Evaluating Local Crop Residue Biomass Supply: Economic and Environmental Impacts David W. Archer & Jane M. F. Johnson Published online: 29 January 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. (outside the USA) 2012 Abstract The increasing interest in energy production from biomass requires a better understanding of potential local production and environmental impacts. This information is needed by local producers, biomass industry, and other stakeholders, and for larger scale analyses. This study mod- els biomass production decisions at the field level using a case example of a biomass gasification facility constructed at the University of Minnesota—Morris (UMM). This institutional-scale application has an anticipated feedstock demand of about 8,000 Mg year -1 . The model includes spatial impacts due to sub-field variation in soil character- istics and transportation costs. Results show that the amount of biomass producers could profitably supply within a 32.2- km radius of UMM increases as plant-gate biomass price increases from $59 to $84 Mg -1 , with 588,000 Mg annual biomass supply at $84 Mg -1 . Results also show that the most profitable tillage and crop rotation practices shift in response to increasing biomass price with producers shifting from a corn-soybean rotation toward continuous corn. While biomass harvest is conducive to increased soil erosion rates and reduced soil organic carbon levels, changes in crop production practices are shown to at least partially offset these impacts. Transportation costs tend to concentrate and intensify biomass production near the biomass facility, which also tends to concentrate environmental impacts near the facility. Keywords Bioenergy . Gasification . Crop rotation . Tillage . Corn stover . Cellulosic biomass . Soil organic carbon . Soil erosion Abbreviations CP Chisel plow ST Strip-tillage C Corn SB Soybean SW Spring wheat CC Continuous corn UMM University of Minnesota—Morris SOC Soil organic carbon CDL Cropland data layer EPIC Environmental Policy Integrated Climate SSURGO Soil Survey Geographic Introduction Demand for biomass as a renewable energy source in the USA is projected to increase in order to meet liquid fuel need under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 [1] requirements and in response to state mandates for renewable energy. Use of corn grain (Zea mays L.) for biofuel has been shown to have negative impacts on the landscape and its provision of ecosystem services [2]. Use of biomass for bioenergy could reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, and use of crop residues may be particularly attractive since they are joint products with grain production and are less likely to lead to expansion of crop production in USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. D. W. Archer (*) Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Mandan, ND, USA e-mail: david.archer@ars.usda.gov J. M. F. Johnson North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Morris, MN, USA Bioenerg. Res. (2012) 5:699–712 DOI 10.1007/s12155-012-9178-2