USDA-ARS Economists/Biophysical Effects Modeling Research Planning Meeting

Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD

November 15-16, 2007

A two-day research planning workshop was held November 15 and 16 at the ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The purpose for this meeting was to develop a short-term ARS research plan combining economics and biophysical effects modeling efforts to assess the impacts of biofuels feedstock production and harvest at scales from field, to whole-farm, to watershed levels, that will then connect with modeling efforts outside of ARS at larger regional and national scales. Secondarily, the meeting provided an opportunity for ARS to interact with researchers from USDA-Economic Research Service, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who have similar modeling and research information needs, and to identify specific collaborative research partnerships.

USDA-ARS participants:

Economist Team: David Archer- Mandan, ND; Gerald Whittaker- Corvallis, OR; Jason Bergtold- Auburn, AL; and Marshall Lamb- Dawson, GA.

Biophysical Modeling Teams: Jeffrey Arnold- Temple, TX; V.R. Reddy- Beltsville, MD; Paul Doraiswami- Beltsville, MD; Hero Gollany- Pendleton, OR; and Liwang Ma- Fort Collins, CO.

National Program Staff: Jeffrey Steiner, Charles Walthall, and Ellen Buckley- Beltsville, MD.

USDA-ERS participants: Marca Weinberg, Robbin Shoemaker, Scott Malcolm, and Marcel Aillery- Washington, D.C.

USDA-NRCS participants: Kevin Ingram- Beltsville, MD; Felix Spinelli- Washington, D.C.

EPA participants: Donna Perla- Washington, D.C.; Randy Bruins- Cincinnati, OH; Tim Johnson, Rebecca Dodder and Betsy Smith- Research Triangle Park, NC; and Bob Ambrose- Athens, GA.

Biofuel Feedstock Production Economics (pdf)
National Soil Dynamics Laboratory
USDA-ARS, Auburn, AL

Model Descriptions (pdf)