Energy Crops to the Biofuels Industry
range of legal matters, including contract drafting and negotiation,
technology transfer, business organizations, agriculture and
alternate energy supply.
550 Main Street, Fourth Floor
Knoxville, Tennessee 37902
865.546.7311 Phone
865.524.1773 Fax
wemason@kmfpc.com
bbrent@kmfpc.com
www.kmfpc.com
and biorefinery business formation are to
the future of the biofuels industry, success
is also wholly dependent on enormous
quantities of biomass being produced by
America's farmers. The purpose of this ar-
ticle is to further thinking and discussion
on the essential terms of biomass supply
arrangements among all parties farmers,
biorefinery owners, seed suppliers, feed-
stock supply companies, bankers, lawyers
and public officials. Many interests must
be balanced:
the short- and long-term to attract
the required quantities and quality
of switchgrass, miscanthus, sorghum,
agricultural residues and other
energy crops.
economical feedstock, and energy
crop supply arrangements must
address those requirements over the
life of the facility.
demand assurance of feedstock sup-
ply for the life of the project, and ag-
ricultural contract arrangements must
provide confidence in the availability
of feedstock over the long-term.
variables into all parties' contract
expectations. Supply contracts will
fail unless they: take account of
drought, storm, or other acts of God;
are adapted to realistic agricultural,
capital and labor input cycles, as
well as requirements for planting,
cultivating, and harvesting; and fit
the particulars of the specified crop,
for example, whether it is an annual
or a perennial, or grows from a seed
or a rhizome.
include agreements between farmers
and those that purchase or market the
farmers' crops, agreements between
producers and suppliers, and agreements
concerning land use. Some common
of each, varying responsibilities of the
parties, Uniform Commercial Code
("UCC") considerations, and other state
statute considerations are summarized
below.
agreement by which a farmer agrees to
sell or deliver a designated crop grown
on identified acreage to a purchaser in a
specified manner. The contract speci-
fies production conditions,
and management requirements.
provisions covering the crop's entire
production process from beginning to
end, often specifying planting periods,
cultivation practices, and other matters
intended to ensure delivery of a certain
quality and quantity of the crop to the
purchaser.
provides growing services and supplies a
small part of the total production input.
He or she usually does not own the crop
during production; in fact, under some
agricultural production contract models,
title to the growing crop and to the har-