Steve Hunt (Bio Global Industries Ltd.) discusses the barriers for biomass products and end-uses at the Biomass Connect Demonstration Event at the Newcastle Cockle Park Farm Demonstrator Hub.
Theme 3: Biomass products and end-uses
There was on display a range of biomass products including fencing poles from black locust, Miscanthus bedding materials, compost, willow, wood chip, briquettes, and pellets. Discussion focused on these products, markets, challenges and opportunities and future uses of biomass.
Steve Hunter from Bio Global Industries (BGI) provided a summary of the group discussion, noting that:
a major barrier was finding markets for biomass products. With woodchip, there is a limited market, mainly local biomass stations, or biomass boilers, and very few local markets. Miscanthus is mostly used for animal bedding and supplied to specific boilers that can utilise the material. smallholder farmers find it difficult to tie in with industry, who require large volumes of biomass. It’s a chicken and egg situation, as markets and alternative end-uses of biomass products are needed to encourage the growing of biomass crops.
Yit Arn Teh (Newcastle University) discusses integrating biomass crops into current farm practices at the Biomass Connect Newcastle Demonstration Event.
Theme 1: Integrating biomass crops into current farm practices Quick wins, easy opportunities and low-hanging fruit
The ease of integration may depend on how similar or different the specific crop or practice is to current management. For example, grassy biomass crops are likely to be more easily integrated into current farming practices given that their biology/physiology is more like that of arable crops and the equipment needed to manage them is also similar; this means that farmers will require less investment of time or money to incorporate these grassy crops into their farming practice. Integration of woody biomass crops could be more challenging if the planting schemes are very different from current practices; for example, it may be more difficult to convince farmers to use woody biomass crops in a silvoarable agroforestry planting scheme (unfamiliar/new use) compared to using these plants for hedgerows and shelterbelts (familiar/”conventional” use).
Use of biomass crops for marginal fields may be an easy sell, provided that the benefits or income that farmers receive from biomass crops outweigh any costs.
Some farmers are currently using grassy biomass crops (e.g. Miscanthus, reed canary grass) for bird shelter for game birds. Many farmers are familiar with the need for riparian zone management and the use of woody plants to manage water quality and reduce soil erosion around riverbanks; the use of biomass crops for this purpose would fit within existing paradigms and management frameworks.
Given the high price of straw and problems around weed management, biomass crops may represent a good alternative for producing animal bedding.
Jeanette Whitaker (UKCEH) discusses the barriers and challenges of biomass crop production at the Biomass Connect Newcastle Demonstration Event
Theme 2: Barriers and Challenges of biomass crop production
Economic barriers – concerns regarding what profit can be made from growing biomass crops. Many of the crops are harvested every 3 years, or even longer with short rotation forestry (SRF), and that is a big shift in cash flow for farmers who are used to having annual returns and also due to the large upfront investment.
Do people prefer to grow food and plant trees? (concerns over food versus fuel and competition for land).
Land tenure/ownership – biomass tree crops stay in the ground for the long term (15-20 years), limiting farmers’ decisions if they have a short-term tenancy.
Lack of knowledge and awareness – most people don’t know about the benefits of biomass crops, the pros and cons, and how they can be used. Lack of professional support or advice because it is a small sector. There is not much capacity for producing large-scale planting materials, and not much equipment for contracting planting and harvesting, which limits scale-up.
Prof. Yit Arn Teh from Newcastle University gave an informative talk on multifunctional landscapes, biomass crops, and end-uses. His talk focused on how to design farms that are multifunctional, and the benefits and trade-offs of multifunctional landscapes. He noted that perennial biomass crops have the potential to reverse soil carbon loss, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and have higher biodiversity than arable crops or pasture grass. He provided insight on the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate of having 10% of all jet fuel on biofuels by 2030, and the need to produce more biomass feedstock for use in aviation fuels if this mandate is to be met.
Prof. Jeanette Whitaker, project lead for Biomass Connect gave an overview of the Biomass Connect project at our recent Demonstration Event at the Newcastle University Cockle Park Farm Demonstrator Hub. She emphasised the need for more homegrown biomass feedstock for renewable energy for heat, power and transport, and other end-uses.
As part of the Biomass Connect project ornithologist and wildlife detective Ed Drewitt (along with BC team member Kevin Lindegaard of Crops for Energy) have been making informal bird surveys at Langaller Farm in Somerset where they grow the biomass crop Miscanthus and at Umberleigh Barton Farm in Devon where they grow willow as a biomass crop. This latest survey was filmed over a few days in June.
Farmland bird populations have been declining for decades as a result of farming practices (large monocultures of food crops, use of insecticides and herbicides) and more recently climate change. Perennial biomass crops such as willow and Miscanthus could potentially help reverse this trend by providing feeding opportunities, roosting habitats and wildlife corridors. There are many scientific journal articles that cover this subject in depth. However, the evidence of the potential benefits has as yet not been sufficient for biomass crops to be embraced as a solution by environmental and conservation bodies.
Harvesting 8 year old RCG in June 2024, Dorset, England
As part of the Biomass Connect project ornithologist and wildlife detective Ed Drewitt (along with BC team member Kevin Lindegaard of Crops for Energy) have been making informal bird surveys at Langaller Farm in Somerset where they grow the biomass crop Miscanthus and at Umberleigh Barton Farm in Devon where they grow willow as a biomass crop. This latest survey was filmed over a few days in March.
Farmland bird populations have been declining for decades as a result of farming practices (large monocultures of food crops, use of insecticides and herbicides) and more recently climate change. Perennial biomass crops such as willow and Miscanthus could potentially help reverse this trend by providing feeding opportunities, roosting habitats and wildlife corridors. There are many scientific journal articles that cover this subject in depth. However, the evidence of the potential benefits has as yet not been sufficient for biomass crops to be embraced as a solution by environmental and conservation bodies.
More Information
Willow Biodiversity: https://www.biomassconnect.org/technical-articles/effect_of_willow_on_biodiversity/
Miscanthus Biodiversity: https://www.biomassconnect.org/technical-articles/environmental-and-biodiversity-impacts-of-miscanthus-plantations/
How Chester Zoo is growing, harvesting and using willow for its animals.
Farmland bird populations have been declining for decades as a result of farming practices (large monocultures of food crops, use of insecticides and herbicides) and more recently climate change. Perennial biomass crops such as willow and miscanthus could potentially help reverse this trend by providing feeding opportunities, roosting habitats and wildlife corridors. There are many scientific journal articles that cover this subject in depth. However, the evidence of the potential benefits has as yet not been sufficient for biomass crops to be embraced as a solution by environmental and conservation bodies. Similarly, policy makers have so far not incorporated these crops as a feature in Sustainable Farming schemes.
As part of the Biomass Connect project, we have produced two short films looking at birds in and around willow and Miscanthus crops in Devon and Somerset. The films feature ornithologist and wildlife detective Ed Drewitt (along with BC team member Kevin Lindegaard of Crops for Energy) and were filmed in mid-November with a dawn and dusk survey at each site. A short report showing all the birds encountered at each site has also been produced.
The films and report indicate that these crops are being used by a wide range of bird species both for feeding and roosting. The plan is to return to these sites in the spring and summer of 2024 to see what birds are using the crops at these times.
More Information
Willow Biodiversity: https://www.biomassconnect.org/technical-articles/effect_of_willow_on_biodiversity/
Miscanthus Biodiversity: https://www.biomassconnect.org/technical-articles/environmental-and-biodiversity-impacts-of-miscanthus-plantations/