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

Abstract

We report 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.

Authors:

Burli, Pralhad Hanumant  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Burli, Pralhad Hanumant"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-4107-8918"

Nguyen, Ruby Thuy  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Nguyen, Ruby Thuy"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-5791-5004"

Hartley, Damon S  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Hartley, Damon S"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-3115-8527"

Griffel, Mike  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Griffel, Mike"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-7600-3126"

Vazhnik, Veronika  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Vazhnik, Veronika"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-5262-4788"

Lin, Yingqian ^[1]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Publication Date:

Tue Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2021

Research Org.:

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office

OSTI Identifier:

1907574

Report Number(s):

INL/JOU-20-58732
Journal ID: ISSN 0360-5442; TRN: US2311914

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC07-05ID14517

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Energy

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 234; Journal Issue: -; Journal ID: ISSN 0360-5442

Publisher:

Elsevier

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

09 BIOMASS FUELS; agent-based model; bioenergy; adoption; farmer characteristics