SWITCHGRASS

SWITCHGRASS

Switchgrass ' panicum virgatum', is a perennial plant, this means the

crop needs several years of growth before it is at max production, like

the third year, when you can realize a three or more ton per acre harvest.

Switchgrass is aka Big Blue Stem , Indian Grass and warm season grass.

In 2006 President George W. Bush mentioned switchgrass as a viable

alternate energy source which was going to run our automobiles, heat

our homes, and eliminate our dependency of foreign oil. There were

farmers jumping on the bandwagon to meet the demand anticipated.

After the three year maturity the switchdgrass is harvested after it is dry

and been through several killer freezes , usually early spring. Typical

hay harvest equipment is used to cut and bale the crop. At maturity

the moisture is around 10%.

In 2009 there were thousands of acres of dry warm season grass and

thousands of tons of baled material for the energy market. However,

there was no energy market. The production of cellulose ethanol was

not economical, the processing to pellets was difficult and did not

compete with the wood pellet market and other switchgrass projects

failed.

2016 at Penn State the Warm Season Grass Association formed to

promote, educate, and develop the use of warm grass in all areas of

agriculture. The mushroom and stock bedding people were not interested.

It was found that switchgrass makes an excellent filler for silt socks.

Silt socks are the long snake like thing used to control erosion at building

sites. Traditionally the silt sock is filled with wood barks, sawdust or

mulch and are heavy and hard to handle, plus the filler soon becomes

alkaline.

A silt sock filled with switchgrass is light, easy to handle, is absorbent

but dries quick and does not harm the environment, thus, a market was

developed and today the demand for switchgrass is exceeding the supply.

Abstract: 11/20/18 by Harrison H. from the Delmarva Farmer , Ag

Decisions, November 20, 2018, by Will Brandau, chairman of the

Association of Warm Season Grass Producers who operates a grass farm

in Luzerne County Pennsylvania & Facebook.