BARRHEAD, Alta. – There’s little farmers can do about the high cost of energy except reduce the amount of energy they use, says an agriculture engineer.
With a little planning, any farm can reduce its energy bills by 15 to 50 percent, Katrina Sexton told a recent Energy Savings seminar in Barrhead.
“We don’t have any control over transmission costs or rate riders. All we can do is reduce our consumption,” said Sexton, who works for the Agriculture Technology Centre in Lethbridge. It has put together a farm workbook on ways to reduce energy consumption on the farm.
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Before farmers begin trying to reduce costs, they need to take a serious look at their bills to see where the money is spent.
“If you don’t know what your bottom line consumption is, you don’t know if you are improving,” she told farmers at the seminar.
Amy Weber, conservation co-ordinator with the West Central Conservation Group, which organized the seminar, said Sexton’s message would be welcome for farmers.
“If we could reduce energy consumption, that would be a nice bill to reduce.”
Sexton recommended farmers collect a year’s worth of energy bills including natural gas, diesel, gasoline and electricity and take a close look at consumption by month and the cost of the consumption. Administration charges, transmission charges and rate riders shouldn’t be included in the calculations.
Glayne Grabler of Sangudo, Alta., said the extra charges on energy bills add up. On one month’s $203 power bill, only $127 was for electricity charges; the rest was administration and other charges.
“The usage is actually the small part,” Grabler said.
“Power doesn’t cost that much to use. It’s the cost to have the power.”
Grabler said he attended the seminar so he could figure out how to get off the power grid and eliminate power bills all together.
“I want to be independent from these suckers.”
Sexton said farmers can reduce energy costs on the farm with only a few changes. Each farm is different and will be able to make changes in different areas. Grain and beef producers have higher fuel use while dairy and pork producers have higher electricity bills.
Farmers should monitor farm fuel storage tanks for leaks or cracks. Proper tire pressure in farm machinery can create savings of up to $400 a section. Not idling a tractor over lunch will help reduce bills.
Keeping fan blades clean in hog and chicken barns can reduce electricity and adjusting ventilation systems also helps. Sexton said she’s been in barns where the heat was turned up and the ventilation fans were wide open.
“Make sure your controls are working.”
Sexton said her department is developing an energy audit for farms similar to audits available for urban homes, where specialists can suggest changes to windows, insulation and new furnaces to save money.
