Understanding Grower Motivations and Constraints
The Northwest’s emerging biofuels industry offers enormous opportunities for future growers. However, as with any innovation, growing feedstock for biofuels production is challenging. It entails new and different farming and management practices. We are exploring both what will motivate a grower and the constraints growers might face when producing feedstock.
As part of our research, we have talked with biofuels scientists and experts all across the region in order to learn about state of the art feedstock production practices, and to understand both the opportunities for growers as well as barriers they might face. We are also talking with potential growers (primarily farmers and riparian buffer plantation owners) to make sure we understand their perceived benefits, their motivations, and their anticipated barriers. Based on this information, we will be able to identify the most important motivations and constraints, as well the impact, probability, and penetration of feedstock production practices.
Interviews and survey results will help develop blueprint marketing plans for growers to facilitate the adoption and diffusion of feedstock production practices in the Pacific Northwest.
