Corn Stover to fuel
Every fall, Eric
Woodford makes dozens of house calls to
deliver bundles of joy throughout southwest
Minnesota. In Woodford’s case, the bundles
come wrapped in nylon net and weigh in at a
cool 1,250 pounds.
For 10 years, Eric has operated Woodford
Custom, Inc., a custom baling business,
from his rural Redwood Falls farm. His crew
harvested 14,000 corn-stalk bales last year,
primarily for cattle feedlot bedding. They also
produce thousands of hay bales each season.
The biomass harvesting has been profitable.
But Woodford sees more potential in “corn
stalks for other uses like bio-energy, ethanol
and paper.”
Value in the field
Woodford says there is an abundance
of unused crop residue that could be an
inexpensive energy source.
Most corn stalks are plowed back into the soil
for their nutritive value and to enhance soil
tilth. However, there is often more residue
than the soil requires, Woodford says. This
residue could be harvested like a second crop.
For example, it takes roughly 150 pounds
of corn stover to generate one million Btu
— equal to the Btu-value of 11 gallons of
propane, Woodford says. With propane selling
for around $1.15 per gallon, a $25 bale of
corn stalks weighing 1,250 pounds has an
equivalent Btu value of more than $100.
The value increases as the cost of propane
and other fuels goes up.
