North Dakota Biomass Resource Overview
The majority of the state represents fertile agricultural land covered with variety of crops. Total annual agricultural crop production averages 40 million tons (NASS 2007 and 2008 statistics). Crops produced include: wheat, barley, oats, corn, hay, sugar beets, flaxseed, soybeans, dry beans, peas, lentils, sunflowers, canola, and potato. In fact, North Dakota leads the nation in production of 14 different commodities. These crops generate about 20.4 million tons of biomass or 99% of the state total biomass.
Other biomass resources include municipal yard waste collected at landfill locations, hay and wood biomass from State and National Parks, and forest-based wood residue from soft and hard wood. These supplies represent about 1% of the state total biomass.
Municipal yard waste is collected at the curb as part of the city residential cleanup service. Two main categories of municipal wood waste are considered: vegetative waste (lawn clippings, leafs, and grass), and wood-based supply (brush, wood-chip, trees, branches, etc.). Municipal waste is disposed at the city landfill locations. Forest-based woody biomass includes round wood products and logging residue, mostly in private ownership. State and National Parks produce hay and tree residues.