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Exploring Energy Efficiency and Alternatives to Manage Ag Production Risk

Sarah Hamlen

Summary

Agricultural educators must provide energy risk education. Energy issues are emphasized in the 2011 State of the Union Address, the U.S. Farm Bill, and the Extension Director’s Association reports from 2006 to present. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture identifies sustainable energy as one of five national priorities. Policy decisions regarding energy emissions and supply will contribute to additional pricing uncertainty and risk related to energy price management. This strong emphasis on energy both drives agricultural demand for information and resources, and is in response to escalating on-farm energy prices. Agricultural educators must be prepared to address the needs of producers, and must proactively educate producers about their energy decisions.

The self-guided and self-contained E3A (Exploring Energy Efficiency and Alternatives) Toolkit curriculum has been developed to help agricultural educators provide non-biased, research based information regarding energy decisions. The toolkit includes nine folders on specific energy issues –designed to make energy discussions with producers easy for those versed in energy, and for those who have limited experience in energy education. The toolkit provides programming options and in-depth teaching tools for agricultural educators.

This educational effort launched in November 2011. Agricultural producers educated using the curriculum thus far have learned the essentials of implementing energy efficiency and conservation measures on existing points of consumption. Further, they have learned methods for assessing their energy risks and action objectives when evaluating sources of alternative energy. This session will illustrate the curriculum designed to train agricultural educators on teaching energy risk management.

Details

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