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Type: Book

Energy-smart farming Efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability

Editor

Ralph E. H. Sims is Emeritus Professor of Sustainable Energy and Climate Mitigation at Massey University, New Zealand. In a distinguished career spanning 50 years, Professor Sims has also worked for the International Energy Agency, produced major reports on rural energy for the OECD, UNFCCC and UN FAO, been Director of the Centre for Energy Research at Massey University and contributed to five IPCC reports, including leading chapters on energy supply, transport and renewable energy integration.

Dimensions:

229x152mm
6x9"

Publication date:

17 May 2022

Length of book:

370 pages

ISBN-13: 9781786768353

£150.00
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Description

It has been estimated that around 15% of global agricultural production costs on-farm are energy-related. With heightened concerns around the sustainability of crop and livestock production, the agricultural sector must develop and invest in alternative methods of farming that recoup the same results but have a reduced environmental impact.

Energy-smart farming: Efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability reviews recent research undertaken on the ways of reducing the costs and environmental impact of on-farm energy use. The collection explores advances in improving energy efficiency on farms, renewable energy technologies such as agrivoltaics, biomass combustion, gasification and pyrolysis, as well as how more sustainable energy use can be delivered in practice in livestock production systems.

Edited by a leading expert in the field, Energy-smart farming: Efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability will be a standard reference for university and other researchers in renewable energy deployment and policies, environmental scientists, government and other agencies tackling the challenge of climate change, as well as farmers and representatives from food manufacturers and suppliers dedicated to reducing their carbon footprint.

What others are saying...

“The proposed content of the book is very interesting and useful as it covers topics and provides examples that contribute to global knowledge on the important – yet often overlooked - links between energy and food. The publication of the book is very timely as it is highly relevant for the pathway towards the fulfilment of the Goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Agreement. This should be an important reference for decision makers and practitioners at the interface between the energy and food sectors. Well done!” Olivier Dubois, Senior Natural Resources Officer & Leader Energy Programme, Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, FAO

Table of contents

Part 1 Efficient use of electricity, heat and fuel
1.Measuring and auditing on-farm energy use: Majeed Safa, Lincoln University, New Zealand;
2.Advances in energy-efficient lighting and ventilation for food production systems: Tom Tabler, Mississippi State University, USA;
3.Improving farm machinery operation and maintenance to optimise fuel use efficiency: T. A. Jensen and J. N. Tullberg, University of Southern Queensland, Australia; and D. L. Antille, University of Southern Queensland and CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia;
4.Efficient water management and irrigation on farms: K. Reardon-Smith and S. Mushtaq, Centre for Applied Climate Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Australia; M. Scobie and J. Eberhard, Centre for Agricultural Engineering, University of Southern Queensland, Australia; and T. N. Maraseni, Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Southern Queensland, Australia;

Part 2 On-farm renewable energy heat and power generation
5.Assessing and modelling the costs of on-farm distributed renewable energy systems: Julio Pombo-Romero, University of Vigo, Spain;
6.Energy-smart innovation and renewable energy systems on farms: an overview: Ralph E. H. Sims, Massey University, New Zealand;
7.On-farm biomass technologies for heat and power: Ralph E. H. Sims, Massey University, New Zealand;
8.Developments in agrivoltaics: achieving synergies by combining plants with solar photovoltaic power systems: Stefano Amaducci, Eleonora Potenza and Michele Colauzzi, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy;

Part 3 Energy-smart farming: case studies
9.Tools and technologies to reduce fossil energy use on dairy farms: Philip Shine and Michael D. Murphy, Munster Technological University, Ireland; and John Upton, Teagasc Moorepark, Ireland;
10.Energy-smart pig farming: Lee J. Johnston and Kelsey L. Hammers, West Central Research and Outreach Center, University of Minnesota, USA;
11.Energy-smart poultry farming: Yi Liang, University of Arkansas, USA;