Energy Analysis
CEMSA Energy Planning and Assessment Project
CEMSA Energy Planning and Assessment ProjectReducing demand for energy in every aspect of American enterprise has become a top priority nationally, owing to volatile petroleum prices, national security issues relative to dependence on foreign oil, and environmental concerns associated with growing energy consumption. The farmers we serve raised this issue many months ago, as rising prices for nitrogen and fuel caused soaring input costs.
In response, ISA’s Environmental Programs initiated a pilot project in 2007 to study methods of providing technical assistance to producers for addressing energy concerns. Some tools were available to assess energy usage associated with the farmstead, livestock buildings, and grain drying and storage. However, tools to help producers evaluate the energy use and opportunities to improve efficiency related to their in-field management were lacking. In 2007 the consultant group MGT Envirotec received an Iowa NRCS grant to develop a spreadsheet calculator that helps farmers evaluate the energy efficiency of field operations and inputs.
Linking this energy calculator with ISA’s CEMSA planning process, ISA initiated a pilot program, with MGT Envirotec providing technical support and training materials for the energy calculator. Nine CEMSA crop consultants worked with 51 of their farmer clients to document, evaluate, and implement decisions regarding energy usage and opportunities to improve efficiency in their farming operations. The resulting data was then assembled and analyzed through a joint effort between ISA and Environmental Intelligence, Inc. (To read more about the Pilot Project and Study Results check out the Project Results links at left.)
Currently, work is underway to improve the calculator ’s evaluation of manure’s energy equivalency and to add evaluations of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and carbon storage opportunities to this valuable tool. Offering the energy efficiency planning module to all CEMSA participants and revisiting the 51 pilot participants to evaluate and update their initial energy plans are additional next steps.
Applying the CEMSA process to energy efficiency and evaluation allows farmers to build upon previous planning and address another resource vital to their farming operations and profitability. Being able to quantify energy and GHGE savings and carbon sequestration may be significant factors in future farm programs, not to mention that it makes a powerful statement about environmental and energy security solutions agriculture can deliver.
