Gather 12 months of your farm’s electric and fuel bills, do a walk-through of your operation, making a list of your equipment and systems, assess your maintenance procedures and you are on your way to conserving energy and saving money.  Here are some tools to get specific recommendations for your farm:

Lighting- Think about bulbs, timers, sensors.  This lighting self-assessment tool indicates your baseline energy use and suggests improvements to reduce your lighting costs.

Ventilation- Think about fans, control systems, variable drives, humidity control.  This ventilation self-assessment tool evaluates your equipment for exhausting or circulating air.

Irrigation- Think about system pressure, pump efficiency, scheduling, fuel use.  This irrigation self-assessment tool evaluates your energy usage with the major types of irrigation systems including center-pivot, linear- move, hand-move, solid-set, side-roll, furrow, flood, and drip/trickle.

Greenhouse- Think about heaters/boilers, thermal curtains, glazing.  This greenhouse self-assessment tool evaluates your current systems and suggests technologies to reduce greenhouse heating and cooling costs.

Fuel Use - Think about reducing tillage, equipment maintenance schedules, type of fuel used, and the right equipment for the job. The following links suggests ideas that reduce fuel consumption and improve fieldwork efficiency.

• Fuel Requirements and Energy Savings Tips for Field Operations
• Conserving Fuel on the Farm

Utilities- Think about electricity and natural gas use.  Understanding utility charges leads to energy savings.

• Understanding On-Farm Utility Costs and Billing.
• Lowering On-Farm Utility Costs with Electricity Monitors
• Assessing On-Farm Equipment Efficiency & Energy Use