01/19/06 Energy savings initiative

The National Resources Conservation Service has several programs and concepts to help producers save energy and improve their bottom line. State conservationist Rich Sims says one sure way to save on farm fuel is to switch from conventional tillage to no-till. SIMS  "You can save at least 3.5 gallons per acre. Over a thousand acre farm you're saving 35 hundred gallons of diesel which equates out to prices now right around 77 hundred dollars." That's a management decision and it's an expensive one because of the new equipment that is necessary. . Money can be saved by moving to low pressure irrigation systems in the Treasure and Magic valleys. SIMS - "For example if you have a high pressure system we calculate that you can save as much as 41 dollars per acre and if you have a medium pressure system you can save as much as nine dollars per acre." Again, there's money for new equipment but NRCS has some cost-share programs to help producers with some of that expense. Producers can also save money by replacing old or inefficient irrigation pumps, using manure instead of petroleum based fertilizers, adopting management intensive grazing practices and improving pesticide use and application through precision agriculture, spot spraying and integrated pest management. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott