popularity for specialty mushrooms with consumers has led to increased production and great demand for economic substrates. Oyster mushrooms are easier to grow relative to other types of mushrooms and their production has increased dramatically in recent years. This study examines the economic feasibility of using soybean hulls as a primary substrate for oyster mushrooms, replacing traditional wheat straw. The study uses a cost-benefit analysis to determine an optimal substrate based on yield and the number of crops harvested per year. The study shows that soybean hulls, combined with corn gluten or soybean meal increases yield 4.5 times, which more than offsets for higher costs for soybean hulls. The use of soybean substrate also allows a producer to raise about four more crops per year, which in turn uses fixed resources more efficiently and increases profitability.Oyster, Mushrooms, Substrate, Soybean, Hulls, Meal, Economic, Feasibility, Crop Production/Industries,

Letter from J.R. Fewell to Sam H. Smith; April 25, 1931.

From the Ellard-Murphree-Pilgreen-Smith Family Papers Collection. Letter from J.R. Fewell to Sam H. Smith; April 25, 1931.https://athenacommons.muw.edu/smithpapers/1012/thumbnail.jp

Farmers’ Willingness to Grow Switchgrass as a Cellulosic Bioenergy Crop: A Stated Choice Approach

Farmers’ Willingness to Grow Switchgrass as a Cellulosic Bioenergy Crop: A Stated Choice Approach Agriculture’s role as a source of feedstocks in a potential lignocellulosic-based biofuel industry is a critical economic issue. Several studies have assessed the technical feasibility of producing bioenergy crops on agricultural lands. However, few of these studies have assessed farmers’ willingness to produce or supply bioenergy crops or crop residues. Biomass markets for bioenergy crops do not exist, and developing these markets may take several years. Therefore, an important, yet unaddressed question is under what contractual or pricing arrangements farmers will grow biomass for bioenergy in these nascent markets. The purpose of this paper is to examine farmers’ willingness to produce switchgrass under alternative contractual, pricing, and harvesting arrangements. Contracts are likely to be the preferred method to bring together producers and processors of biomass for bioenergy. Contract design may vary across farmers and crop type, and may include attributes specific to annual crops, contract length, quantity or acreage requirements, quality specifications, payment dates, and other important features. A stated choice survey was administered in three, six-county areas of Kansas by Kansas State University and the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service from November 2010 to January 2011 to assess farmers’ willingness to produce cellulosic biomass under different contractual arrangements. This paper focuses on the switchgrass stated choice experiment from the survey. The stated choice experiment asked farmers to rank their preferred contractual arrangement from two contract options and one “do not adopt” option. Contractual attributes included percentage net returns above the next best alternative (e.g. CRP or hay production), contract length, a custom harvest option, insurance availability, and a seed-cost share option. Respondents then ranked their preferred contract option. The survey also collected data on farm characteristics, bioenergy crop preferences, socio-economic demographics, risk preferences, and marketing behavior. The survey used a stratified sample of farmers who farm more than 260 acres and grow corn. A total of 460 surveys were administered with a 65 percent completion rate. The underlying theoretical model uses the random utility model (RUM) approach to assess farmers’ willingness to grow switchgrass for bioenergy and determine the contractual attributes most likely to increase the likelihood of adoption. This framework allows us to define the “price,” or farmers’ mean willingness to accept, for harvested biomass sold to an intermediate processor. The estimated choice models follow the approach of Boxall and Adamowicz (2002) to capture heterogeneity across farmers and geographic regions due to management differences, conservation practices, and risk preferences. Using the percentage net return above CRP or hay production allows prices to float to levels that will entice farmers to adopt switchgrass. This will help determine a market price for bioenergy crops based on current market and production conditions without specifying an exact monetary value for the biomass. In addition, the survey results will facilitate contract designs between biorefineries and farmers while informing policymakers and the biofuel industry about farmers’ willingness to supply biomass for bioenergy production. Reference: Boxall, P.C. and W.L. Adamowicz, “Understanding Heterogeneous Preferences in Random Utility Models: A Latent Class Approach,” Environmental and Resource Economics 23(2002): 421 – 446.Biofuels, Cellulosic, Biomass, Switchgrass, Farmers, Willingness to Pay, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Process for the preparation of polycarboranylphosphazenes

A process for the preparation of polycarboranylphosphazenes is described. Polydihalophosphazenes are allowed to react at ambient temperatures for at least one hour with a lithium carborane in a suitable inert solvent. The remaining chlorine substituents of the carboranyl polyphosphazene are then replaced with aryloxy or alkoxy groups to enhance moisture resistance. The polymers give a high char yield when exposed to extreme heat and flame and can be used as insulation

Carboranylcyclotriphosphazenes and their polymers

Carboranyl-substituted polyphosphazenes are prepared by heat polymerizing a carboranyl halocyclophosphazene at 250 C for about 120 hours in the absence of oxygen and moisture. The cyclophosphazene is obtained by allowing a lithium carborane, e.g., the reaction product of methyl-o-carborane with n-butyllithium in ethyl ether, to react with e.g., hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene at ambient temperatures and in anhydrous conditions. For greater stability in the presence of moisture, the chlorine substituents of the polymer are then replaced by aryloxy or alkoxy groups, such as CF3CH2O. The new substantially inorganic polymers are thermally stable materials which produce a high char yield when exposed to extreme temperatures, and can thus serve to insulate less heat and fire resistant substances

Conference on the Development of Fire-Resistant Aircraft Passenger Seats

Papers are presented dealing with the development of aircraft seats with the minimum fire risk. Criteria examined include: flame spread, heat release, and smoke and/or toxic fumes. Materials and performance specifications of all seat material options are provided

Farmers’ Willingness to Produce Alternative Cellulosic Biofuel Feedstocks Under Contract in Kansas Using Stated Choice Experiments

Many studies have assessed the technical feasibility of producing bioenergy crops on agricultural lands. However, while it is possible to produce large quantities of agricultural biomass for bioenergy from lignocellulosic feedstocks, very few of these studies have assessed farmers’ willingness to produce these crops under different contracting arrangements. The purpose of this paper is to examine farmers’ willingness to produce alternative cellulosic biofuel feedstocks under different contractual, market, and harvesting arrangements. This is accomplished by using enumerated field surveys in Kansas with stated choice experiments eliciting farmers’ willingness to produce corn stover, sweet sorghum, and switchgrass under different contractual conditions. Using a random utility framework to model the farmers’ decisions, the paper examines the contractual attributes that will most likely increase the likelihood of feedstock enterprise adoption. Results indicate that net returns above the next best alternative use of the land, contract length, cost share, financial incentives, insurance, and custom harvest options are all important contract attributes. Farmers’ willingness to adopt and their willingness-to-pay for alternative contract attributes vary by region and choice of feedstock

Farmers' willingness to contract switchgrass as a cellulosic bioenergy crop in Kansas

Farmers' adoption of cellulosic biofuel feedstock enterprises plays an important role in the future of agriculture and the renewable fuels \industry. However, no set markets currently exist for bioenergy feedstocks outside of very localized geographic locations and farmers may be reluctant to produce the feedstocks without contracts that help mitigate uncertainty and risk. This study examines farmers' willingness to grow switchgrass under contract using a stated choice approach. Data were collected using an enumerated survey of Kansas farmers and analyzed using latent class logistic regression models. Farmers whose primary enterprise is livestock are less inclined to grow switchgrass. Shorter contracts, greater harvest flexibility, crop insurance, and cost-share assistance increase the likelihood that farmers will grow switchgrass for bioenergy production

Three level atom optics via the tunneling interaction

Three level atom optics (TLAO) is introduced as a simple, efficient and robust method to coherently manipulate and transport neutral atoms. The tunneling interaction among three trapped states allows to realize the spatial analog of the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP), coherent population trapping (CPT), and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) techniques. We investigate a particular implementation in optical microtrap arrays and show that under realistic parameters the coherent manipulation and transfer of neutral atoms among dipole traps could be realized in the millisecond range.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Annual bioenergy crops for biofuels production: Farmers' contractual preferences for producing sweet sorghum

Dedicated annual sorghum crops, such as sweet sorghum or energy sorghum, may provide an option for farmers to supply cellulosic feedstocks for biofuel production and help the industry meet government mandates. Kansas farmers are poised to be major producers of sweet sorghum for biofuels due to favorable agro-ecological conditions. The purpose of this paper is to assess Kansas farmers' willingness to grow sweet sorghum under contract as a feedstock for biofuel production. The paper examines farmers' willingness-to-pay for contract attributes and the impact of socio-economic factors on their willingness-to-pay for these attributes. A stated choice survey was administered to Kansas farmers to assess their willingness to grow sweet sorghum for biofuels under various contracting scenarios. Results show that farmers may be willing to grow biomass for bioenergy under contract, but may have varying preferences for the importance of contract attributes such as net returns, contract length, insurance availability, government incentives, and potential for biorefinery harvest options based on socio-economic characteristics of growers