Educational Curricula and Professional Development Training for Energy Efficient Production Practices

In response to the shift in some crop acres from providing food and fiber to an increased emphasis in energy farming, concerns have been raised about potential problems from crop monocultures or high rates of residue removal. David Clay’s long-term goals for his project were to increase producers’ awareness of the importance of determining costs of production, as well as conducting energy efficiency and environmental sustainability assessments during long-term planning. Clay edited curricula suitable for use in training sessions and conducted seven related workshops and 31 presentations, including the two reference materials below:

GIS Applications in Agriculture: Nutrient Management for Improved Energy Efficiency provides an outline of how management recommendations are developed and how a ground-based active sensor can be used. More information is available at http://www.northcentralsare.org/GIS-Applications

South Dakota Corn Best Management Practices provides a guide for selecting management practices that consider both production and environmental-sustainability goals. More information is available at http://www.northcentralsare.org/ corn-management-practices

Want more information? See the related SARE grant(s) ENC07-095, Educational Curricula and Professional Development Training for Energy Efficient Production Practices.