Burning Lovegrass

Recently passed legislation in Oregon is aimed at phasing out the burning of grass seed fields. While reactions to the bill seem to be somewhat mixed, it makes us wonder if anything like this could be introduced in Oklahoma.

Comments on the original article (you can read it here) have generated plenty of debate from both sides of the fence. We’d be interested to hear your views on grass seed field burning!

Oklahoma Wheat Commission's Blog

With the ever changing scene of communications, the Oklahoma Wheat Commission has decided to participate in the blogging trend. Their blog can be found at http://okwheatcommission.wordpress.com.

The blog will connect you with harvest updates, recipes, education materials and check-off information. It is the intent of the Commission to use the newest form of communications to stay in touch with producers via the World Wide Web. As most blogs do, this one offers a spot to comment, add suggestions and upload pictures. Producers are encouraged to keep the office up-to-date with current harvest conditions around the state, so share you stories in a comment.

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission works to promote greater utilization of wheat in both domestic and international markets through research, market development and public education. Five wheat producers representing designated districts across the state serve as the Oklahoma Wheat Commission’s board of directors. Current officers are Jeff Krehbiel, chairman, Hydro; Don Schieber, vice chairman, Ponca City; Keith Kisling, secretary-treasurer; Tom Stephens, member, Guymon; and Tom Glazier, member, Loyal.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has set the goal of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive by 2012, and by 2030, it aims to make biofuels displace 30% of the country’s projected gasoline use. Some of the primary types of feedstocks being considered to meet these goals are crop residues, perennial woody crops, and perennial grasses. Perennial grasses have been a particular focus, with switchgrass receiving the most attention. Switchgrass, a native tall-grass prairie species, is considered most promising because of its high yields, low inputs, and ability to adapt to a variety of conditions. But an important question concerning the sustainability of this feedstock is: where should this perennial grass be grown?

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Switchgrass - a viable biofuel source

Switchgrass has been researched as a bioenergy crop since the mid-1980s, because it is a native perennial warm season grass with the ability to produce moderate to high yields on marginal farmlands. It is now being considered for use in several bioenergy conversion processes, including cellulosic ethanol production, biogas, and direct combustion for thermal energy applications. The main agronomic advantages of switchgrass as a bioenergy crop are its stand longevity, drought and flooding tolerance, relatively low herbicide and fertilizer input requirements, ease of management, hardiness in poor soil and climate conditions, and widespread adaptability in temperate climates. In some warm humid southern zones such as Alabama it has the ability to produce up to 25 oven-dry tonnes per hectare (ODT/ha).

A summary of switchgrass yields across 13 research trial sites in the United States found the top two cultivars in each trial to yield 9.4 to 22.9 t/ha, with an average yield of 14.6 ODT/ha. However, these yields were recorded on small plot trials, and commercial field sites could be expected to be at least 20% lower than these results. In the United States, switchgrass yields appear to be highest in warm humid regions with long growing seasons such as the US Southeast and lowest in the dry short season areas of the Northern Great Plains.

The energy inputs required to grow switchgrass are favorable when compared with annual seed bearing crops such as corn, soybean, or canola, which can require relatively high energy inputs for field operations, crop drying, and fertilization. Whole plant herbaceous perennial C4 grass feedstocks are desirable biomass energy feedstocks, as they require fewer fossil energy inputs to grow and effectively capture solar energy because of their C4 photosynthetic system and perennial nature. One study cites that it takes from 0.97 to 1.34 GJ to produce 1 tonne of switchgrass, compared with 1.99 to 2.66 GJ to produce 1 tonne of corn. Another study found that switchgrass uses 0.8 GJ/ODT of fossil energy compared to grain corn’s 2.9 GJ/ODT. Given that switchgrass contains approximately 18.8 GJ/ODT of biomass, the energy output-to-input ratio for the crop can be up to 20:1. This highly favorable ratio is attributable to its relatively high energy output per hectare and low energy inputs for production.

Considerable effort is presently being expended in developing switchgrass as a cellulosic ethanol crop in the USA. In George W. Bush’s 2006 State of the Union Address, he proposed using switchgrass for ethanol; since then, over $100 million USD has been invested into researching switchgrass as a potential biofuel source. Switchgrass has the potential to produce up to 380 liters of ethanol per tonne harvested. However, current technology for herbaceous biomass conversion to ethanol is about 340 liters per tonne. In contrast, corn ethanol yields about 400 liters per tonne.^[ The main advantage of using switchgrass over corn as an ethanol feedstock is that its cost of production is generally about 1/2 that of grain corn and more biomass energy per hectare can be captured in the field. Thus, switchgrass cellulosic ethanol should give a higher of ethanol per hectare at lower cost. However, this will depend on whether the cost of constructing and operating cellulosic ethanol plants can be reduced considerably. The switchgrass ethanol industry energy balance is also considered to be substantially better than that of corn ethanol. During the bioconversion process, the lignin fraction of switchgrass can be burned to provide sufficient steam and electricity to operate the biorefinery. Studies have found that for every unit of energy input needed to create a biofuel from switchgrass, four units of energy are yielded. In contrast, corn ethanol yields about 1.28 units of energy per unit of energy input. A recent study from the Great Plains  indicated that for ethanol production from switchgrass, this figure is 5.4, or alternatively, that 540% more energy was contained in the ethanol produced than was used in growing the switchgrass and converting it to liquid fuel. However, there remain commercialization barriers to the development of cellulosic ethanol technology. Projections in the early 1990s for commercialization of cellulosic ethanol by the year 2000have not been met. The commercialization of cellulosic ethanol is thus proving to be a significant challenge, despite noteworthy research efforts.

Thermal energy applications for switchgrass appear to be closer to near-term scale-up than cellulosic ethanol for industrial or small-scale applications. For example, switchgrass can be pressed into fuel pellets that are subsequently burned in pellet stoves used to heat homes (which typically burn corn or wood pellets). Switchgrass has been widely tested as a substitute for coal in power generation. The most widely-studied project to date has been the Chariton Valley Project in Iowa. The Show-Me-Energy Cooperative (SMEC) in Missouri is using switchgrass and other warm-season grasses along with wood residues as feedstocks for pellets used for the firing of a coal-fired power plant. In Eastern Canada, switchgrass is being used on a pilot scale as a feedstock for commercial heating applications. Combustion studies have been undertaken and it appears to be well-suited as a commercial boiler fuel. Research is also being undertaken to develop switchgrass as a pellet fuel because of lack of surplus wood residues in Eastern Canada, as a slowdown in the forest products industry in 2009 is now resulting in wood pellet shortages throughout Eastern North America. Generally speaking, the direct firing of switchgrass for thermal applications can provide the highest net energy gain and energy output-to-input ratio of all switchgrass bioconversion processes. Research has found that switchgrass, when pelletized and used as a solid biofuel, is a good candidate for displacing fossil fuels. Switchgrass pellets were identified to have a 14.6:1 energy output-to-input ratio, which is substantially better than that for liquid biofuel options from farmland. As a greenhouse gas mitigation strategy, switchgrass pellets were found to be an effective means to use farmland to mitigate greenhouse gases. Using farmland to produce switchgrass pellets could mitigate 7.6-13 tonnes per hectare of CO2. In contrast, switchgrass cellulosic ethanol and corn ethanol were found to mitigate 5.2 and 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per hectare, respectively.

Historically, the major constraint to the development of grasses for thermal energy applications has been the difficulty associated with burning grasses in conventional boilers, as biomass quality problems can be of particular concern in combustion applications. These technical problems now appear to have been largely resolved through crop management practices such as fall mowing and spring harvesting that allow for leaching to occur, which leads to fewer aerosol-forming compounds (such as K and Cl) and N in the grass. This reduces clinker formation and corrosion and enables switchgrass to be a clean combustion fuel source for use in smaller combustion appliances. Fall harvested grasses likely have more application for larger commercial and industrial boilers. Switchgrass is also currently being used to heat small industrial and farm buildings in Germany and China through a process used to make a low quality natural gas substitute.

Golf Course with native grass roughs

If you’re a golfer the chances are that you like the look of a well-manicured and highly maintained golf course. I’m pretty sure that you also like extremely green grass that’s cut short because it’s easy to play off.  However, two recent studies from the University of Illinois indicate that a more natural landscape that includes native grasses not only benefits biodiversity, but also saves money by reducing both pesticide and labor costs. At the same time the research shows that courses using native grasses are likely to be just as challenging.

Matthew Mechenes a graduate student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences who conducted the studies states: “One benefit of using native plants is that they are perennial. Because they return year to year, there’s no need for reseeding or replanting. They have fewer insects or disease problems than some exotics, they are more heat and drought resistant because they evolved in Illinois so they are very well adapted to the environment; they attract wildlife for food and forage for many native species; and also they are attractive and colorful.”

Mechenes stressed the economic advantages of using native grasses for golf courses. “Establishing natural areas can reduce water consumption, mowing, pesticide use and labor. It doesn’t eliminate them all together, but it can reduce them and golf course managers like to save on costs.”

Mechenes’ overall aim was to determine which native grasses to use on roughs (those areas along the sides of the fairways or greens having slightly taller grasses). According to Mechenes, “many golf courses don’t have any natural areas as roughs so we are trying to encourage them to consider incorporating them into the course landscape in order to make the course more challenging, but also to improve the setting by providing a more natural look rather than a highly manicured non-native setting.”

The two grasses examined by Mechenes were blue grama and the Cody variety of buffalo grass as both are native to Illinois. “We also used a combination of the two grasses because in previous research done at the University of Illinois it was shown that these two grasses had great promise for use in un-mowed roughs,” said Mechenes.

Mechenes’ first study, examined blue grama cultivars to determine which type provided the best coverage for the plots at the Landscape Horticulture Research Center in Urbana. Each of the plots had either 11 or 13 treatments of blue grama, buffalo grass or a combination of blue grama and buffalo grass. Each trial was repeated three times.

Mechenes went out to visually inspect the plots and rate them by percent of coverage on a weekly basis. The plots had minor irrigation needs and were mowed and applied with herbicide to reduce weed invasion. The first study was planted in the 2006 growing season and was repeated in June 2007. Mechenes said that the study in 2006 didn’t receive a pre-emergent herbicide application and consequently had a lot of weed competition. The study in 2007 received a treatment of the herbicide Plateau and was much taller, greener, healthier-looking grass.

The second study’s goal was to discover which seeding rate provided the best cover using 4 different seeding rates and then repeated 5 times in each plot. 10, 20, 25, and 30 pounds of seed per acre.

“The results showed that blue grama and Cody buffalo grass had the best coverage – thick and beautiful – and that the plots using 30 pounds of seed per acre established quicker but by the end of the study there was no difference in the coverage between the 20 and 30 pounds. So, the recommendation is to use 20 pounds of seed per acre because it’s less seed, costs less and uses less labor to plant,” said Mechenes.

Mechenes plans to create a website which will include information about numerous native grasses that would be appropriate for golf courses as well as information about non-native grasses which are currently used on most golf courses.

Other advantages to planting native grasses mentioned by Mechenes were that they solve some site problems such as areas that have erosion problems which native plants are more adapted to; and, it may be a public relations advantage when golf courses invite school children or scouting groups to come out and observe the natural wildlife, because the native grasses attract more birds and butterflies.

Interpretive reconstruction of Structure 4, phase 1, Dhra', Jordan. The exposed area illustrates the upright stones supporting larger beams, with smaller wood and reeds above, and finally covered by a thick coating of mud. The suspended floor sloped at 7° and served to protect stored foods from high levels of moisture and rodents.

Recent archaeological discoveries in Jordan indicate that grain silos were being constructed some 11,000 years ago.

According to the authors of the paper “The granaries represent a critical evolutionary shift in the relationship between people and plant foods, which precedes the emergence of domestication and large-scale sedentary communities by at least 1,000 years.”

In other words, these sophisticated structures appear to be older than the practice we know as agriculture.

The researchers conclude that the people who built these granaries were not using new food sources. Rather, by developing new/improved storage methods they were able to better utilize their traditional plant-food resources. In doing so, they put in place the required technology that ultimately resulted in the development of domesticated plants.

While the methods for constructing silos (elevators) has definitely changed over the last 11,000 years the reasons for their construction have not, i.e. to keep moisture low and to stop rodent infestations.

The full article can be obtained in .pdf format at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America web site.

Illustration from the original article Evidence for food storage and predomestication granaries 11,000 years ago in the Jordan Valley. Authors – Ian Kuijta  and Bill Finlayson.

Call it a meeting of the minds – minds from universities, farming operations and agribusiness who will come together to learn and share about growing canola on the southern Great Plains.

The Fifth Annual Oklahoma-Kansas Winter Canola Conference is set for July 21 in the Hoover Building at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Enid, OK, said canola breeder Mike Stamm.

Stamm, who works for both Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University, is one of the conference speakers.

The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with registration, coffee and doughnuts. The program starts at 9 a.m.

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Big Bluestem

Besides the obvious reason, TNT is not good for you.

But grass, it turns out, might be dynamite for the problem.

TNT contaminates hundreds of sites, from military firing ranges to old production dumps to waterways, and poses a threat to the human nervous system and to the liver and kidneys. It’s suspected to cause cancer. It can cause allergic reactions and attack the immune system, and it may lead to birth defects.

Left alone in the soil, TNT breaks down into an even more toxic substance.

If the problem is left in the dirt, maybe that’s where the solution can grow.

Three Missouri researchers have hit on an idea that could potentially scrub away the TNT danger: Simply plant the right kind of grass.

The notion started with mounting evidence that native grasses could render harmless a common weed killer.

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