Expanded processing of agricultural products in rural areas has been widely pursued as a strategy for rural economic development. By adding value to farm products before they leave the area, new processing plants can create new employment opportunities and generate economic spinoffs in rural...

The corn grain ethanol industry experienced rapid growth from 2005- 07. U.S. financial markets obliged and supplied credit at reasonable cost and terms which facilitated this expansion. Now, the biofuel industry is being challenged to nearly triple production under recently passed federal...

To assess the value of biofuels, the environmental costs of their production must be compared with the benefits of displacing fossil fuel. This article focuses on the environmental impacts of biofuel cropping systems and calculates net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using life cycle analysis....

This study examines how the introduction of dedicated energy crops—switchgrass and forage sorghum—may affect Arkansas’ crop allocation decisions. The study captures crop production practices at the county or crop reporting district level. Results are in a static equilibrium framework and...

This article develops a dynamic micro-economic land use model to identify the cost-effective allocation of cropland for traditional row crops and perennial grasses and the mix of cellulosic feedstocks needed to meet pre-determined biofuel targets over the 2007-2022 period. Yields of perennial...

This article addresses development of the Illinois ethanol industry through the period 2007-2022, responding to the ethanol production mandates of the Renewable Fuel Standard by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The planning for corn-based and cellulosic ethanol production requires...