¦ADVANCED BIOFUELS
STEP RIGHT IN: Woodford’s biomass harvesting business is built on his own innovations and the demand for ag residue. He predicts 2013 machine sales will be great.
USA MADE
20 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2013
endeavor. “This is a cellulosic ethanol facility that is going to consume material 365 days per year.” Because of that, Wirt and his team have devised two strategies for growers and harvesters. Option one allows independent growers and harvesters to supply the feedstock directly to the facility, and option two, the custom model, means Poet-DSM will align the baling, staging and transportation for the grower. “Each farmer is different and we are trying to find ways to make each farmer comfortable,” Wirt says. He anticipates, however, that a certain option will dominate the feedstock supply process. “Much like we see on the wheat run every year with a lot of custom harvesters combining grain, we believe in corn country we will see the direct opposite. A lot of farmers will harvest their crops, but they will look for somebody to custom bale it for them.” The round-bale machinery designed for corn residue will cost roughly $45,000, and a new square baler will be $120,000. And, each harvester will have to figure out how to pick up and stage the bales at the field’s edge. “Most people are buying accumulators,” Wirt says. A towable unit will run around $15,000-30,000 and a self-pow-
ered unit will cost $150,000-200,000. And, a harvester will need a tractor. Most importantly, Wirt wants potential harvesters to understand that they are building a business plan for the long term. As for compensation, Wirt says it all depends on who is sitting across the table from the harvester. If the grower retains responsibility of the feedstock supply, he will pay the harvester, but if Poet-DSM is contracted to handle it, Poet will provide the compensation. The actual dollar amount each harvester will receive for their time and effort will be different for each case as well. In some cases, existing farming operations that depend on corn and soybean income, can run a harvesting business on the back-end, utilizing existing equipment like tractors or semi-trailers for harvest or transport, a scenario that might allow for a smaller compensation due to lowered operating costs and upfront investment. In other cases, Wirt says, there are harvesters who have moved back to the region (remember Woodford) just to harvest ag residue. Kyle Elbert did just that. In addition to helping his father run their farm a few days a year, Elbert has started a biomass harvesting and handling business that in-