A sizable bioenergy industry could require 25-29 million acres of cropland
Bioenergy crops such as switchgrass are highlighted as a potential alternative source of farm income but there is no market for them at present. USDA economists say 25-29 million acres of cropland, equal to half the area planted to wheat annually, would be needed for a bioenergy crops that would be generate as much electricity as hydropower. That's around 6 percent of U.S. production, if there was a federal bio-electricity policy.