Bioenergy: What`s in it for the grower? The cost of producing dedicated energy crops. Comparisons with conventional crops

Dedicated energy crops must be at least as profitable as conventional crops that could be grown on a given site before farmers will produce energy crops on that site. This report concentrates on the cost of producing dedicated energy crops and compare those costs to the profitability of conventional crops. This comparison allows one to estimate a breakeven price, that is, a price for which the profitability of dedicated energy crops is equivalent to the profitability of conventional crops. Switchgrass and hybrid poplar have been chosen as representative herbaceous and woody crop species for the estimation