Growing Change with Switchgrass

Friday, July 24, 2026

A practical path to profit & soil health on marginal acres

By Jeanine Moyer

For Grey County producer Urs Eggimann, keeping our planet healthy starts with an unlikely hero: switchgrass.

Eggimann started growing switchgrass in 2009 to improve soil health and support the long-term sustainability of his farmland. Since then, he’s been on a journey to learn as much as he can about growing switchgrass while building a business case for this perennial crop. He’s quickly become a natural champion for the native grass.

Eggimann purchased his farm in 1998. At the time, the land was comprised mostly of bush and fields that hadn’t been worked in years. He says it wasn’t until he retired from his career in information technology that he truly began focusing on his land, transforming Eggimann Farms into the environmentally progressive operation it is today. He began his journey by researching and learning about native grasses, like switchgrass and Big Bluestem, a native tall grass species, and the potential they could provide to his stony Grey County fields.

In 2009, he planted his first 25 acres of switchgrass, the Cave-in-Rock variety. Looking back, he admits it was disappointing at first when spring weather conditions challenged emergence, and he struggled to find the switchgrass amongst the thriving weeds.

Fortunately, Eggimann was active in organisations like Resource Efficient Agricultural Production (REAP-Canada), the Ontario Biomass Producers Co-operative and Grey Ag Services. REAP-Canada’s successful research and breeding efforts were a solid foundation for the crop’s success. The co-operative approach of sharing field observations, analysis, and reflection with REAP assured members that their research efforts would yield applicable discoveries for the farming community. Eggimann continues with this knowledge-sharing approach today.

Making marginal land productive

“Switchgrass varieties have come a long way, and it is an ideal crop for marginal land like my stony fields here in Grey County,” says Eggimann, who has been experimenting with various switchgrass varieties and cropping strategies for nearly two decades.

Today, he’s proud to grow switchgrass across his fields, continuing to learn from the crop and promote its potential.

He’s been gradually introducing local producers to switchgrass production by providing them with custom work on his farms, including planting, mowing and baling the crop. Over the years, these business partnerships often turned into great personal friendships for Eggimann.

“Joint ventures with other producers were always based on a win-win concept, where everyone could upgrade skills and enjoy business success,” he reflects.

Over the years Eggimann has also produced switchgrass seed. He has partnered with other producers during the last few years to grow fields with improved switchgrass varieties to gain first-hand experience and harvest seeds.

In the early years, he says producers often struggled with growing switchgrass as an alternative crop. He notes there were challenges with the Cave-in-Rock switchgrass variety, like high seed dormancy, poor establishment vigour and no harvestable yields in the crop’s first year.

“These results deterred many producers, who weren’t ready to add this new biomass crop to their planting rotations,” says Eggimann. “We had a classic ‘chicken or egg first’ dilemma. Producers were looking for guaranteed, established biomass markets, and the industry was expecting significant biomass acreage.”

A lot has changed since then. Eggimann points out that the newer switchgrass seed varieties have improved significantly, especially in establishment vigour, and he expects additional progress thanks to ongoing research through REAP-Canada.

“The germination of new varieties has increased from the low 30 per cent to 90 per cent today, where we now have the benefit of faster and more vigorous germinations,” he says, explaining that thanks to the new switchgrass varieties, producers can now expect up to 20 per cent higher yields and significant harvest potential within the crop’s first year.

“These numbers all add up, making it easier than ever to achieve a successful stand and create a business case for growing switchgrass on marginal land, where traditional field crops may not pencil out.”

Drawing on his vast experience, including trial and error, Eggimann eagerly shares his tips for achieving success with switchgrass establishment:

Start early. Seeding early, but avoiding a late frost, provides switchgrass with more time to get established and mature in its first year.

Start with a clean field. A clean field, free of volunteer crops and low weed pressure, is especially important for switchgrass, which is a later-germinating crop. A clean field gives switchgrass a better opportunity to get established without excessive competition from weeds.

Weed control is key. Weeds can easily out-compete any crop, including switchgrass. Eggimann recommends going in with a certified broadleaf herbicide where necessary to manage weeds, and in some cases, he’s also resorted to mechanical weed control, like clipping. He reminds producers that weed control is most critical during the first two years, when the crop is getting established.

Seedbed preparation. Eggimann believes a properly prepared seedbed can go a long way to support crop establishment. In his experience, no-till drilling has proven to be the most effective switchgrass seeding method because it offers the most precision and minimal soil disturbance between seed rows. “Switchgrass also needs a solid seed-to-soil contact for establishment,” he says, noting that pulling a packer behind a no-till seed drill offers the most effective process.

Showcasing success

Last year, Eggimann took promoting switchgrass to the next level by planting a 72-acre field alongside a busy roadway. He describes the field as the very definition of marginal—it is Class 3 farmland and full of stones. He knew he would attract the attention of local producers who were likely to watch the crop’s progress from the roadway.

With a goal to increase the understanding of switchgrass as a viable crop and attract positive awareness, Eggimann successfully applied to the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s (Sustainable CAP) Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP). Thanks to the funding program, he was able to combine his grass-growing expertise with a new and improved switchgrass variety to showcase the value and benefits of cropping native grasses on marginal land. As an added bonus, he incorporated a wildlife habitat enhancement component into the project, reflecting his personal commitment to environmental stewardship.

“I set out to prove to Ontario producers that we can grow a productive and profitable crop on marginal land with perennial switchgrass,” he states. “And I succeeded.”

Eggimann seeded the RC-Sundance switchgrass variety, and in some sections of the field, he mixed in the native tall grass, Big Bluestem. With the goal of achieving successful crop establishment and producing a one-tonne-per-acre yield in the first year, he was confident it could be done.

“This project was meant to be a showcase, so there was a bit of pressure to achieve a successful stand,” he admits, noting that Mother Nature posed some challenges in that first year of crop establishment. “We had very cold days after planting, and since switchgrass needs 15°C to germinate, we ended up with quite a few weeds.” Despite additional weather challenges that hindered the effectiveness of his herbicide application, he was able to overcome the weeds by mechanical clipping.

His progress and early-season challenges drew plenty of attention from fellow producers, who followed the crop closely throughout the growing season. It started with “what kind of crop is this guy trying to grow?” when the weeds appeared to dominate the crop. But, as Eggimann explains, once the weeds were managed, the tiny switchgrass plants and their progress of emerging into a tall grass stand attracted a lot of positive attention. “By the end of the season, we could finally provide a clear answer to observers what crop we were growing,” he says.

Eggimann not only produced a successful crop, but he also achieved his goal.

“Switchgrass seed varieties have come a long way, and when we combine them with the knowledge we’ve gained over the years by growing this crop across Ontario, I can confidently say that switchgrass has a lot to offer.”

As a perennial crop, a field of switchgrass can grow for 10 years or more with very few inputs. Eggimann estimates that switchgrass requires only about one-third to half the fertilizer requirements of traditional field crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat, along with minimal herbicide applications, which are usually needed only in the first few years of crop establishment. He also notes that, to date, he’s never had to use any pesticides on his switchgrass fields.

This makes switchgrass a relatively low-cost crop to establish and maintain, while offering a practical alternative for marginal land that might otherwise produce poor yields with traditional field crops. “And switchgrass can do so much to enhance soil health, too,” he adds. As a result of its very deep roots, switchgrass can retrieve nutrients that are not accessible to most annual crops. “Switchgrass also has a remarkable capability of sequestering CO₂ and is ideal for creating environmental buffer strips that are also harvestable.”

Switchgrass can also offer producers an additional and steady revenue source. The crop can be mowed and baled in the fall or spring and used as bedding or feed for livestock, and mulch for horticulturists. Eggimann notes that switchgrass also has potential for industrial biomass applications once a producer reaches a critical mass of acreage.

As a native grass species, switchgrass can provide significant opportunities to enhance wildlife habitat, especially for birds and insects. The crop attracts birds that feed on insects and use the tall grasses as protective habitat. To increase the appeal, Eggimann incorporated small “islands” of grass throughout his 72-acre project field of switchgrass, in an effort to attract and encourage birds to establish natural habitats. He knows from experience that Bobolinks, Savannah sparrows, and barn swallows enjoy nesting in switchgrass fields. The early-season grass islands provided nesting habitats for birds and became well protected by the surrounding switchgrass stand as it grew throughout the year.

“And, since switchgrass is mowed in very late fall, we can provide a safe wildlife habitat for the entire season.”

Pioneering the future

Nearly two decades after planting his first acres, Eggimann continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible with switchgrass.

What began as a personal experiment to improve soil health has grown into a living demonstration of how marginal land can be productive, profitable and environmentally beneficial. By sharing his experiences, testing new varieties, and encouraging other producers to try the crop for themselves, Eggimann has quietly become a pioneer for switchgrass in Grey County—proving that innovation often starts with one producer willing to try something different.

“I want to do my part to care for the planet, and if I can help fellow producers along the way, that’s even better.” BF