ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF WOODY BIOMASS HARVESTING IN SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI Francisco X Aguilar, Adam Saunders, John Dwyer, Hank Stelzer Department of Forestry University of Missouri Forest Products Society Annual Convention Madison, WI June, 2010
Objectives 1. Conduct integrated harvest: solid hardwood products & woody biomass 2. Determine average harvest costs per ton of wood product: woody biomass (fuel chips) 3. Identify woody biomass break-even points and system cost sensitivity
Study Site
Research Design Silvicultural treatments (29.86 acres) No. of plots Area (acres) Single tree selection (BA retention=35 ft 2 ) 2 5.87 Single tree selection (BA retention=48 ft 2 ) 2 5.91 Single tree selection (BA retention=58 ft 2 ) 2 5.74 Shelterwood (75 feet width, BA retention=40 ft 2 ) 8 6.90 Shelterwood (150 feet width, BA retention=40 ft 2 ) 4 6.24 Control 2 5.95
Integrated Solid Hardwood Products and Woody Biomass (fuel chips) Harvesting Equipment suite: Feller-buncher harvester, Skidder Knuck boom loader Chipper Log truck SHP Woody biomass Harvest: June 6th and July 15th, 2009
Data Collection and Analysis Time-in-motion information collected with Yellow Activity Monitoring equipment Data entered in General Ground-based Harvesting. Field observations collected to: a) Estimate the percentage of time each piece of equipment worked directly with fuel chip material. b) Track the amount of volume removed from each treatment plot.
Results
Species composition and diameter class
Products harvested Harvest recorded at the mill using two metrics: board feet (BF) and tonnage (ton). An estimated 1,067 tons of solid hardwood products and 463 tons of fuel chips were removed from the site
Harvest equipment costs for solid hardwood products and fuel chips. Equipment Cost per ton Cost per ton SHWP fuel chips Feller Buncher $1.43 $2.88 Skidder $1.41 $2.84 Loader $1.14 $1.89 Chipper $0.00 $4.43 Total $3.98 $12.04 Cost estimates are preliminary and subject to change
Hauling costs observed for the log truck and assumed for the chip van Log Truck Chip Van Fixed Costs $733.55 $733.55 Variable Costs $3,205.88 $3,045.96 Labor Costs $2,250.00 $1,950.00 Total miles 3341 3240 Cost per mile $1.85 $1.77 Average payload (tons) 28.35 25.71 Cost per Ton-Mile $0.065 $0.069 Average cost per ton $5.74 $12.39 Cost estimates are preliminary and subject to change
Total Cost Estimate for Solid Hardwood Products and Fuel Chips. Costs Cost per ton SHWP Cost per ton Fuel Chips Harvest Equipment Costs $3.98 $12.04 Harvest Labor Costs $5.69 $5.69 Hauling Costs $5.74* $12.00** Stumpage Costs $9.95 $5.00 Total $25.36 $34.73 SHWP: Solid Hardwood Products *Assumes a round trip hauling distance of 88 miles **Assumes a contract hauling service is used with round trip hauling distance of 180 miles Stumpage: $100 per MBF Cost estimates are preliminary and subject to change
Revenue streams from harvest. Total revenues: $45,033.34
Balance sheet of harvest revenues, costs and profit/loss SHWP Fuel Chips Revenue /ton $32.64 $26.00 Harvest Equipment Cost per ton ( - ) $3.98 $12.04 Harvest Labor Cost per ton ( - ) $5.69 $5.69 Hauling cost per ton ( - ) $5.74* $12.00** Stumpage cost per ton ( - ) $9.95 $5.00 Profit/loss per Ton ( = ) $7.28 $-8.73 Total Tons ( * ) 1,066.66 462.78 Total Profit/loss ( = ) $7,765.28 $-4,040.07 Grand Total Profit/loss (+) $3,725.21 SHWP: Solid hardwood products *Assumes a round trip hauling distance of 88 miles **Assumes a contract hauling service is used with round trip hauling distance of 180 miles Cost estimates are preliminary and subject to change
Effects of increases in total harvest equipment purchase price Observed Fuel Wood-chips stumpage cost Cost estimates are preliminary and subject to change
Effects of increases in stumpage cost paid for fuel chips Observed Fuel Wood-chips stumpage cost All other cost components remain fixed including; harvest costs, hauling costs, and overhead/profit/risk. This analysis assumes a fuel price of $2.50 per gallon of off-road diesel. Cost estimates are preliminary and subject to change
Final Remarks (1) Figures should be used with caution. Region and site specific! Cost of fuel chips at landing: $22.73 per ton (excludes hauling). Total cost of fuel chips at delivery point: $34.73 per ton (90 mile one-way). Observed priced yielded a net loss of $8.73 per ton. System sensitive to equipment costs and stumpage prices.
Final Remarks (2) Lack of markets for fuel chips: lower product prices due to increased hauling costs. Small-acreage harvest, limited ability to capture efficiency improvements. Future estimates: Minimum acreage/volume to harvest & maximum hauling distance.
Acknowledgments Missouri Agricultural Small Business Development Authority Missouri Forest Products Association Missouri Department of Conservation University of Missouri Research Council
Francisco X. Aguilar, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Forestry School of Natural Resources University of Missouri aguilarf@missouri.edu