Producer Preferences for Contracts on a Risky Bioenergy Crop

This study employs a stated choice experiment survey to identify producer preferences for contracts to produce Giant Miscanthus. Preliminary results indicate that price offered per ton of harvested Miscanthus, yield insurance availability, and biorefinery harvest have significant positive effects on the probability of a producer accepting a contract to produce Giant Miscahthus. The results show that risk-neutral farmers as more willing to accept contracts relative to risk-loving farmers, ceteris paribus. Farmers who perceive yield risk of Miscathus to be greater than their current crop are less likely to accept Giant Miscanthus contracts