| Agricultural supply chains, especially those from producer to first handler, are relatively mature institutions. While agricultural economists often observe the evolution of marketing structures in developing nations, it is a rare opportunity to research a developing market within North America. The emerging bioenergy industry—which relies on non-food crops such as straw—provides the potential to research and potentially impact the development of new supply chains. Here, we briefly review the literature related to biomass supply chains, pose a transaction cost approach to studying their development, and then discuss the procurement strategies of an industry leader: the Iogen Corporation. |
