As crops come into store, make sure you know what you’re spending energy on. That’s the message from the British Potato Council for growers and store managers this autumn.
“Over the last two years energy costs have risen by up to 60 percent,” comments BPC’s Adrian Cunnington. “Post-harvest processes can add between £3 and £12 per tonne - that’s a big range, so there’s real potential for many growers to cut costs.”
A new Growers’ Advice sheet is now available that summarises BPC-funded work undertaken by farm energy specialist FEC Services. It rounds up the range of energy use of a number of different in-store applications and provides pointers to where the ‘big wins’ on energy savings are likely to be found. “But it’s not just about cutting costs - increasing interest in environmental issues and climate change are likely to result in pressure from government, either in the form of taxation or targets to reduce energy usage.”
There’ll be a focus on reducing energy use in store at the British Potato 2007 event that takes place at the Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate on November 28 and 29. FEC Services’ Andrew Kneeshaw will lead a seminar session that will focus on what the big energy users are in store, how you can monitor usage and make easy savings.
The new Growers’ Advice sheet can be found at www.potato.org.uk. Click on Knowledge Transfer and then Grower’ Advice in the left hand menu.
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