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Agriculture
 The links below can help the agricultural industry adopt energy efficient technologies and management practices that reduce production costs and minimize negative environmental impacts while improving economic sustainability. |
Links
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| On-Farm Irrigation | California Central Coast vegetable growers are saving upwards of 25% in water pumping, fertilizer and herbicide costs by using subsurface drip irrigation technologies. |
| Irrigation Districts | Emerging technologies for irrigation districts deliver water to farms using flexible schedules. |
| Dairy and Livestock | Dairy farmers are saving upwards of 30% in milking energy costs by using new variable frequency drive milking and vacuum pump systems. |
| Field Equipment | Precision tillage in corn and cotton reduce fuel and herbicide costs. |
| Ozone Applications | Follow the results of three years of field research to determine how effective ozone soil fumigation can be to replace Methyl Bromide. |
| Increasing Pump Efficiency | Test your well pumps and improve overall pumping plant efficiency. |
| Reducing Greenhouse Costs | Timely maintenance of existing equipment is the fastest and least expensive way to cut energy costs. Identify potential problems by surveying the air temperature at crop height. |
Tools and Resources
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| Do-It-Yourself Energy Audit | Try PGE's free, online energy audit that's specifically for small- and medium-sized businesses. |
| Business Edge | Provides small businesses with energy info and more |
| CustomNet | How efficient is your building compared to other buildings? |
| Your On-Call Advisor | Design and tech support for construction projects |
| Funding sources | Both private and public funding sources, to leverage investments in productivity improvements. |
Related Links
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| ENERGY STAR | Information on the name behind quality energy-efficient products. |
| Renewable Energy Information | Information on rebates and incentives in choosing green power. |
| Flex Your Power | A campaign sponsored by the Office of the Governor. Offers useful information from energy-saving tips to how to file for rebates and get help with your utility bill. |
| California Public Utilities Commission | Provides overviews of statewide energy-efficiency programs, information about summer 2001 initiatives and statistics on potential energy savings. |
| http://www.energy.gov/ | Official site of the US department of energy. |
| http://www.sce.com/ | Southern California Edison |
| http://pge.com/ | Pacific Gas and Electric |
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Dairy and Livestock
 The links below include information on: Dairy farmers who are saving upwards of 30% in milking energy costs by using new variable frequency drive milking and vacuum pump systems Research by engineers at UC Davis developing efficient liquid/solid manure separation systems to reduce lagoon's ammonia and methane emissions How ranchers are using solar pumps to provide drinking water to cattle and applying rotational grazing practices to optimize feed production Emerging Technologies to Reduce Costs at the Milk Barn.
Demonstration Projects
Research Project - Adjustable speed drives (ASD) in Dairy Vacuum Milking Systems
Video Tape - National Mastitis Association Milking Standards
Research Project - California Dairy Energy Project
Developments to Optimize Dairy Waste management Practices
Research Project - Integrated Lagune Waste Management System
Applying Solar, Wind, Biogas and Biomas Energy Sources
Publication - Using Solar Energy to Pump Water for Livestock in Remote Areas
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Ozone Technology Applications
 Encouraging results of field research to determine how effective ozone fumigation can be to replace Methyl Bromide
A new installation of an ozone chilled bath water recycling disinfectant system in poultry production
Ozone Technologies
Research Project - Ozone as an Aqueous Disinfectant -- to determine the efficacy of ozone as a replacement or adjunct to available disinfectants and fungicides used during post harvest treatment of fresh fruits and vegetables
Research Project - Ozone as a Gaseous Fumigant -- to determine the efficacy of ozone in air as a replacement for chemical fungicides, including methyl bromide on fresh fruits and vegetables in post-harvest processing
Research Project - Ozone as a Soil Fumigant -- to determine the efficacy of on-site generated gaseous ozone for soil treatment of a variety of commercially important California crops that are subject to soil borne pathogen disease and nematodes
Research Project - Evaluate Changes in the Physical and Chemical Properties of Soils as a Result of Ozonation -- to evaluate the physical properties of soils following injection of gaseous ozone
Research Project - Ozone as a Disinfectant in Poultry Production -- to determine the efficacy of ozone as a replacement to available disinfectants used during processing of poultry. Membrane filters are integrated in a closed looped system to recycle chilled water
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Field Equipment
 California researchers are working to demonstrate conservation tillage (CT) under California soil conditions. Like their fellow farmer in the mid-west, California farmers can save money, time and soil after years of learning how to make CT work.
If you are interested in CT, read the research reports, call the researchers and other farmers using conservation tillage methods.
Efficient field preparation methods include reducing total tractor tillage time by preparing fields using one-pass equipment in small grains, vegetable and cotton fields.
Properly inflate tractor radial ply tires to optimize traction, reduce fuel costs and increase productivity. UC Davis agricultural engineers are developing precision tillage equipment.
Conservation Tillage Methods
Publication - No-Till Wheat and Barley Production in California: Conservation Tillage on Small Grains in California's Non-Irrigated Fields
Research Report - Precision Tillage Equipment: This project is developing soil compaction and moisture profile sensors and software to integrate precision tillage equipment to Global Positioning System. Principal Investigator: Dr. Shrini Upadhyaya, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis.
Article - California Farmer "New Till Age", May 2000 issue.
One-Pass Tillage Equipment
Research Report - Evaluation of One-Pass Tillage Equipment Versus Conventional Tillage System: One-Pass cultivation using the Incorpramaster equipment, by Dr. Shrini Upadhyaya, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis.
Research Report - Site-specific Tillage Strategies and Practices for the Widely Spaced Row Crops in California: Seed bed precision tillage application in cotton and corn, by Dr. Sham Goyal, Department of Agronomy and range Sciences, UC Davis.
Proper Tractor Tire Inflation
Publication - How to Get the Most from Radial Ply Tractor Tires - A Guide to Selecting the Correct Inflation Pressures
Video Tape - How Farmers are Saving Money from Properly Inflating Radial Ply Tractor Tires.
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Greenhouse Costs
 Reducing Greenhouse Energy Bills
Prepared by Jim Thompson
Biological & Agricultural Engineering Dept., UC DavisB
Increased natural gas prices over the last year have hit the greenhouse industry hard.
There are some economical ways to reduce natural gas use. Use a calibrated, fast response thermometer for measuring air temperature and follow these cost-effective ways to reduce energy use.
Best Use of Existing Equipment
Timely maintenance of existing equipment is the fastest and least expensive way to cut energy costs. Identify potential problems by surveying the air temperature at crop height. Temperature variation will be most easily observed in the early morning hours when outside air temperature is lowest and the sun has not begun to influence heating needs. If everything is working correctly, air temperature should be consistent and at the desired level. If the average temperature is higher than needed, reduce the thermostat setting accordingly. Keeping a greenhouse one-degree warmer than needed increases gas bills by 10 percent to 15 percent under typical California conditions. One note of caution — if you have been operating the facility with this error for several seasons your production scheduling may be inadvertently based on this higher temperature. Reducing growing temperatures may slow the next crop.
Differences between the average air temperature and the temperature at which the thermostat is set can be caused by an error in thermostat calibration or by locating the unit in a relatively cold location in the greenhouse. Aspirated enclosures allow thermostats to accurately sample air temperature and reduce error caused by thermostat location. Put a tag on the thermostat indicating the date of calibration and the temperature correction factor.
Air temperatures at crop height should be consistent around the facility. Cold areas are often caused by air leaks. Check weather stripping on doors, lubricate fan louvers to ensure they close tightly, patch holes in coverings, check lap seals in glass covered houses, and install seals on ridge vents. Seals cost a few cents per square foot of floor area and are a good investment. Make sure that thermal blanket systems close completely. Poor heating system maintenance can also cause cold areas in the greenhouse. Inspect steam and hot water pipes to be sure they are not accidentally buried in trash and debris. Poor hot air distribution from convection heaters can also cause poor air temperature uniformity. Clean fan blades to get original air output and check jet tubes for leaks.
Air temperature should also be fairly uniform from crop to roof. A higher air temperature near the roof indicates inadequate air movement in the greenhouse. Poor air circulation allows cold air to settle to the floor and warm air to rise to the roof. Most of the heat in a greenhouse escapes through the roof so high air temperature near the roof acts just like an improperly calibrated thermostat to increase energy use. Reducing air temperature near the roof by one degree Fahrenheit may lower fuel use by 10 percent. Air can be mixed with a horizontal fan system or a jet tube unit.
Heating systems may still effectively heat a greenhouse but suffer from poor efficiency if they are not regularly maintained. Over time, boiler tubes become fouled, soot builds up in furnace heat exchangers, and burners lose proper adjustment. Flush boilers to remove scale and deposits. Check the burner combustion efficiency of unit heaters and boilers with a flue gas analysis kit. Clean heat exchangers with a wire brush. An 1/8 inch layer of soot can increase fuel use by 10 percent. Repair or replace malfunctioning steam traps. Check insulation on steam and hot water pipes located outside the greenhouse. If you do not have a regular heating system maintenance program in place, work with your equipment supplier to design a program for your specific system.
Purchase Energy Saving Equipment
After maintaining equipment, the next step in reducing energy costs is to consider capital investment in new equipment. Most of the options increase the insulating effect of the greenhouse by adding a second or third layer of covering. For example, a polyethylene subroof installed under the roof trusses will reduce fuel use by 20 percent to 30 percent. All heating and ventilating systems must operate below the added subroof. Energy savings will repay installation costs in one or two seasons. Thermal blankets that are extended inside the walls and roof at night can reduce energy use by 35 percent to 50 percent. Insulated thermal blankets have even greater potential for savings. All of these systems are expensive, and some greenhouses may not be strong enough to support them. Work with commercial greenhouse equipment companies to determine costs and estimated savings. Rigid board insulation applied to the inside of north walls and below bench height on other walls reduces energy use by 5 percent to 10 percent.
Installing moveable benches reduces energy costs while plant produced by increasing the number of plants that can be grown in a greenhouse. Bench space often occupies about 65 percent of total greenhouse area, the rest of the area is devoted to aisles. Moveable benches allow access to plants but increase useable bench space to about 85 percent of the greenhouse area, cutting energy use by 30 percent per plant sold.
The 2001 heating season is now about half over for most growers, but there is still plenty of time to maintain the greenhouse and heating equipment. Now is also the time to plan the major capital improvements needed for next season.
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On Farm Irrigation
 Vegetable growers who are saving upwards of 25% in water pumping, fertilizer and herbicide costs by using subsurface drip irrigation technologies in the Central Coast Region of California.
Research by engineers at UC Kearney Agricultural Research Center developing new software to determine precise water needs for trees and vines.
How irrigators can optimize fertilizer application by properly designing, installing and operating fertigation systems. How to calculate the cost of a new irrigation system installation for trees and vines.
Irrigation Scheduling
Publication - Scheduling Irrigations: When and How Much Water to Apply
By University of California, Davis Irrigation Education Program
Research Project - Water Use Prediction Technologies for Trees and Vines
By Dr. David Goldhammer, University of California, Davis Land, Air, Water Resources
Irrigation Technologies
Publication - Costs of Pressurized Irrigation Systems for Tree Crops
By University of California, Davis Irrigation Education Program
Publication - Drip and Microirrigation for Trees, Vines, and Row Crops
By Irrigation Training and Research Center, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Publication - Fertigation
By Irrigation Training and Research Center, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Publication - Drip Irrigation for Row Crops
By University of California, Davis Irrigation Education Program
Publication - Microirrigation for Trees and Vines
By University of California, Davis Irrigation Education Program
Publication - Surface Irrigation
By University of California, Davis Irrigation Education Program
Publication - Surge Irrigation
By University of California, Davis Irrigation Education Program
Publication - Irrigation Pumping Plants
By University of California, Davis Irrigation Education Program
Program Publication - Fertigation Basics
By Irrigation Training and Research Center, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo - http://www.itrc.org/papers/pnva/fertbasics.html
Demonstration Projects
Research Report - Buried Drip Irrigation on Pistachios at Munger-Poonian Land and Farming Co. --
http://www.itrc.org/reports/cec/burieddrip.html
Research Report - Row Crop Drip Irrigation on Peppers at High Rise Farms --
http://www.itrc.org/reports/highrise/highrise.html
Research Report - Row Crop Drip Irrigation on Bell Peppers at Underwood Ranches --
http://www.itrc.org/reports/underwood/underwood.html
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Irrigation Districts
 The links below include information on: Irrigation districts achieving energy savings, water conservation and overall system efficiencies from the installation of variable frequency drive motors and SCADA software systems. Irrigation districts converting their infrastructure to deliver water on a flexible schedules to meet the needs of farmers using drip irrigation technologies.
Demonstration Projects
Research Report - Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District: Variable Frequency Drive Study, CalPoly San Luis Obispo University, Irrigation Technology Research Center, --
http://www.itrc.org/reports/Deid/DEIDvfd.html
Research Report - Automatic Upstream Canal Control with the ITRC Flap Gate, CalPoly San Luis Obispo University, Irrigation Technology Research Center --
http://www.itrc.org/reports/itrcflapgate/flapgate.html
Research Report - Estimating the Payback for an Electrical VFD (Variable Frequence Drive) Application in a Pumping Plant Which Presently Spills Excess Pumpage, CalPoly San Luis Obispo University, Irrigation Technology
http://www.itrc.org/reports/vfd/vfdpayback.html
Research Project - New Technology Implementation at California Irrigation Districts
Research Project - Development of a Simple Procedure for Tuning Controller Constants for Automatic Upstream Control of Canal Check Structures
Research Project - New Devices for Volumetric Metering of Delivered Water -
Trash Shedding Propeller Meters
Research Project - New Electronic Technologies for Volumetric Metering of Delivered Water - Magnetic, Doppler, Vortex Shedding and Ultrasonic Flow Measurement
Research Project - Development of Strategies for Energy-Efficient Transition from Low Pressure Non-Reinforced Concrete Pipe
Research Project - Power Quality Measurement and Conditioning
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Pump Efficiency
Suggestions Offered by
Mr. Jim Thompson
University of California, Extension Specialist
Electricity interruptions will most likely occur during on-peak hours, from noon to 6:00 p.m., and could last for one to two hours. (4pm - 7pm).
If I am a Farmer irrigating crops, What should I do?
- Now's the time to be testing your pumps, and take adventage of the Agricultural Peakload Program. For more information check out www.energy.ca.gov or contact Fresno State Center Irrigation Technology at: 1-855-297-3029
- Test your well pumps and improve overall pumping plant efficiency — that is, the combined efficiency of the pump and motor or engine.
- For pumps between 55 percent and 60 percent efficiency consider adjusting the impeller.
- For pumps between 50 percent and 55 percent efficiency consider adjusting the impeller first; consider repairing or replacing the pump if adjusting the impeller has no effect on efficiency.
- Consider repairing or replacing pumps with less than 50 percent efficiency .
- When replacing standard motors, buy new energy efficient electric motors.
- Reduce the total dynamic head of pumps (power consumption) by installing variable speed drive controllers. These systems work best in Time-of-Use rate schedules on deep wells with frequent startups.
Use energy efficient water-conserving irrigation practices. Adopt irrigation scheduling methods and deficit irrigation practices to conserve water.
- Sign for Time-of-Use rate schedules with the utility company. By using Time-of-Use schedules you can reduce total costs and possibly avoid power interruptions. The likelihood of power interruptions occurring during peak times is higher than during off-peak times. By already being prepared to use power off-peak, it is possible to avoid interruptions.
- Call your utility company and sign up for a Time-of-Use rate schedule that works for you.
- Calculate if your current pump and irrigation system can deliver, in 18 rather than 24 hours, the water your crops need.
- If you need to make changes to the pump and/or the irrigation system, calculate the cost and figure out how to implement the project. Talk with the utility company about financing options.
- Adjust your work schedule to meet the new Time-of-Use hours.
- If you are a dairy farmer irrigating crops and milking cows, do all the above recommendations - but don’t forget to also install variable speed drive controllers in the vacuum and milking pumps.
For additional information on pumping equipment, purchase the University of California, Davis "Irrigation Pumping Plants" publication, at (530) 752-1130.
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