New Agronomist Brings Miscanthus Expertise to Iowa State

AMES, Iowa — After only a handful of weeks in Ames, one of the newest faculty members of the Iowa State University Department of Agronomy is generating a buzz. Production biomass agronomist Emily Heaton is touting the benefits of the perennial grass miscanthus. And she should know; Heaton is one of the only people in the U.S. to have any published research on the topic. "You'll see more and more about this crop as time goes on," Heaton said. "I call it northern sugarcane. It's a great biomass producer." Heaton is the lead researcher of a study conducted in Illinois on the large perennial grass that can obtain heights of more than 12 feet. An article she published this summer in Global Change Biology reports miscanthus produces 2.5 times more biomass per acre than local varieties of switchgrass. The research also shows miscanthus could potentially produce enough ethanol to meet the nation's renewable fuel goals for 2016 by substituting miscanthus on the land currently producing corn grain for ethanol. Additionally, the research shows miscanthus would require fewer inputs, grows well in less-than-perfect soils and is able to convert more atmospheric carbon dioxide into carbon in the soil than corn or soybeans. "As you go farther south in our field trials, miscanthus seems to actually grow better despite the degradation in soil quality," said Heaton. One of the key advantages miscanthus has over annual crops, such as corn, is the long growing season. When corn is being planted in the Midwest, miscanthus has already been growing for six weeks. And while corn and beans start shutting down by the first of September, miscanthus grows until the first killing frost that could be late October in Iowa and Illinois. "This will be a key tool in the mix of plants that will be needed to produce fuel from biomass," said Heaton. "It gives the Midwest a high output crop that can complement other potential sources of biofuels such as sugarcane in the south." Heaton joined the agronomy faculty with research and extension responsibilities at Iowa State in August after working for Ceres, a plant genetics company in California that specializes in biomass crops for fuel. Her research on miscanthus and other biomass crops started as a graduate student at the University of Illinois where she obtained her doctorate. "The more I talked with the agronomists at Iowa State, the more I liked the questions they were asking," said Heaton. "The focus on developing systems was a big draw." Heaton expects to benefit from the big picture questions being asked at Iowa State as well as from her extensive experience with collaborative efforts. In her previous position, she set up field trials for switchgrass varieties at land grant institutions across the nation. Research on miscanthus will continue at Iowa State as part of the crop production component of the New Century Farm biofuels systems research. The New Century Farm is the first integrated, sustainable biofuel and bioproduct feedstock demonstration farm in the nation that the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is building west of Ames. Heaton says she wants to take advantage of the university environment that will allow her to focus on a holistic approach to biomass production, especially in the area of biofuels. "If we are going to produce both feed and fuel on our crop land, we have to start using more of the growing season," said Heaton. "As we start creating farms dedicated to producing energy, the big players, the petroleum companies, are going to be asking for long-term returns on their investment. Farmers are going to have to know a lot about their land "“ what areas produce well and what will consistently grow where. It will take a well managed mix of crops, but farmers will be rewarded for their knowledge."