Water and Electricity Consumption on Pasture-based and Confined Dairies in Georgia

Belflower, Jefferson Bunyan; Kiepper, Brian H.; Perry, John; Risse, L. Mark; Smith, Ronald C.

doi:10.13031/2013.41344

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Most studies that reported irrigation as an important electricity factor were pasture-based dairies. Including irrigation significantly increased the overall electricity usage and EUI m of pasture-based dairies, which in one example rose from 5.3 to 10.6 kWh 100 kg -1 (Belflower et al, 2012). An irrigated lowinput, low-production pasture system in New Zealand had the highest EUI m (23.4 kWh 100 kg -1 ) and a moderately high EUI c (1,169 kWh cow -1 y -1 ) (Podstolski, 2016).…”

Section: Farm Design and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cases where there was a large difference in per cow milk production between these two systems may be related to seasonal milking in the pasture-based dairies, but this information could not be confirmed in the studies that directly compare the two. In a North American study, Belflower et al (2012) reported that a confined dairy had more than twice the per cow milk production of a pasture-based dairy (roughly 11,000 kg cow -1 y -1 vs. roughly 5,000 kg cow -1 y -1 ). As described by Delaby et al (2020), the high genetic potential for milk production of Holstein cows are unable to meet their potential in a grazing system without feed supplementation.…”

Section: Farm Design and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The average EUI c in irrigated systems was >50% higher than non-irrigated systems, and the EUI m was almost twice as high (table 2). Studies that include irrigation in their electricity budgets noted that irrigation can account for up to 50% of the total electricity usage (Belflower et al, 2012;Podstolski, 2016). The electricity used by irrigation is estimated to range from 200 to 275 kWh ML -1 of water, depending on the type of irrigation used (Christie et al, 2012).…”

Section: Farm Design and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, given the higher overall electricity budget of confined dairies, irrigation, when it occurs, tends to be a lower fraction of the budget. For example, Belflower et al (2012) noted that irrigation on a confined dairy accounted for 63,000 kWh y -1 , or 8.4% of total electricity use.…”

Section: Farm Design and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Review: Dairy Farm Electricity Use, Conservation, and Renewable Production—A Global Perspective

Mohsenimanesh¹,

LeRiche²,

Clarke³

et al. 2021

Applied Engineering in Agriculture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlights Studies of electricity use were reviewed, representing five continents. Considering all farm types, electricity use averaged 7.7 kWh 100 kg-1 milk and 612 kWh cow-1 y-1. Pasture-based dairy systems used less electricity than barn-based systems (475 vs. 769 kWh cow-1 y-1). By combining several conservation technologies there is potential to reduce electricity demand by one-third. Dairy farms can reach net zero electricity by combining renewable energy production with conservation. Abstract. This review summarizes electricity use on dairy farms, with a focus on how energy is used, energy use indices (EUI), conservation strategies, and generation of renewable energy to reach net zero. EUI of electricity consumption varied between the identified studies primarily based on farm management system (confined, pasture-based), housing type (tie-stall, free-stall), and region (North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania). The highest electricity usage was associated with milking and milk cooling systems, which, on average, accounted for 23% and 22% of total electricity use, respectively. Energy use scaled per cow (EUIc) was lower, on average, for pasture-based dairy systems than for confined systems (475 vs. 769 kWh cow-1 y-1). Considering milk production, the average EUI scaled to milk (EUIm) was lower for pasture-based systems (6.6 kWh 100 kg-1) than for confined systems 9.2 kWh 100 kg-1. Considering all non-irrigated farm types, EUIm averaged 7.7 kWh 100 kg-1 and EUIc averaged 612 kWh cow-1 y-1. There was a large range of EUI, with higher values associated with automated milking systems and irrigation. Electricity consumption by the global dairy sector (excluding irrigation) was estimated using the average EUIm at approximately 64.2 TWh y-1. The main conservation technologies include variable speed drives (milk vacuum pumps, milking systems, fans), pre-cool heat exchangers, refrigeration heat recovery systems, energy-efficient light fixtures (compact fluorescents, light emitting diodes), and efficient ventilation (high-volume low-speed fans). Theoretical savings of up to 32% overall could be achieved by combining several technologies. Feedback from electricity monitoring can inform dairy farmers of their energy use pattern to guide decisions to reduce consumption. Tools for predicting energy use and related costs on dairy farms, which can indicate potential energy savings from operational changes, were reviewed. By combining conservation methods with renewable energy from biogas or solar, many dairy farms can produce enough electricity to reach net zero electricity. For example, a hypothetical barn-based 250 milking-cow dairy farm consumed 1021 kWh cow-1 y-1, on average, and could produce approximately 1095 kWh cow-1 y-1 using a biodigester or 960 kWh cow-1 y-1 using rooftop photovoltaic solar panels. Keywords: Conservation, Dairy footprint, Electricity use, Electricity partitioning, Energy utilization index, Renewable energy.

show abstract

Section: Farm Design and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Farm Design and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%