Milkweed: The Worth of a Weed

by Herbert D. Knudsen, President, Natural Fibers Corp., Ogallala, NE, and Renee Y. Sayler, Associate Director of Industry Development, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Historically, milkweed has been a weed that farmers tried to kill. Yet now, serious efforts are under way to cultivate it and even to develop a milkweed industry.

In truth, the use of milkweed is nothing new. American Indians knew the value of floss; they used it as a soft, warm lining for their children's cradles. In 1635, the French produced silklike fabrics from milkweed fibers. Milkweed "went to war" when World War II interrupted the supply of imported kapok from Asia, and Americans picked milkweed pods so its floss could be used in U.S. Navy life jackets. Each of these uses of milkweed relied on harvesting by hand from the wild. This chapter is a case study of a current venture which seeks to grow milkweed as a cultivated crop, thereby providing a stable source of floss for commercialization.

For years, milkweed was considered a weed and farmers tried to kill it. Efforts are now under way to cultivate milkweed and develop a milkweed industry. The current venture seeks to grow milkweed as a crop, thereby providing a stable source of floss for commercial products. USDA 92BWO811

Milkweed is changing, from a worthless weed to a comfortable crop.

Background

In the late 1970's, Nobel Laureate Melvin Calvin and others were promoting the idea that billions of barrels of synthetic crude oil could be recovered from plant biomass. Standard Oil of Ohio began a milkweed research program, working with Native Plants, Inc., to produce a synthetic crude oil from milkweed biomass. Milkweed was grown, cut, dried, and baled much like hay. Analysis of that research concluded that the cost of producing the synthetic crude oil was too high and the yield of oil too low to be economically feasible.

During the course of that research project, Herbert D. Knudsen, Manager of Corporate Ventures for Standard Oil, was looking at alternative uses of milkweed. He made contact with William G. Wilson of Kimberly-Clark in Neenah, WI. Kimberly-Clark was interested in the potential of milkweed floss for use in its disposable absorbency products. With Standard Oil's 5 years of experience growing milkweed in research plots for the synthetic crude oil project, the fit of interests seemed good. Arrangements were made for Kimberly-Clark to proceed with product development research and Standard Oil to grow milkweed.

When British Petroleum acquired Standard Oil of Ohio, they eliminated diversification efforts, so Knudsen decided to acquire the milkweed venture himself. In 1987, Natural Fibers Corp. was founded with the dream of creating a new agricultural industry, comparable in size to the cotton industry, based on milkweed.

Analyzing the Opportunity

Product development for milkweed floss has been a cooperative effort between Natural Fibers Corp., the University of Nebraska, the Southern Regional Research Center of USDA's Agricultural Research Service, and various private corporations. Based on their experience, 10 pounds of dried milkweed pods can be used to produce 2 pounds of floss, 3 pounds of seed, and 5 pounds of pod biomass. Prototype development using these components has shown that it is possible to make a number of products with milkweed floss, which can be:

Combined with down and used as loose-fill in comforters, pillows, and clothing;

Used to form a batt or filling for quilts, jackets, and disposable absorbency items, and;

Blended with cotton and woven to make a linenlike cloth.

In addition to the products developed from floss, milkweed biomass and the oil from the seeds have been evaluated for potential uses. Paper has been made from the bast fiber; pet litter and fireplace logs have been made from the pod biomass. The seed oil has been analyzed to determine its lubricating properties and its potential for use in cosmetics. There are undoubtedly other possible uses for milkweed. The challenge is to determine which ones are economically viable at given levels of milkweed production and cost.

To move ahead, market opportunities for milkweed were assessed in terms of volumes, prices and resources. The resources of Standard Oil were substantially greater than those of an entrepreneur, even with the cooperation and special grants funding of the University of Nebraska and USDA's Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS). While the nonwovens market was a realistic target, considering the resources of Standard Oil, it was not realistic as a startup venture for an entrepreneur. The $2 billion nonwovens market requires a minimum of 500,000 pounds of floss at less than $9 per pound. Financial projections determined that penetrating the nonwovens market would require at least $6 million of investment by Natural Fibers Corp., so it was not viewed as a viable short-term target. Instead, the goal was to find a high-value, low-volume market for the initial entry.

Market Niche

Milkweed floss has properties similar to those of goose down. In the United States, the size of the waterfowl down market is about 10 million pounds with a price range of $10 to $30 per pound. A number of loose-filled products can be made: comforters, pillows, sleeping bags, and jackets.

Knudsen's approach to product development and testing is to "put the product in the customers' hands and tell them the price. Then keep lowering the price until you cannot get the product back." With an idea of the potential retail value, one can then look at the economics of costs and revenue for the grower, the processor, the manufacturer, and the distribution system. Next, ask if you can make a profit at the price the customer is willing to pay. If the answer is "yes," you proceed to make the process as efficient as possible, from grower to consumer. For blended, loose-fill milkweed floss, the products that held the greatest potential were comforters and pillows. Thus, Natural Fibers Corp. chose these to launch their line of Ogallala Down products.

Growing Milkweed

After years of trying to kill milkweed, it now seemed that growing it was nearly as difficult. First, farmers willing to grow milkweed had to be found. Richard D. Zeller, an agribusiness professional, was hired to coordinate production activities. Robert L. Raun, former director of agriculture in Nebraska, is growing milkweed in Minden, NE. Ralph Holzfaster and Edward Perlinger, farmers from the Ogallala, NE, area, also have fields of milkweed. In addition, a number of researchers from the University of Nebraska and one from Kansas State University have been actively involved in addressing the obstacles to growing milkweed.

Milkweed grows in the same basic regions as corn and is planted and cared for with traditional row crop equipment. A deep-rooted perennial, milkweed produces beautiful flowers that provide habitat for Monarch butterflies in mid- to late summer as they migrate south for the winter. Pods containing floss and seed are formed in the second year after planting.