State Conservationist's Corner

January 2006

Save Energy, Save Money

by Cecil B. Currin

Secretary Mike Johanns announced last month that the Natural Resources Conservation Service is launching an energy campaign called “Save ENERGY Save MONEY.” The campaign focuses on conservation practices that contribute to energy efficiency and fuel savings.

The “Save ENERGY Save MONEY” web site provides information to help farmers cut input costs, maintain production, protect soil and water resources, reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels, and save money by using cost-efficient soil and water conservation practices. NRCS has developed an online Energy Estimator to help producers make practical, money-saving, and energy-efficient decisions. These items – and more – are accessible from the NRCS homepage.

The potential annual nationwide savings are significant. It's estimated that:

• Doubling no till acreage (from 62 to 124 million acres) could save an additional 217 million gallons of diesel fuel and $480 million.
• Converting irrigation systems from medium or high pressure to low pressure could cut energy costs by $167 million.
• Improving water efficiency by just 10 percent could reduce diesel consumption by 80 million gallons and save farmers about $180 million.
• Doubling the use of manure-based nitrogen to replace fertilizer produced from natural gas could save about $1.2 billion and 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
• Reducing application overlap on 250 million acres of cropland could save up to $1 billion in fertilizer and pesticide costs.
• Total potential national savings from implementing these conservation measures: more than $3 billion per year.

While irrigation efficiency and conservation tillage are important, there are additional ways that farmers can help conserve energy. A growing number of local livestock farmers, for example, are switching to grass-based operations, which requires less energy than feed-based operations. Other ways that farmers can save energy and money include:

• Switch from conventional tillage to no-till—and save at least 3.5 gallons of fuel per acre—$7.70 at November 2005 prices—or 350 gallons of diesel and $770 for a 100-acre farm.
• Move to low-pressure irrigation systems—and save $9 per acre for medium-pressure systems and $41 per acre for high-pressure systems.
• Replace old or inefficient irrigation pumps—and achieve a 10-percent improvement in water use efficiency, reducing diesel consumption by 8 gallons per acre, saving $1,760 on 100 acres.
• Use manure instead of petroleum-based fertilizers—and reduce costs by up to $85 per acre, for a corn producer, for example.
• Better manage nutrient and pesticide applications through precision agriculture.
• Improve pesticide use with scouting, spot spraying and integrated pest management—and cut costs significantly. Some producers may realize savings of up to 25 percent.
• Adopt management intensive grazing practices and extend the grazing season to reduce the demand for grass hay. Extending grazing by one month can reduce hay consumption by 30 pounds per cow and reduce direct energy costs to produce, store and feed the hay, saving more than $10 per cow.
• Plant windbreaks and shelterbelts to reduce heating and cooling costs—and save up to 20 percent on energy bills for the farmstead.

Consumers can help conserve energy, too, by buying locally grown food. An ear of corn picked that morning in the field behind your local farmstand requires much less energy to get to market than an ear of corn picked days or weeks earlier in Florida and trucked up I-95 1,200 miles to Massachusetts. And it's a lot tastier, too.

By preserving Massachusetts farmland through the state Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program and federal Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program (FRPP), as well as maintaining the economic and environmental viability of local farms through the state Farm Viability Enhancement Program, we help ensure that consumers can continue to buy local and thus save energy for years to come.

Saving energy reduces costs for producers and thus boosts their bottom lines. But there’s also a payoff for our nation—improving the U.S. import/export balance and reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil. In short, saving energy is a sound business strategy with multiple benefits for everyone.

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