As energy prices continue to rise, farmers must reduce electricity and fuel use on the farm in order to reduce operation costs. Many energy conservation measures are free, low- cost, or have a cost-effective payback. This publication provides an overview of energy conservation across the many operations of the average livestock or field crop farm in Massachusetts. After reading this, the next step is to use a farm energy calculator as a self assessment tool to determine where energy inefficiencies are occurring on your farm and where improvements can be made.

Tips for Reducing Energy Use

Tractors, field work, grain driers, buildings, watering systems, fences, and other farm equipment are all part of the daily operations on a crop and livestock farm today and can incur high costs in energy use. The two main types of energy use on farms are electricity from the local utility company and fuel use such as heating oil or petroleum for running farm equipment. The following pages offer simple ways energy improvements can be made on the farm.