Can American Farms Make Bamboo the Next Big Cash Crop?

[ShmuBamboo]

Making money in ag is like that. Dribs and drabs here and there. Not exactly a get rich quick scheme. More like a grow poor slowly one. I have been through several OSU extention farm economic courses. We tried growing and selling many things on the sheep ranch that I lived on. The last OSU course instructor was very experienced. She had several intensive medium scale organic farming operations in California. She promoted the idea that you can make more money mowing suburban lawns than you will from a 'successful' farming venture.

[ghmerrill]

which is a good reason for the ornamental market.... you can make a heck of alot more money for the same biomass of plant....

and also why it seems to be the large growers that do all the importing... If you dont have new stock coming in, then eventually you loose your market, as there are too many competitors whent the plants get out there and start growing and being divided by the hobbiests.

[BamaBamboo]

Not sure how yall feel about the upcoming cap-n-trade legislation, but this could be a possible new market for bamboo.....me, I don't really have an opinion....some people say its a scam, others say it needed desperately.....either way, bamboo is a shoe-in for selling carbon credits.....
As for farming cotton compared to bamboo, I am surrounded by cotton farmers...I know a fair amount about it....as for farming bamboo, it's simple....grow a couple hundred acres...harvest "rows" of the grove approx. 10'-15' ft wide every 4-5 years.....as you're harvesting a particular row, you're letting the previously harvested row regenerate itself....this is what they did at Camden, AL (Auburn University)
Anything that regenerates itself is easy enough to farm, all ya gotta do is do it!!!