View in EDS

Farmer characteristics and decision-making: A model for bioenergy crop adoption.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Farmer characteristics and decision-making: A model for bioenergy crop adoption.
Authors: Burli, Pralhad H.1 (AUTHOR) pralhad.burli@inl.gov, Nguyen, Ruby T.2 (AUTHOR) ruby.nguyen@inl.gov, Hartley, Damon S.1 (AUTHOR) damon.hartley@inl.gov, Griffel, L. Michael1 (AUTHOR) mike.griffel@gmail.com, Vazhnik, Veronika1 (AUTHOR) veronikavazhnik@uidaho.edu, Lin, Yingqian1 (AUTHOR) yingqian.lin@inl.gov
Source: Energy. Nov2021, Vol. 234, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subjects: Energy crops, Crop residues, Market design & structure (Economics), Farmers, Decision making, Crops
Geographic Terms: Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado
Abstract: The commercial development of biofuels and bioproducts depends on whether renewable biomass feedstock is available while not directly competing with the production of food. Farmers are one of the most important stakeholders in the biofuel supply chain and confront a range of uncertainties while entering the bioenergy market. Their decision-making process is extremely complex and rarely purely rational. Modeling farmer behavior requires considering a wide range of individual-level factors, socio-temporal dynamics, institutional settings, and their interactions. These characteristics make agent-based modeling a suitable framework for evaluating such systems. We developed a model to simulate farmer bioenergy crop adoption behavior across a 50-county study region in Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado. The analysis considers adoption decisions for two bioenergy feedstocks, crop residues and energy crops. We examine the influence of individual and farm characteristics, market structure, social networks, and media influence on farmer adoption decisions. Our results indicate that different factors can have varied impacts on the speed of adoption for the crop residues and energy crops. Identifying levers that have the most impact on grower adoption can inform the design of interventions both from policy and private sector standpoints with important implications for the future the bioenergy industry. • Farmer adoption rates vary widely for crop residues and energy crops. • Social networks and market structure influence adoption for both feedstocks. • Information dissemination has a positive impact for energy crop adoption. • Combining interventions can accelerate farmer adoption substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Energy is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Description
Abstract:The commercial development of biofuels and bioproducts depends on whether renewable biomass feedstock is available while not directly competing with the production of food. Farmers are one of the most important stakeholders in the biofuel supply chain and confront a range of uncertainties while entering the bioenergy market. Their decision-making process is extremely complex and rarely purely rational. Modeling farmer behavior requires considering a wide range of individual-level factors, socio-temporal dynamics, institutional settings, and their interactions. These characteristics make agent-based modeling a suitable framework for evaluating such systems. We developed a model to simulate farmer bioenergy crop adoption behavior across a 50-county study region in Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado. The analysis considers adoption decisions for two bioenergy feedstocks, crop residues and energy crops. We examine the influence of individual and farm characteristics, market structure, social networks, and media influence on farmer adoption decisions. Our results indicate that different factors can have varied impacts on the speed of adoption for the crop residues and energy crops. Identifying levers that have the most impact on grower adoption can inform the design of interventions both from policy and private sector standpoints with important implications for the future the bioenergy industry. • Farmer adoption rates vary widely for crop residues and energy crops. • Social networks and market structure influence adoption for both feedstocks. • Information dissemination has a positive impact for energy crop adoption. • Combining interventions can accelerate farmer adoption substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:03605442
DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2021.121235