The Detroit News: Renewable-fuel machinery costly, but larger operations say it eventually pays off

Even farmers are looking for ways to use less energy, save money and be kinder to the environment.

From installing machinery that converts manure into electricity, to processing corn to create biofuel, to leasing land for wind farms, more Michigan growers are exploring methods of reducing their carbon footprint, cutting energy costs and diversifying their income.

While agriculture officials are aware of this growing practice, they are not sure how broadly it is being adopted.

In Michigan, several hundred farms among the state's more than 56,000 use or produce alternative energy. Last month, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service began surveying 417 of these operations to gauge what farmers are doing to cut energy consumption and costs.

Each state is conducting its own survey. The results will give agricultural producers, policy makers and the public details about the economic and environmental impact of on-farm energy production.

"It's a small minority, but it's growing," Bob Boehm, manager of commodity and marketing at the Michigan Farm Bureau, said of farmers in the state who are pursuing renewable energy.

Financial and environmental reasons are pushing the trend. As farms have gotten larger, producing more manure, farmers have been looking for new ways to dispose of the waste in an environmentally friendly manner.

Additionally, energy costs have increased and farmers can supplement the power and fuel they buy to operate equipment with their own. Some even make money by selling excess fuel and power to energy companies, Boehm said.

Harley Sietsema is expecting a major return from a $4 million gasification system he established at his feed mill in Howard City. The system converts turkey waste into energy.

"It's the right thing for us to do for the long-term business strategy," Sietsema said.

While more farmers are interested in trying energy conversion technology, it's not for everyone, said Dennis Pennington, a bioenergy specialist at Michigan State University Extension. The equipment can be costly, and small and medium-sized farms may never recoup the investment.

Only bigger farms, which pay tens of thousands of dollars or more annually for energy to operate tractors and trucks, warm greenhouses and run other machinery, would see a savings, he said.

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