Everyone wins when farmers save energy

By mid-February, most Iowans are ready to throw in the towel - or toss off the stocking cap - and move to warmer climates. My husband Eric and I joke that we only have to go south about 100 yards to visit a warmer climate - to the five greenhouses in which we grow cut flowers and produce for local markets.

Heating a greenhouse in late winter/early spring in Iowa could be an enormous energy suck, but Eric carefully designed our heating system to conserve energy usage. Our farming practices are also chosen, in part, for energy conservation purposes. Energy conservation helps us save money, but also helps us conserve resources. These sources are not infinite, and we think we should all actively work to conserve them.

Our greenhouses have subsoil heat - similar to radiant heat you might have in a tile or shop floor. The crops we grow are planted directly in the heated soil. The roots of the tiny plants love their new, warm location, and we drape row covers over the tops of our beds to further capture the heat. Soil, because of its density, holds heat much better than air. Our boiler is heated by a corn furnace - energy that is renewable and grown right on our farm, allowing us energy independence. A cooler is a necessity on a cut flower and produce farm. Rather than choosing a traditional walk-in cooler, we built our own. It's powered by a window air conditioner and a device called a Cool-Bot that 'fools” the air conditioner into cooling down to temps in the upper 30s and lower 40s. In an energy study we did with Practical Farmers of Iowa, we learned that the Cool-Bot system is more energy efficient than a traditional cooler. Eric also uses no-till and conservation tillage practices in our row crop production, saving on fuel because there are fewer passes through the field.

Why do we constantly look for ways to conserve energy? Obviously, it saves money. The less you use, the less you will have to spend on that input. But there are deeper, more holistic reasons we are constantly looking for ways to conserve natural resources on our farm. We believe in being good stewards of these resources and have a desire to leave our farm to future generations in better condition than when we began farming. Conserving energy protects the environment. Even more, it protects other resources such as soil and water. For example, no-till and conservation tillage leave some residue on the soil, preventing erosion and runoff.

Our society has spent the past decade wringing its hands about whether climate change exists. But I think that's a moot point. The point is we should be doing everything we can to conserve energy and protect our resources because it helps us personally and at our local level.

' Ann Franzenburg and her husband Eric own and operate Pheasant Run Farm, a diversified family farm in Benton County that raises corn, soybeans, medicinal herbs, cut flowers and produce. Comments: editorial@thegazette.com