Energy in crops

alice jones (ajones@unlinfo.unl.edu)
Fri, 21 Apr 1995 14:19:14 -0500 (CDT)

While the techniques for measuring energy consumption in crops has
been documented, is widely known (or at least accessible), and could
even be done by an undergraduate, there have been few interpretations
of its role in production except in energy units.

How would "conventional" and "sustainable" production systems for
crops or livestock stack up if production were measured in bu/energy
unit, bu/hour of labor, etc. instead of bu/ac? As we consider the
substitution of on-farm resources and labor for energy-intensive
external inputs, it may be appropriate for us to also define a new measure
of success.

Alice J. Jones
Assoc. Professor
Univ. of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68583-0910
402-472-1500
402-472-7904 (fax)
ajones@unlinfo.unl.edu