Energy use efficiency
What's your on-farm energy use costing you?
Energy use efficiency
What's your on-farm energy use costing you?
Energy inputs are being increasingly scrutinised by policy makers and can also be a considerable cost to primary producers, particularly for cotton. Fuel, oil and electricity costs are second only behind crop nutrition as the highest-cost line item in an irrigated cotton gross margin.
Irrigated cotton growers can reduce energy costs in three ways: reducing demand by saving water; improving energy efficiency of machines/pumps; and substituting traditional grid power or liquid fuels with renewable energy sources. Improving energy efficiency also makes significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing GHGs is important in maintaining the environmental credentials of the Australian cotton industry and helping our product access export markets for sustainable cotton. To ensure best management practice, a number of steps can be taken to help you understand the range, costs and contributions of energy use to cotton production.
Reducing or optimising the amount of water pumped around the farm can substantially lower demand and energy costs. Measuring volumes of inputs (fuel, labour) against outputs (water quantity, bales produced) is the key to making improvements and achieving best management practice.
Key tips are:
- Use tools to schedule irrigations and monitor soil moisture levels
- Estimate your soil’s capacity to hold and store water (which will change with field and soil type). Be aware of deep drainage and the exponential losses that can occur beneath the soil from saturation
- Regularly monitor and maintain storages and channels for leaks and seepage as 20% of water use losses can be attributed to these areas. An EM survey and clay lining can remediate leaking channels. Consider structural improvements to reduce evaporation such as splitting irrigation storage into cells or raising dam walls.
- Maximise crop yields by testing and understanding bore water quality and any potential limitations
- Measure pumping costs of bores – an efficient pump will lift one ML of water one metre using 0.96 litres of diesel or 4 kWh of electricity.
Auditing a pump site
Pump stations are generally overlooked when it’s time to upgrade farm machinery or equipment. Cotton growers tend to spend more time in the farm ute or tractor, which are upgraded every three to five years, while the pump station continues to operate alone on the riverbank or in the field with little attention. For over a decade there has been a significant investment in research to identify where energy is consumed on-farm and how to improve our energy efficiency. For more, see page 64 of the 2026-27 Australian Cotton Production Manual.
Tractors and energy use
The field preparation and post-harvest phases of cotton production are when all heavy tillage tractor operations occur. These are energy-intensive practices that require optimisation and can account for 20% of total energy consumed on an irrigated cotton farm. The practice of monitoring or examining individual tractor operations can yield significant energy savings. Check ripping depth and groundspeed. By reducing ground speed and gearing up; fuel consumption can be reduced by 7 litres per hour (168 hp tractor. Fuel consumption can be further reduced by 10% with a small (25 mm) decrease in ripping depth. Therefore, under some agronomic circumstances, energy use can be lowered with a small decrease in ripping depth
Deep ripping does not always provide an economic solution in some soil types. Experts have observed that farmers in Australia tend to overballast their tractors. Setting up ballasts can optimise fuel consumption, reduce wear and service costs and reduce soil compaction. For information on how to ensure your tractor is correctly ballasted and wheel slip is reduced for maximum traction and fuel efficiency click here.
Related News
Stay updated with our latest industry news
Related Publications
Stay updated with our latest publications
