Energy Efficiency
Co-ops Help Spur Farm Belt Savings
Co-ops in Iowa are working with the state’s agricultural extension service to help improve energy efficiency on the state’s farms.
Iowa co-ops are seeking to bolster energy efficiency on farms in the state. (Photo By: Associated Press)
“We’ve been working with farmers on renewable technologies like ethanol production and wind, and they’ve wanted us to work with the state in the same way on farm energy efficiency programs, said Regi Goodale, the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives’ director of regulatory affairs.
The Iowa State University Extension Service launched a statewide Farm Energy Conservation and Efficiency educational initiative last October. Representatives of co-ops, investor-owned utilities and others were recruited for a task force commissioned to develop energy conservation materials for farmers and ranchers.
While there are lots of brochures, pamphlets and educational programs geared toward energy conservation in homes, factories and other businesses, similar materials for agriculture are “rare,” said Paul Brown, assistant director of ISU Extension to Agriculture and Natural Resources.
In November, the first entry in the Farm Energy brochure series was released. “How Much Energy is Being Used on the Farm” offers a summary of typical farm energy use, and of Iowa’s agricultural energy consumption with the nearby states of Wisconsin and Nebraska. There are also recommendations farmers throughout the country can use to develop an energy log.
“Farmers and ranchers should track their use of fuels, including diesel, gasoline, propane natural gas and electricity from month to month and monitor their costs, to see how they can control their expenses,” said Dana Petersen, the ISU Extension Service’s program coordinator for the initiative.
Other Farm Energy brochures examine three-phase motor use and ways to track farm energy use, Peterson said. “In the future, energy conservation is going to be even more important to farmers and ranchers eager to control their costs in the future.”
For more information, visit the Iowa State University Extension Service Web site at www.extension.iastate.edu.