Julie Bailey hopes to keep Atlantic Canadian farms competitive by identifying energy saving opportunities which will reduce energy costs and lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) on Nova Scotia farms.

A Farm Energy Specialist at NSAC in Truro and Professional Engineer, Julie recently completed her Master of Science thesis where she researched Nova Scotia farmers’ perceptions and considerations in implementing energy conservation measures. With this information, she plans to make recommendations for the delivery of a future energy conservation program for farms and update current energy baseline data. Currently, there is no province wide energy conservation program targeted specifically at Nova Scotia farmers.

To understand perceptions on energy conservation opportunities, Julie conducted a survey of all farm commodities in Nova Scotia with the assistance of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. With nearly 700 surveys mailed to 16 commodity groups, a good return of 32 per cent of farms responded.

Findings from the research showed a demand for energy conservation measures on farms. A particular challenge was dairy and hog/poultry farms, who reported double and triple the average annual energy bill of farms, respectively. For all farms, over half of the energy bill came from petroleum product use such as diesel fuel.

Julie says that the top energy concern was operating costs. “While variable by farm type and size, the top energy uses on farms surveyed were vehicle and mobile equipment and heat and lights.”

A majority of farmers reported an interest in using energy conservation strategies, with many of them already doing so, including modifying their own behaviour, adding insulation and improving lighting practices. Large farmers and those concerned for the environment showed the most interest in these strategies, even though very few farmers appeared to be using renewable energy technologies.

Cost savings were of particular interest to farmers and those interested in energy efficient options wanted a three to five year payback on their investment. Longer paybacks were more acceptable for renewable energy options.

Julie says that “Opportunities exist that match NS farmers’ financial expectations, for example; heat recovery equipment and vacuum pump variable speed drives for dairy farms, efficient fans for hog and poultry and biogas for very large hog, poultry and dairy operations.”

Julie’s research also involved on-farm energy audits for several farm types in the province. The purpose was to identify where energy is used and identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption.

Her research and similar studies in Ontario showed that dairy or hog farms could potentially save 15 per cent on electrical expenses. This would be equivalent to $1560 annually or 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per farm for hog, poultry and dairy operations in this province.

Julie says the results of her study shows an interest, opportunity and need for energy conservation on Nova Scotia farms and says consideration should be given to developing an energy conservation program for farms in this province.

She also noted benefits from the EcoEnergy Retrofit Program (EnerGuide) for farm houses. On average, this program has seen reduced energy consumption of 28 per cent and a reduction of GHG emissions by 4.1 tonnes annually per house that has undertaken energy saving renovations.

“A program could include information tailored for different farm commodities, outlining energy conservation options, potential costs and savings and funding availability. It could also include energy audits, education activities, technology demonstrations and financial incentives for implementing energy conservation measures.”

Julie’s interest in energy conservation has extended beyond her research at the NSAC. Using her expertise, she recently conducted an energy upgrade in her own 104 year old house in Earltown so it can be more energy efficient, complete with a solar hot water heating installation. She has also given several presentations on energy efficient home renovation to different community groups in the Truro area.

"I encourage all homeowners to consider participating in the EcoEnergy Retrofit Program. There are significant savings opportunities for home energy bills and the rebates can cover part or all of the cost of the upgrades. There are significant savings opportunities on-farm as well and there is a need for a program to promote and educate farmers on these opportunities.”

(Julie’s research was funded by a prestigious Canada Graduate Scholarship supported through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). She was supervised by Dr. Robert Gordon, a Canada Research Chair at NSAC in Agricultural Resource Management.)