State Conservationist's Corner

Helping farmers save energy, save money

by Christine S. Clarke

An adequate energy supply. That's one of three venture goals identified for our agency in the new NRCS strategic plan, Productive Lands, Healthy Environment, which points out that increasing demand for energy will raise concerns about the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy supplies in the years ahead.

Massachusetts farmers, along with farmers and ranchers across the U.S., are already concerned about energy issues, particularly how energy costs affect their overall cost of production. With the nation's energy consumption expected to increase by 30 percent over the next 20 years, that's a concern for farmers and consumers alike. Higher energy costs translate into higher costs for virtually everything along the supply chain, from feed to food.

NRCS has a role to play in improving energy management on farms to protect the environment, lower farm production costs and decrease consumption of fossil fuels. That role includes helping farmers with energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy production.

To that end, NRCS has developed a suite of energy efficiency tools and information to help farmers improve their bottom line. The Save Energy, Save Money website offer interactive energy estimators for animal housing, tillage, nitrogen and irrigation.

The animal housing energy estimator, for example, can help an average Massachusetts dairy farm identify thousands of dollars in cost-saving energy efficiency measures. These measures can be as simple as cleaning fans and changing the type of lighting used.

We are also increasing cooperative efforts with many agencies and private sector entities to develop information and technology to address energy issues. I applaud the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources for furthering its involvement in energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable energy opportunities for the agricultural community by hiring a renewable energy coordinator (see related story).

Lastly, in the near future we hope to announce a state Conservation Innovation Grant for an energy-related project. Look for more about that in the next issue of the Conservation Connection. And look to NRCS to integrate energy-related resource concerns into our planning and technical assistance, technology development, and financial assistance programs as we implement our strategic plan.

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