DRESDEN, Ont. — It’s been eight years since Charles Forman became interested in switchgrass.
He and his partner at SwitchGreen now think they have a winner with Veggy Mulch.
Test marketing of the pelleted product is set to begin this spring.
It’s likely too expensive for a commercial farming operation, but Forman sees a niche market opportunity.
“We think home gardeners are going to be the biggest users,” Forman said.
“It’s unbelievable how clean you can keep your vegetables with this, and it breaks down in the soil to build organic matter.”
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The pellets are produced in Forman’s small, on-farm mill.
He recommended spreading them around plants that are planted as plugs or have emerged from seed. They have been spread 2 1/2 centimetres deep in experiments at his family’s market garden.
A little rain helps the material expand substantially, but most of it decomposes by fall.
The mulch helps keep weeds at bay because it acts as a barrier. It also keeps soil cool and moist.
Unlike wood mulch, the switchgrass pellets don’t have a substantial impact on the availability of nitrogen. Forman said other materials might eventually be added to the mix, such as feather meal or red clover.
Many of Ontario’s 2,000 switchgrass growers see animal bedding as the biggest opportunity for the crop.
Forman said there’s also potential as an energy crop and for industrial applications.
Biomass pellets continue to be in demand in Europe, where carbon credits are available. He said a similar market could emerge if these were available in North America, but it would likely also need a deep-pocketed investment commitment.
Forman grows 25 acres of the crop in a drought-prone location where conventional crops proved to be a losing proposition. It yields 3.5 to five tons per acre with few costs beyond those for harvesting, processing and transport.
“Even in the driest of summers, it just wants to grow.”
Forman has previously marketed switchgrass for heating purposes by combining a small amount of the crop with waste wood. He said his investment hasn’t been a drain on the 2,500 acre farm that he operates with his wife, Christine, and son Ben near Kingston, Ont.
Along with their market garden, they grow grain corn, soybeans, wheat, hybrid rye, millet and canola.
SwitchGreen is a 50-50 partnership between Forman and David Hendrick, who is chief executive officer of Sevita International, which specializes in the food grade, non-genetically modified soybean market.
