The number of willow plantations on Swedish farmland increased considerably between 1991 and 1996. The main driving forces behind this development were: (1) The introduction in 1991 of a new agricultural policy in Sweden which, through deregulation, created lower grain prices and simultaneously introduced compensation for set-aside land as well as subsidies for willow plantations on surplus arable land; (2) higher taxes on fossil fuels; and (3) the existence of a biofuel market in Sweden based on forest fuels. This paper presents a statistical study of willow growers in southern and central-eastern Sweden. Data about willow growers and a stratified random sample of non willow growers were acquired from the 1995 Farm Register compiled by Statistics Sweden. Willow growers are described according to geographical distribution, willow parcel sizes, farm sizes, and farm types. Comparisons are also made with the population of farmers who are not growing willow. A high concentration of willow growers is recorded for central Sweden around Lake Malaren. Willow growers are more often in the age span 50-65 years, and as compared to non-willow growers, have larger farms. They are less often focused on animal and milk production, and more often on cereal and food crop production, when compared with other farmers. Implications of the Swedish experience for policy making in the fields of energy and agriculture are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.