Farmers can save money by reducing energy use
By Heather Thorstensen
hthorstensen@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 02/16/2012 9:38 AM
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NORTHWOOD, Iowa— Farmers could save approximately $10,000 to $20,000 each year by taking steps to reduce their energy costs, says Mark Hanna.
The Iowa State University Extension agricultural engineer spoke Jan. 27 at the Worth County Extension Corn and Soybean Crop Clinic in Northwood. He presented steps farmers could take to save energy.
A farmer could reach nearly $20,000 in savings if they run 1,000 row crop acres and implement all the ideas presented, he said.
The savings estimates were pulled together from other studies by the Farm Energy Conservation and Efficiency Initiative, which is working to help farmers use energy efficiently.Of all costs associated with running a farm, energy expenses are probably the easiest to do something about, Hanna said.
The latest USDA farm census showed that Iowa farms spend most of their fuel budget on diesel and gasoline.
It's common for Iowa row crop farmers to spend $4 to $6 per acre on diesel fuel. Tillagealone can represent 2 gallons to 2.5 gallons per acre.
To reduce energy costs, farmers could reduce tillage. Hanna would start with soybeans. Six ISU tillage plots saw no over-arching yield advantage from 2003 to 2007 between moldboard plow, sub soiling, chisel plow, strip tillage or no tillage, he said.
With corn, farmers should consider how deep their compaction layer lies to determine exactly how deep they need to till.
"The deeper you go, the more fuel you're going to use," he said.
Another way to reduce fuel costs is to dry grain as efficiently as possible. Reducing 175-bushel per acre corn's moisture content by 5 percent uses the equivalent of 10 to 12 gallons of diesel fuel per acre.
Farmers could save energy by using drying bins to remove most of the moisture, then move the corn to another area to take off the last one to one-and-a-half percentage points with cool, natural air. It's another step before corn goes in storage but it's helpful because those last points are the least efficient for drying, he said.
Calibrating drying equipment's moisture meters can also save money. It's not unusual to be 0.5 or 0.75 of a percentage point off, which causes grain to be over-dried.
A tractor's fuel economy can be optimized by looking at the dashboard's slip meter. Depending on the surface, eight percent to 15 percent wheel slip is best. If the slip is outside this range, ballasting can help.
Check the tractor tires' inflation pressure to make sure it is appropriate for the load. It seems a natural tendency exists to over-inflate, which can wear tires, increase slip and waste fuel. Farmers can check with their implement dealer or tire dealer to learn about proper inflation. A tire pressure gauge that runs from 0 to 25 pounds per square inch is helpful to properly manage lower pressures.
It's important to maintain tractors to save fuel, particularly by replacing air and fuel filters at proper intervals. A University of Missouri Extension project found that replacing filters on 99 tractors bumped up the tractors' power on average by 3.5 percent, which saves an estimated 105 diesel fuel gallons per year.
When using tractors in winter for snow removal or livestock purposes, use timers to manage how long block heaters run. Make sure idling time isn't too long, either. If the operator's manual says one to four minutes of cooling time is sufficient, it's a waste to keep the engine on any longer.
Taking time to efficiently use fertilizer can also save money because energy is used in fertilizer manufacturing and it's often reflected in the price, Hanna said. Applying nitrogen at a rate of 125 pounds per acre is equivalent to using 15 to 16 gallons of diesel fuel per acre.
Statewide, annual farm energy costs is approximately $1 billion.
"I think we got all kinds of potential here for managing that a little bit better," Hanna said.