Biomass Survey - Questions for Farmers

We are a group of graduate students surveying biomass production and utilization and its economic, social and environmental impacts on society. Sustainability is a key to withstand extreme environmental conditions and control everlasting climate change in today's world. We have created this survey solely based on your interests and expertise. We believe your contribution to this survey will be of great help in understanding the current status of biomass production and its economic and environmental impacts.

Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Macdonald Campus:
Mohammed Antar - Ph.D. Student
Dongmei Lyu - Ph.D. Student
Mahtab Nazari - Ph.D. Student
Ateeq Shah - MSc Student

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* 1. Your affiliation

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* 2. Your location

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* 3. What is your area of interest related to biomass utilization?

Biomass production

Bioheat/biopower utilization

Transportation biofuel

High-value bioproducts

Other (please specify)

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* 4. Canada is one of the most resource-based countries globally but is still far behind in biomass and biofuel production as an underpinning to the overall bioeconomy. Please rank the following in terms of importance for addressing this shortfall, from 1 to 5, where 1 is the most important and 5 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4	5
Insufficient government encouragement through legislation	Insufficient government encouragement through legislation 1	Insufficient government encouragement through legislation 2	Insufficient government encouragement through legislation 3	Insufficient government encouragement through legislation 4	Insufficient government encouragement through legislation 5
Excessive regulation	Excessive regulation 1	Excessive regulation 2	Excessive regulation 3	Excessive regulation 4	Excessive regulation 5
Insufficient government encouragement through subsidies and other financings	Insufficient government encouragement through subsidies and other financings 1	Insufficient government encouragement through subsidies and other financings 2	Insufficient government encouragement through subsidies and other financings 3	Insufficient government encouragement through subsidies and other financings 4	Insufficient government encouragement through subsidies and other financings 5
Insufficient research and development	Insufficient research and development 1	Insufficient research and development 2	Insufficient research and development 3	Insufficient research and development 4	Insufficient research and development 5
Poor public perception	Poor public perception 1	Poor public perception 2	Poor public perception 3	Poor public perception 4	Poor public perception 5

Other (please specify)

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* 5. The followings are actions that consumers/producers/farmers/stakeholders could take to enhance biomass production and utilization. Please rank these actions in terms of importance for enhancing biomass production and utilization, from 1 to 4, where 1 is the most important and 4 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4
Inform their sector as much as possible, including organizing meetings, etc.	Inform their sector as much as possible, including organizing meetings, etc. 1	Inform their sector as much as possible, including organizing meetings, etc. 2	Inform their sector as much as possible, including organizing meetings, etc. 3	Inform their sector as much as possible, including organizing meetings, etc. 4
Encourage politicians to consider and support the development of this sector	Encourage politicians to consider and support the development of this sector 1	Encourage politicians to consider and support the development of this sector 2	Encourage politicians to consider and support the development of this sector 3	Encourage politicians to consider and support the development of this sector 4
Promote utilization of biobased energy and other bio-materials	Promote utilization of biobased energy and other bio-materials 1	Promote utilization of biobased energy and other bio-materials 2	Promote utilization of biobased energy and other bio-materials 3	Promote utilization of biobased energy and other bio-materials 4
Encourage related research	Encourage related research 1	Encourage related research 2	Encourage related research 3	Encourage related research 4

Other (please specify)

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* 6. Would you be willing to attend a training course, workshops or study-tours regarding biomass and biofuel production? If yes, which aspects you like to consider? If no, what is your concern?

Yes (Please explain)

No (Please explain)

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* 7. What are the best crops, economically, for use in Canadian biomass and/or advanced (biomass-based) biofuel production? Please rank those listed below from 1 to 6, where 1 is the most important and 6 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	N/A
Corn	Corn 1	Corn 2	Corn 3	Corn 4	Corn 5	Corn 6	Corn N/A
Switchgrass	Switchgrass 1	Switchgrass 2	Switchgrass 3	Switchgrass 4	Switchgrass 5	Switchgrass 6	Switchgrass N/A
Wheat	Wheat 1	Wheat 2	Wheat 3	Wheat 4	Wheat 5	Wheat 6	Wheat N/A
Canola	Canola 1	Canola 2	Canola 3	Canola 4	Canola 5	Canola 6	Canola N/A
Soybean	Soybean 1	Soybean 2	Soybean 3	Soybean 4	Soybean 5	Soybean 6	Soybean N/A
Barley	Barley 1	Barley 2	Barley 3	Barley 4	Barley 5	Barley 6	Barley N/A

Other (please specify)

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* 8. What are the main issues in the utilization of agricultural biomass production to power the bioeconomy? Please rank the list of the potential problems below from 1 to 4, where 1 is the most important and 4 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4
Food security	Food security 1	Food security 2	Food security 3	Food security 4
Adapting to climate change	Adapting to climate change 1	Adapting to climate change 2	Adapting to climate change 3	Adapting to climate change 4
Mitigating climate change	Mitigating climate change 1	Mitigating climate change 2	Mitigating climate change 3	Mitigating climate change 4
Sustainable sources of energy	Sustainable sources of energy 1	Sustainable sources of energy 2	Sustainable sources of energy 3	Sustainable sources of energy 4

Other (please specify)

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* 9. What kind of agricultural activities lead to increases in greenhouse gas emissions in the course of biomass production? Please rank the list of potential contributors below from 1 to 4, where 1 is the most important and 4 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4
Cultivating	Cultivating 1	Cultivating 2	Cultivating 3	Cultivating 4
Harvesting	Harvesting 1	Harvesting 2	Harvesting 3	Harvesting 4
Processing	Processing 1	Processing 2	Processing 3	Processing 4
Transporting	Transporting 1	Transporting 2	Transporting 3	Transporting 4

Other (please specify)

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* 10. What is the main obstacle to the use of agricultural residues as feedstock for biofuel production? Please rank the list of possible barriers below from 1 to 3, where 1 is the most important and 3 is the least important.

	1	2	3
Lack of support	Lack of support 1	Lack of support 2	Lack of support 3
Lack of awareness	Lack of awareness 1	Lack of awareness 2	Lack of awareness 3
Lack of facilities	Lack of facilities 1	Lack of facilities 2	Lack of facilities 3

Other (please specify)

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* 11. What is the most crucial step in agricultural biomass production from your perspective? Please rank the list of steps below from 1 to 5, where 1 is the most important and 5 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4	5
Increase understanding of biomass crop yield and supply	Increase understanding of biomass crop yield and supply 1	Increase understanding of biomass crop yield and supply 2	Increase understanding of biomass crop yield and supply 3	Increase understanding of biomass crop yield and supply 4	Increase understanding of biomass crop yield and supply 5
Enhance the recognition of the needs of the biomass production	Enhance the recognition of the needs of the biomass production 1	Enhance the recognition of the needs of the biomass production 2	Enhance the recognition of the needs of the biomass production 3	Enhance the recognition of the needs of the biomass production 4	Enhance the recognition of the needs of the biomass production 5
Improve technologies and processes for converting biomass to various bioproducts	Improve technologies and processes for converting biomass to various bioproducts 1	Improve technologies and processes for converting biomass to various bioproducts 2	Improve technologies and processes for converting biomass to various bioproducts 3	Improve technologies and processes for converting biomass to various bioproducts 4	Improve technologies and processes for converting biomass to various bioproducts 5
Expend biomass products utilization	Expend biomass products utilization 1	Expend biomass products utilization 2	Expend biomass products utilization 3	Expend biomass products utilization 4	Expend biomass products utilization 5
The transition of the green economy	The transition of the green economy 1	The transition of the green economy 2	The transition of the green economy 3	The transition of the green economy 4	The transition of the green economy 5

Other (please specify)

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* 12. What is your sense of the most important attributes of agricultural biomass production? Please rank the list of possible attributes below from 1 to 5, where 1 is the most important and 5 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4	5
Cost	Cost 1	Cost 2	Cost 3	Cost 4	Cost 5
Overall economics	Overall economics 1	Overall economics 2	Overall economics 3	Overall economics 4	Overall economics 5
Profit	Profit 1	Profit 2	Profit 3	Profit 4	Profit 5
Environmental friendliness	Environmental friendliness 1	Environmental friendliness 2	Environmental friendliness 3	Environmental friendliness 4	Environmental friendliness 5
Time-consuming	Time-consuming 1	Time-consuming 2	Time-consuming 3	Time-consuming 4	Time-consuming 5

Other (please specify)

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* 13. What do you expect from the government by way of support to change the situation or critical issues you face concerning biomass production? Please rank the list below from 1 to 3, where 1 is the most important and 3 is the least important.

	1	2	3
Subsidies	Subsidies 1	Subsidies 2	Subsidies 3
Land use permissions	Land use permissions 1	Land use permissions 2	Land use permissions 3
Encouragements related to technology development	Encouragements related to technology development 1	Encouragements related to technology development 2	Encouragements related to technology development 3

Other (please specify)

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* 14. Would you prefer the immediate profitability from cash crops or the benefits from biomass crops over the long run?

Cash crops

Biomass crops

Please indicate what motivates your decision

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* 15. What might be the best approaches to solve the problems associated with biomass storage as an obstacle to biofuel production across Canada? Please rank the following list of possibilities from 1 to 3, where 1 is the most important and 3 is the least important.

	1	2	3
Process immediately after harvest	Process immediately after harvest 1	Process immediately after harvest 2	Process immediately after harvest 3
Installment of storage equipment	Installment of storage equipment 1	Installment of storage equipment 2	Installment of storage equipment 3
Collaboration with industries that own the advanced equipment	Collaboration with industries that own the advanced equipment 1	Collaboration with industries that own the advanced equipment 2	Collaboration with industries that own the advanced equipment 3

Other (please specify)

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* 16. What can you do to help the transition of agricultural crop residues from waste to wealth? Please rank the following list of possibilities from 1 to 4, where 1 is the most important and 4 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4
Selection of crop	Selection of crop 1	Selection of crop 2	Selection of crop 3	Selection of crop 4
Rotation system	Rotation system 1	Rotation system 2	Rotation system 3	Rotation system 4
Aboveground residue biomass yield, not only grain yield (accomplishing the transition from "fuel vs food" to "fuel and food")	Aboveground residue biomass yield, not only grain yield (accomplishing the transition from "fuel vs food" to "fuel and food") 1	Aboveground residue biomass yield, not only grain yield (accomplishing the transition from "fuel vs food" to "fuel and food") 2	Aboveground residue biomass yield, not only grain yield (accomplishing the transition from "fuel vs food" to "fuel and food") 3	Aboveground residue biomass yield, not only grain yield (accomplishing the transition from "fuel vs food" to "fuel and food") 4
Application of sustainable technologies	Application of sustainable technologies 1	Application of sustainable technologies 2	Application of sustainable technologies 3	Application of sustainable technologies 4

Other (please specify)

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* 17. What would crop producers like to obtain from the academic research and industry communities related to biomass production? Please rank the following set of possibilities from 1 to 4, where 1 is the most important and 4 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4
Effective technologies	Effective technologies 1	Effective technologies 2	Effective technologies 3	Effective technologies 4
Practical guidance	Practical guidance 1	Practical guidance 2	Practical guidance 3	Practical guidance 4
Technical support	Technical support 1	Technical support 2	Technical support 3	Technical support 4
Financial support	Financial support 1	Financial support 2	Financial support 3	Financial support 4

Other (please specify)

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* 18. What is/are your recommendation(s) to promote agriculture residue and biomass use for biofuel production? Please rank the items from 1 to 3, where 1 is the most important and 3 is the least important.

	1	2	3
Advertisements	Advertisements 1	Advertisements 2	Advertisements 3
Subsidies	Subsidies 1	Subsidies 2	Subsidies 3
Training courses	Training courses 1	Training courses 2	Training courses 3

Other (please specify)

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* 19. What is kind of agricultural inputs improve biomass production? Please rank the inputs below from 1 to 4, where 1 is the most important and 4 is the least important.

	1	2	3	4
Land utilization efficiencies	Land utilization efficiencies 1	Land utilization efficiencies 2	Land utilization efficiencies 3	Land utilization efficiencies 4
Fertilizers	Fertilizers 1	Fertilizers 2	Fertilizers 3	Fertilizers 4
Pesticides	Pesticides 1	Pesticides 2	Pesticides 3	Pesticides 4
Sustainable techniques	Sustainable techniques 1	Sustainable techniques 2	Sustainable techniques 3	Sustainable techniques 4

Other (please specify)

Thank you for your feedback!