U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory: Mandan, ND
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Employment
                        Work With Us
                                    ARS Vacancies at USDAJOBS
                    Local News
                        INTEGRATOR
                                    Bottom Line Ag SummitSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Plains Area Mandan, North Dakota Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory Research





- Archer, David
- Human Nutrition (107)
- Soil and Air (212)
- Sustainable Agricultural Systems Research (216)

Research Project: **Location:
                            Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory** Project Number: 3064-21600-001-018-R
                        
                        Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement Start Date: Oct 1, 2018
                        
                        End Date: Sep 30, 2024 **Objective:**
                        
                        The objective of this 5-year project is to provide farm-scale data on the biomass productivity of advanced switchgrass cultivars (‘Liberty’ and ‘Independence’) across geographic locations. **Approach:**
                        
                        Data from four field-scale trials in South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois will be assessed with machine learning techniques to determine the relative performance and composition of new switchgrass cultivars compared to traditional switchgrass and corn on land that is marginally-productive for commodity crops. Additionally, small-plot trials will be established near the field-scale trials to compare advanced lines of switchgrass, Miscanthus, prairie cordgrass, and big bluestem that are unavailable commercially. These small-plot trials will provide site-specific data for modeling future biomass production using next-generation cultivars. Research will include application of precision agriculture tools and sensing to assess yield, feedstock composition and logistics, soil quality, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, and water quality and quantity impacts; use high-performance computing to provide a range of optimized yield/marginality tradeoffs; and generate geospatially resolved technoeconomic analyses to quantify opportunities to meet BETO’s cost goal of less than $3/gge. Mandan ARS Co-PI will conduct economic analysis field-scale trials and small plot trials and will link with the modeling portions of the project to conduct analyses of feedstock supply.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov