OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 1 Hybrid Poplar Production in Minnesota on a Large Scale Mark Downing Agricultural Economist Oak Ridge National Laboratory OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 2 Acknowledgements A diverse presentation such as this one benefits from years of on-going collaboration with a variety of backgrounds and disciplines and circumstances. I would like to thank: Kate Baldwin, Janet Cushman, Lynn Wright, Anthony Turhollow, Lynn Kszos, Marie Walsh, Bob Perlack, John Stoll, Rick Freeman, Gregg Marland, Robin Graham, Randy Curlee, Rick Pierce, Ron Stoffel, Bob Hansen, Ralph Overend, Teofilo Ozuna, Jonathan Overly, Greg Larson, Dean Schmidt, Ernie Schmitt, Jerry Tuskan, Tom Kroll, Bill Bergusen, Don Riemenschneider, Dan Langseth, Dan Netzer, Terri Lundblad, Sarah Rensink, Sheila Faber, Eric Streed, JoAnn Joannides, Scott Josiah, Burt English, John Ferrell and Steve Hanson. Notwithstanding their invaluable contributions, any mistakes or errors within this presentation remain my own responsibility. The views necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and UT-Battelle.

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 3 MN hybrid poplar Some project history Methodology to collect data Look at cost and yield Current status What’s next

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 4 Background Collaboration Motivation –RD&D –Process –Data collection

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 5 Assumptions ~1500 acres 4 clones planted in landowners Data collection Synthesis and analysis

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 6 Data Caveat May be incomplete May be incorrect or imprecise May be miscalculated May be misleading Annual costs vs field summaries

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 7 Cost of production

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 8 Cost of production offset disk and plow15.00 tandem disk 8.00 disk/chisel15.00 Round- up application19.00 tandem disk cultivate/harrow 8.00 burn down and herbicide as needed10.00 apply Linuron/Lorox34.00 tree stock/ship/store73.00 planting cost (8X8) spacing49.00 first cultivation10.00 second cultivation10.00 third cultivation10.00 herbicide application15.00 AVERAGE COST PER ACRE

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 9 Cost of production Landowner 14Operation1 (1994) (2000) Field size121 YieldPer acre increment Site increment Cumulative per acre Total Cost Site preparationcultivate1941 herbicide2376 Total Preparation4317 MaintenanceStock Plant Total Planting MaintenanceCultivate/mow herbicide insecticide Total Maintenance Average Costs

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OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 12 Yield Weed competition Soil structure Landowner commitment Hand plant vs machine plant Soil variability

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 13 Cost three

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OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 16 Results Project with available data Best of the best clones planted Pesticide/herbicide labeling Collaboration – public/private Synthesis and analysis New clone sampling on site

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 17 Discussion Tough to deal with landowners USDA and DOE funding USDA and DOE policy Data collection is tough Synthesis and analysis

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 18 Now what? Data collection DNR scaling, auction and harvest Highest and best use CRP Research continuity

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