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Hiya,
Corn is very fertilizer intensive (it is the "SUV" of farm crops!). And rather than pay for (expensive) crop insurance, many farmers use 2X the fertilizer recommended -- so, something like 200 pounds per acre?
Fertilizer is made from natural gas.
Do the GMF corn seeds take energy to grow? Probably, and most/all corn is hybrid anyway, so the farmer has to buy the seed, and the seed represents a fair bit of energy.
The chemical insecticides also come from petroleum, IIANM.
The tractor burns diesel usually, and it has to be used to prepare the soil (plow and harrow), and then to plant the seeds, and then again to spray insecticides (a couple of times?), and then again to harvest the corn. That is (at least) six passes around the field by the tractor.
If irrigation is needed, this takes electricity or some sort of pumps.
The corn then needs to be stored, transported, and then processed into methanol -- which takes more energy. Only the kernels are used, and I guess that the stalks are used for silage, usually?
Switchgrass is a native plant, and it doesn't need very much energy investment. Jatophra lives for about 50 years, and grows in marginal land that can't be farmed, and is drought resistant.
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