Implications of Biofuel Feedstock Crops for the Livestock Feed Industry in Canada

Abstract

The rapid growth of liquid biofuel production could eventually require three or four times the amount of land currently used to supply the feedstock for biofuels (FAO, 2008). The 2007 US Energy Independence and Security Act set the target for 2022 for national ethanol production at nearly four times the present production. It is predicted that this goal would result in the largest and most rapid changes in land use in history (Sinclair and Sinclair, 2010), especially when combined with the similar changes that can be expected in Canada (Klein and LeRoy, 2007). In spite of the major impact on agriculture that can be expected from such change in land use, biofuels will satisfy a relatively small share of the fuels needed for transportation (FAO, 2008; Karman et al., 2008). Consequently, small increases in the addition of ethanol to gasoline (from 5% to 10%) have meant very large changes in crop distributions (Dufey, 2007; Fritshe et al, 2009). The adoption of 5% biodiesel in Canada could have a similar impact on land use (Dyer et al., 2010a). The increased demand for biofuel may, in turn, lead to higher retail prices for meat and dairy products because of higher livestock feed costs (Zhang and Wetzstein, 2008). Agricultural policy must take the growth of biofuels into account as part of planning for future food security. Since anthropogenic global warming/climate change will likely be the greatest challenge to mankind in the 21st century (thanks to our addiction to oil), renewable energy supply and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are the prime justification for biofuel production (Karman et al., 2008). If properly developed, biofuels can potentially help to reduce fossil CO2 emissions from transport (IEA, 2004; Klein and LeRoy, 2007; Murphy, 2008). Because of the sensitivity of the agricultural resource base to the expansion of biofuel feedstock production, the real potential reduction in GHG emissions from biofuel should take into account any related changes in land use. Such changes should include both the use of the actual land on which the biofuel feedstock was grown and any secondary, or indirect, shifts in land use (Dyer et al., 2011). In addition, land use effects may end up being as important in altering weather as changes in climate patterns associated with GHG buildup (Pielke, 2005). While it is not clear whether the impacts on food production from increased biofuel feedstock production will always be negative, some shrinkage of resources available to