Jeff Barnard of the Associated Press has a story about Vern and Gianaclis Caldwell, self-sufficient small farmers from Oregon who take self-sufficiency to the next level. While the couple raises “40-some dwarf Nigerian goats they milk to make artisanal chesses, they also raise chickens for meat and eggs, a steer for beef, horses to ride and vegetables for the table.”At the same time, they also harvest their own heat and electricity. According to the Barnard article, their electricity comes from solar panels when the sun is shining, and during the winter rains they run a micro-hydro turbine in a creek. Further, they cut oak and fir from the farm to run a boiler “that heats the cement floor of the dairy and cheese making room, as well as the hot water to wash the goats and themselves.”
Caldwell, who is a retired U.S. Marine Corps aircraft maintenance officer had this to say about his farming operation, ‘"We thought we should be responsible for our own energy . . . So that drove a lot of everything else that we did - where the buildings were placed, how they were placed, taking advantage of passive solar, how we were going to heat, how we were going to cool. All those issues then got driven by this one decision to be off the grid.”’
While the Caldwell’s action is certainly commendable, it is the exception rather than the rule, but the farm could serve as a model for others interested in getting their smaller-scale operations less energy dependent on outside sources. Still, according to Stephanie Page, a renewable energy specialist for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, more farms are turning to renewable energy thanks in part to the 2008 “spike in fuel prices,” as well as grants and tax credits made available by governmental and private agencies. Despite the financial incentives, Barnard reports that for some the motivation is a desire to be greener, not necessarily making more money.
No one really knows how many U.S. farms use renewable energy, such as solar photovoltaic panels, hydroelectric generators, and methane digesters. The 2007 Farm Census found 23,451 out of more than 2 million farms - about 1 percent - generated some kind of electricity or energy, but just what that means is unclear. The agency is doing a more detailed count this year. . . Overall renewable energy production rose 5 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Despite only authorizing $2.4 million in grants in the 2008 Farm Bill for farm energy audits, there were $9 million sought by the submitted applications. Spokesman for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, Jay Fletcher, notes that the USDA funded 197 renewable energy projects in fiscal year 2008, and current projections are for 385 projects in fiscal 2009.
Another Oregon farmer, Jeff Falen, has turned to renewable energy because of the real financial costs as well as ‘“deferred costs of adapting to future climate change, impacts to people’s health. With respect to gasoline there is a lot of cost from fighting wars to maintain supply.”’
Ultimately though, Barnard reports that financial situations motivate the desire to go green. Basically, those that can afford to do so and those who will see increased profits from making the switch make the effort to be more renewable in their energy use. So while some farmers are going off the grid for altruistic reasons, most farmers make the choice based on the bottom-line, so for green energy to grow on the farm it must, ultimately, make financial sense.
To read the Barnard article click here.
Posted: 11/02/09
