11-20 FB Dairy Energy

 Idaho Dairymen’s Association leads effort to help dairy producers cut farm energy costs and use. I am David Sparks…

 In today’s economic climate dairy producers are focused on maximizing operational budgets. While Idaho’s energy costs are lower than the national average, dairy producers could gain substantial savings and efficiencies by knowing exactly how energy (electricity, propane, diesel and natural gas) is being used in their operations, how it affects the utility bills, and what steps can be taken to cut costs and save energy. Executive director of the Idaho Dairymemen’s Association, Bob Naerbout explains: “Farm Energy Efficiency effort is exactly as it sounds. It is performing a full farm energy audit to find out where there is an opportunity to save on energy costs. That does 2 things. You can find out how to be more energy efficient and learn how to cut greenhouse gases which is very important in the dairy industry.”

An energy audit is a farm specific analysis of energy use and recommendations to reduce energy usage or ways to increase production using the same amount of fuel or electricity.  It generally identifies savings opportunities between 10% to 35%, which can lead to thousands of dollars in annual savings.

Dairy producers can use an energy audit to identify specific opportunities to save, and then implement the recommendations to achieve those savings. While every dairy operation is different, research shows that the best way for producers to identify the greatest opportunity for savings on their energy bills is to get a farm audit.