Do farmers like the idea of fueling as well as feeding

America? Would they like to sell corn stover (corn husks

and stalks) as well as grain for ethanol production? Should

the Department of Energy (DOE) Biofuels Program plan 

on stover being a primary feedstock for cellulosic ethanol?

A recent survey says yes. In July and August of this year,

the Biofuels Program talked to 400 American farmers to see

how they’d feel about selling their stover for ethanol. This

issue of Biofuels News discusses some of the results.

Of the farmers we talked to, 74% would be likely to sell at

least some of their stover for producing ethanol—25% said

they, in fact, already sold corn grain for ethanol production.

The opportunity for additional revenue was clearly the main

motivation as 70% of the farmers said that the chance to

make money was the number one reason for their interest.

Biofuelsnews

Volume 4, Number 3 Fall 2001

“But you’ve got to get a broad-based support 

[for ethanol] all together, not just a few people, 

not just the farmers because they want more 

money for their corn. You’ve got to get the 

whole economy, the whole society geared up 

to that direction.” –Illinois corn farmer

Level of Agreement with Various Statements

Regarding the Harvest of Corn Stover 

Base = All Respondents

Total (n=400)

Strongly Agree (9-10) Somewhat Agree (6-8)

Somewhat Disagree (3-5) Strongly Disagree (1-2)

Don't Know (1%)

Would have to apply more

fertilizer if I harvested 

some of my corn stover

Some residue is required 

to protect the soil from

erosion, some residue 

can be safely removed

Would definely harvest 

stover for the production

of ethanol if there were a 

service to harvest and

transport the stover

Producing ethanol from 

corn stover would benefit 

the farmer, processor, 

and environment

Would have serious 

erosion problems if

I harvested some of 

my corn stover

Would benefit from removing 

some of the corn stover 

because it would allow 

earlier soil warming

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Average

Rating

42% 29% 17% 11% 7.2

33% 42% 19%5% 7.4

28% 33% 26% 12% 6.6

27% 37% 27% 8% 6.7

17% 30% 77% 22% 5.4

15% 50% 28% 21% 5.6

FOCUS ON...

Talking to America’s 

Farmers— 3 out of 4 

Eager for Chance to 

Make Ethanol from 

Corn Stover

Likelihood of Selling at Least Some Corn Stover 

for the Production of Ethanol if Harvested 

at a Reasonable Profit

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not too likely

Not at all likely

Don't know

Base = All Respondents

Total (n=400)

35%

39%

11%

14%

1%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Corel Stock Photo/Barns & Farms

continued on page 2
Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste.

An additional 8% said that they would want to harvest their

stover for ethanol production because it helps us decrease our

dependence on foreign oil, and 7% were interested in selling

their stover because it would provide a new market for corn.

Stewardship of the soil was the biggest reason for farmers’

hesitancy to harvest stover. One in four farmers surveyed

told us they didn’t think they would sell their stover for

ethanol production. When asked to explain why, 35% said

they were concerned about losing nutrients and 34% were

afraid of increased soil erosion. 

Of the farmers in the study who thought that they would

probably harvest their stover if the selling price was right,

the number one concern was that there wouldn’t be an easy

way to transport it (20%). An additional 18% were afraid

that harvesting would take too much time and effort and

17% were worried about losing nutrients. DOE and the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture are working to address

these issues by examining agricultural practices that would

help farmers avoid these problems.

29% of the farmers in the study were planning to harvest

their corn stover this year. Of those farmers, 62% were

planning to use it for animal feed and 36% were planning 

to use it as a bedding material. An additional 15% intended

to use their stover for silage (a livestock feed that’s made by

fermenting crop, forage, or agricultural byproduct materials).

As you might expect, the farmers that were already harvesting their stover had the most positive initial reaction to the

idea of producing ethanol from corn stover. Of the farmers

that expected to harvest their stover this year, 69% had very

positive or somewhat positive initial reactions. Of the farmers that did not expect to harvest their stover, 57% had a

very positive or somewhat positive response.

Animal feed

Bedding

Silage

Don't know

62%

36%

15%

1%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Corn Stover Use Intentions 

(Base = Respondents who plan to harvest at least some corn stover in 2001, n-115)

- All mentions -

Talking to America’s Farmers...continued from page 1

(Base = Respondents who would be "very/somewhat likely" to sell corn stover for ethanol production)

- Mentions of 3% or more -

 Make money/added income 70% 77% 68%

 Depends on the price 8% 9% 8%

 Independence from foreign oil 8% 5% 9%

 

 It is another use for corn 7% 4% 9%

 No need for corn stover on farm 5% 4% 5% 

 Concerned about soil erosion* 3% 4% 2%

 

 * Explains "somewhat likely" response 

 Do Not

 Plan to Harvest

 Corn Stover

in 2001

(n=116)

Plan to Harvest

 Corn Stover

in 2001

(n=82)

Total

(n=298)

Reasons for Being Likely to Harvest at Least

Some Corn Stover for the Production of Ethanol

(Base = Respondents who would be "very/somewhat likely" to sell corn stover for ethanol production)

- Mentions of 3% or more -

 No way to transport 20% 21% 19%

 Too much work/labor/time 18% 16% 19% 

 Lose nutrients/fertilizer 17% 11% 19% 

 Don’t have the equipment 16% 13% 17% 

 Soil erosion 12% 9% 13%

 Weather 9% 17% 6%

 Too expensive to harvest 5% 5% 6% 

 No storage 3% 4% 3% 

 None 20% 23% 19%

 Don't know 4% 4% 4%

 Do Not

 Plan to Harvest

 Corn Stover

in 2001

(n=116)

Plan to Harvest

 Corn Stover

in 2001

(n=82)

Total

(n=298)

Problems Associated with Harvesting Corn Stover

C HECK IT OUT

Biofuels Publications Offer Information 

about Farming and Ethanol from Stover

To learn more about the Biofuels Program’s 

survey of 400 American farmers, see the complete

Bioethanol Fuel Production Concept Study Topline

Report at www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/pdfs/5993.pdf.

For more information about making ethanol from

corn stover, see the Biofuels Program publication:

page 2

“Corn Stover for Bioethanol—Your New Cash Crop?”

www.afdc.doe.gov/pdfs/5199.pdf.

For more information about how biofuels can

affect agriculture, see the fact sheet “Biofuels and

Agriculture-A Fact Sheet for Farmers” at

http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/

farmerfactsheet.pdf.

To learn more about bioethanol production, 

see the publication “Bioethanol-Moving into the

Marketplace” at www.afdc.doe.gov/pdfs/4836.pdf.

Jim Yost, NREL/PIX 10347
MEET THE BIOFUELS STAFF

New Face at DOE Headquarters 

Nohemi Zerbi –

Renewable Diesel Program Manager

In this new column, Biofuels News will introduce you to one of

the Biofuels Program’s staff each issue. 

Nohemi Zerbi joined the Office of Fuels Development

(OFD) in February as Renewable Diesel Program Manager. 

A division of the Office of Transportation Technologies,

OFD manages the Biofuels Program, including ethanol 

technology, feedstock development, and the Regional

Biomass Energy Program, as well as renewable diesel.

As Renewable Diesel Program Manager, Zerbi will

develop, plan, and manage the research and development

program for renewable diesel; coordinate collaboration with

government and nongovernment organizations; and facilitate

technology transfer. Prior to joining DOE, Zerbi was the

Deputy Team Leader for the U.S. Agency for International

Development’s Energy and Environmental Training Program.

She holds a B.S. in chemical engineering and a B.A. in

Spanish, with minors in chemistry and biology. Zerbi is also

a licensed professional planner and engineer-in-training.

Why Stover?

The primary focus of the DOE National Biofuels Program

is developing technology to produce fuel ethanol from the

fibrous sugar polymers—cellulose and hemicellulose—that

make up the bulk of plant matter. Because this technology makes

virtually any biomass material a possible feedstock, it could

greatly expand potential bioethanol production. Conventional

fermentation relies on starches or sugars, such as the starch in

kernels of field corn that is the main feedstock for U.S. fuel

ethanol production.

With this advanced bioethanol technology, liquid transportation fuel can be made from a wide range of materials, 

from municipal or industrial wastes in the near term to specially

grown energy crops of fast-growing trees or grasses in the long

term. Of perhaps the greatest interest, though, are agricultural

and forestry residues, particularly corn stover—the largely

unused stalks and husks of the corn plant. Corn is this country’s

largest crop and per-acre production of stover roughly equals the

amount of grain. Some stover is harvested for animal feed or

bedding but most is either left on the ground or plowed under—

probably more than is needed for erosion control or soil nutrient

value in either case. A stover “crop” requires no additional land

or planting expense and could be easily harvested after—or

eventually jointly with—the grain crop. And it just happens 

to be grown in the same places as current ethanol feedstock,

so it’s ideally located for expansion of existing ethanol plants.

The Biofuels Program emphasizes stover in its research

efforts, anticipating that it will be a key feedstock for future

technology development work. But before we commit more

research efforts to stover, we needed to know if farmers 

want to sell stover for ethanol production. DOE and the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture are currently conducting a

major life-cycle study to determine appropriate stover harvest

levels from erosion, soil quality, and carbon sequestration 

perspectives. However, they also needed to know if there

could be some economic or cultural reasons why farmers

would not want to sell their stover. To do its homework and

to make sure that there were no “showstoppers”—which there

do not appear to be—and to identify key areas for research, 

the Biofuels Program commissioned the survey reported in

this newsletter.

Ethanol Workshops

Overwhelming public interest in ethanol marked the 2001

DOE Ethanol Workshop Series. The workshops, held this

year in Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina,

Utah, and Puerto Rico, work to increase public involvement

in ethanol by facilitating discussions between representatives

from federal and local government, industry, and consumer

groups. For more information about the DOE Ethanol

Workshop Series, visit www.bbiethanol.com/doe.

Renewable Diesel Workshops

A series of DOE Renewable Diesel Workshops are raising

public awareness of the fuel throughout the country.

Speakers at the one-day workshops, held this year in Iowa,

California, and Washington, address subjects that range from

renewable diesel basics and emissions, to production and

success stories. To learn more about the DOE Renewable

Diesel Workshops, please visit www.bbiethanol.com/doe.

PUBLIC FORUMS

Renewable Fuels Workshops

Increase Public Involvement

page 3

Waren Gretz, NREL/PIX 10421
www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/ DOE/GO-102001-1483 Past issues and other related information are available on the Biofuels Program Web site 

www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/subscribe.html. Register your e-mail address to receive electronic notification of future issues at: 

Produced for the National Biofuels Program, Office of Fuels Development, U.S. Department of Energy,

1000 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-1121. 

news Biofuels NONPROFIT

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 258

Golden, Colorado

DOE National Biofuels Program

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

1617 Cole Blvd., MS-1634

Golden, CO 80401

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Earlier this year, DOE used Morgan & Myers, 

a public relations firm with strong ties to the

agricultural community, to interview 400 corn growers in the

top 12 corn-producing states. The researchers wanted to know

how farmers feel about ethanol as a fuel source, what they

think about producing ethanol from corn stover, and how

they perceive DOE and the Biofuels Program. 

Only active farmers who planted at least 300 acres of corn

during 2001 were included in the survey, and the participants

said they planted an average of 653 acres in corn in 2001.

They reported getting an average of 145 bushels of corn per

acre. All of the farmers were between 25 and 65 years old.

Although the farmers in the survey primarily work 

flat land, many (71%) have some rolling land, and some

(43%) are growing part of their crop on highly erodible

land. These farmers are more concerned about run-off 

erosion than they are about wind erosion (70% verses 27%).

Most (85%) are on a crop rotation schedule of corn followed

by another crop and many (45%) practice reduced tillage.

An additional 30% of the farmers surveyed practice conventional-till methods and 25% practice no-till methods.

When it comes to biofuels use, it seems that farmers 

are at the head of the class. When questioned about their

ethanol use, 77% of the farmers in our survey said that they

currently use ethanol blend gasoline in their vehicles, and 

26% reported using E85 or higher blends. Renewable diesel

was also relatively popular with our survey participants,

with 10% saying that they used soy diesel blends in 

their vehicles.

Many of the farmers also report being active in ethanolfrom-grain production. According to our survey, 51% had

attended a meeting to discuss ethanol production, 26% had

sold grain for ethanol production, and a surprising 18% had

actually invested in the construction of an ethanol plant. 

The Biofuels Program’s survey showed that the growers

overwhelmingly supported ethanol production and recognized

its environmental and energy security benefits. On the other

hand, they felt that public information about ethanol is

inadequate. In fact, 26% strongly disagreed and 57% somewhat

disagreed with the statement “the public is well informed

about the benefits of using ethanol as a fuel blend.” 

When asked about the benefits of using ethanol, 68% of

the farmers said that the major benefit was cleaner air and

less pollution, 38% mentioned increased demand for corn, 

34% cited independence from foreign oil, and 34% said it

helped the farm economy. 

Attended a meeting

to discuss ethanol

production

Sold grain specifically

for ethanol production

Invested in the construction

of a facility for producing

ethanol

Percent "Yes"

51%

26%

18%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Grower Involvement in the Production of Ethanol

(Base = All respondents, n=400)

Who Did We Talk To?

page 4