An Assessment of Direct on-Farm Energy Use for High Value Grain Crops Grown under Different Farming Practices in Australia

Abstract

Several studies have quantified the energy consumption associated with crop production in various countries. However, these studies have not compared the energy consumption from a broad range of farming practices currently in practice, such as zero tillage, conventional tillage and irrigated farming systems. This study examines direct on-farm energy use for high value grain crops grown under different farming practices in Australia. Grain farming processes are identified and "typical" farming operation data are collected from several sources, including published and unpublished literature, as well as expert interviews. The direct on-farm energy uses are assessed for 27 scenarios, including three high value grain crops-wheat, barley and sorghum-for three regions (Northern, Southern and Western Australia) under three farming conditions with both dryland (both for conventional and zero-tillage) and irrigated conditions. It is found that energy requirement for farming operations is directly related to the intensity and frequency of farming operations, which in turn is related to tillage practices, soil types, irrigation systems, local climate, and crop types. Among the three studied regions, Western Australia requires less direct on-farm energy for each crop, mainly due to the easily workable sandy soils and adoption of zero tillage systems. In irrigated crops, irrigation energy remains a major contributor to the total on-farm energy demand, accounting for up to 85% of total energy use.

Optimization Approach for Improving Energy Efficiency and Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emission of Wheat Crop using Data Envelopment Analysis

“…Energy is a vital factor in agriculture, and energy use has raised over the years to fulfill the requirement of the increasing population beneath the pressure of reduced arable land and labor Energy is a vital factor in agriculture, and energy use has raised over the years to fulfill the requirement of the increasing population beneath the pressure of reduced arable land and labor shortage [1,2]. Notwithstanding, the extensive use of energy has seriously intimidated the sustainability of agriculture and environmental protections [3,4].…”

Life cycle assessment to compare the environmental impacts of different wheat production systems

“…Efficiency can be increased in agricultural production by more sustainable use of resources, such as labor, chemical fertilizers, water and fuel. Also application of new technologies and attention to life cycles of byproduct processing can increase the agricultural efficiency (Maraseni, et al, 2015). Currently, in most developing countries, a lot of fossil energy sources are using to produce agricultural productions, which often lead to air, soil and water pollution (Nemecek et al, 2011).…”

Impact of Irrigation Intervals on the Yield and Quality of Lupine (Lupinus termis L.) Grown in Sandy Soil Amended by an Organic Amendment

“…The interaction between the compost rates and the irrigation intervals showed no significant effect on the seeds' content of nutrient except for the total N and Mn. A global meta-analysis shows that in dry climates, crop yields sometimes declined in irrigated conditions because irrigated crops have a higher energy demand than others [25].…”