Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

EXPERIMENT STATION:   Storrs (Connecticut)

 Objective 1: Survey Report

No accomplishments to report.

Objective 2: Identify Opportunities

The University of Connecticut group is leading an effort to develop

1. A stackable pallet greenbox farming system for urban agriculture.
2. Computer-run simulation models for analyzing and comparing the controlled environment and energy dynamics between the newly developed greenbox system and traditional greenhouses.
3. Up-to-date water and nutrient as well as energy management guidelines for greenbox crop production and provide users with educational opportunities that teach proper implementation at their own facilities.
4. Proposals for farm energy research, education, and extension.

A protocol of the proposed greenbox farming system has been constructed for test. Energy management plans have developed for given set of environmental conditions for both traditional greenhouses and the newly proposed greenboxes for growing lettuce. A computer model for simulating the environment and energy use for the two systems has been developed. Once evaluated and validated, it will be used to analyze and compare the energy uses by the two systems in producing the same amount of produce.

Objective 3: Joint Proposals

A proposal entitled “Stackable farming for economically and environmentally urban food production” has been submitted to USDA NIFA SBIR program in October 2016. It has been selected by the funding agency for Phase I concept proofing. We are currently working on Phase II proposal for 2018, in which over $250K will be included for research work at University of Connecticut.

EXPERIMENT STATION:   Illinois

Objective 1: Survey Report

No accomplishments to report.

Objective 2: Identify Opportunities

U of I team has been actively organizing workshops and field days to demonstrate the renewable biomass energy opportunities to IL farmers on the energy crop and biomass heat & power.  For example, 

• U of I extension team worked with a farm in Central Illinois on a biomass heat project. A biomass heat unit has been installed and demonstrated to provide heat to a farm equipment repair and maintenance shop building.  The unit is an outdoor hydronic heating unit for floor heat utilizing biomass bales. An open house/field day was held at farm to highlight first full season of heating with the system.  This is part of an ongoing IL Depart of Transportation project to show the viability to use this type of system on IDOT remote shop facilities. IDOT project has applied for additional funding going into 2017.
• A US Forest Service Grant funded Illinois Sustainable Technologies Center project to evaluate woody biomass for rural applications such as heating larger greenhouse operations. The project moved toward analysis of several potential sites and selection of one as a demonstration site. A biomass heating unit has been purchased and preparation for installation in a small commercial greenhouse is underway.
• Design specifications of biomass heating system have been completed for a project at the University of Illinois Energy Farm complex. Installation of a biomass heating system is currently underway.
• A U of I extension team has written and received approval for a one year Smart Meter Education grant. Hard to reach low-income, seniors, and rural residence are the target audience for this statewide effort.  Year one efforts will primarily be focused  

Objective 3: Joint Proposals

A proposal entitled “Energy Answers for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher” was developed together with PI Daniel Ciolkosz at Penn State University and submitted to the USDA 2016 BFRDP Program. The proposal was not selected for funding.

 EXPERIMENT STATION: Maryland

Objective 1: Survey Report

No accomplishments to report

Objective 2: Identify Opportunities

The University of Maryland team has been working with farmers in implementing anaerobic digestion technology for dairy and poultry famers, as well as fluidized bed combustion for poultry manure.

• The Maryland team has worked with a dairy farm in Cecil County, MD to upgrade their H₂S scrubber and working towards installing a combined heat and power system for their covered lagoon digester with food waste co-digestion. The team has worked with them on identifying vendors, feasibility studies and collecting information on power purchase agreements. Future extension efforts will focus on helping farmers navigate power purchase agreements and understanding opportunities with food waste co-digestion.
• The Maryland team has worked with farmers trying to understand the new nutrient trading program and how anaerobic digestion (with composting), combustion and gasification can be used for receiving future nutrient trading credits. Future extension efforts will focus on helping farmers navigate this area and how farm energy technologies can be integrated into this program.
• The Maryland team has worked with a poultry farm in Dorchester County, MD to implement and quantify energy and biochar production from a fluidized bed combustion unit for poultry litter with electricity generation and heat recovery for heating the poultry houses. The team is still gathering data on this system, but create case studies and FactSheets based on the findings.
• The Maryland team has worked with a poultry farm in Worcester County, MD to implement and quantify biogas production and nutrient recovery from a poultry litter digester with post-digestion nutrient recovery and re-use of the effluent water in the front of the digestion system. The team is still gathering data on this system, but create case studies and FactSheets based on the findings.
• The Maryland team has worked with 5 dairy farms in Maryland and Pennsylvania to quantify antibiotic and nutrient transformations using different dairy manure processing technologies, including solid-liquid separation, composting, anaerobic digestion, open-air lagoon storage, and covered lagoon storage. The team has also collected information on antibiotic use at each farm for each treatment category on a monthly basis. The team is planning a dairy extension even in October 2017 to present results to date on how manure technologies affect antimicrobial resistance mitigation as well as help farmers understand the new state and federal antibiotic directives.
• The Maryland team has worked with 3 dairy farms in Maryland and Pennsylvania to quantify H₂S reductions from biogas using biological scrubbers, air injection, and iron scrubbers. The team is also collecting data on operational parameters and capital/operational costs of each system. The team is planning a dairy extension even in October 2017 to present results on H₂S scrubbing technology and how different systems affect reductions. Two Factsheets were co-written with Cornell University on this project.

Objective 3: Joint Proposals

A joint proposal was led by Stephanie Lansing for a NERA Planning grant in 2016 entitled, “Alternative Inputs and Outputs for Agricultural-based Anaerobic Digesters to Increase Economic Viability and Environmental Benefits”.  This proposal was not funded, as it was suggested that the activity proposed could be conducted as part of this coordinating committee.

Other accomplishments that do not necessarily relate to the NECC-1501 Multistate Research Project objectives:

None

EXPERIMENT STATION: New Hampshire

Objective 1: Survey Report

Energy recovery from composting is an emerging technology, with the first commercial-scale non-prototype system going online in 2007. Though a handful of systems exist on farms in the Northeastern U.S., information pertaining to design and economic feasibility is sparse. As such, the greatest barriers for expanding these systems to other farms and composting facilities across the country is synthesizing and sharing existing knowledge.

Objective 2: Identify Opportunities

A group of agricultural stakeholders from across the Northeastern U.S. are forming the Compost Energy Recovery Network (CERN). This group is being led by members of UNH’s compost research team. The objective is to share knowledge and assist future stakeholders design systems based on lessons-learned from current practitioners.

 Objective 3: Joint Proposals

UNH is collaborating with regional leaders who develop and use compost energy recovery technologies. We have a strategic partnership with Agrilab Technologies of Vermont and City Soil of Massachusetts. Through this partnership, we recently submitted a proposal to the Rathmann foundation to assist in the design and utilization of a mobile compost energy recovery. With this unit, UNH will lend the system to a farm for a 3-month period to test the technology on their site to assess whether it is economically feasible.

Other accomplishments that do not necessarily relate to the NECC-1501 Multistate Research Project objectives:

 New England Regional Dairy Farm Survey and Economic Analysis (Smith and Aber)

            Conducted a survey of 129 New England dairy farmers (organic and conventional) with the primary goal of assessing what bedding materials farmers were using, why, and the cost. We also investigated other costs of operation, which included energy and fuel consumption. For conventional dairy farmers in New England energy/fuel costs ranked 5^th most costly, while organic dairy farmers ranked energy/fuel 4^th most costly. For both management systems, feed and labor were the most costly of all expenses (Smith and Aber 2017).

EXPERIMENT STATION:   New Jersey

Objective 1: Survey Report – EPA, Region 2 has awarded Rutgers EcoComplex a Pollution Prevention Grant to conduct outreach and extension for reducing pollution from the food production and distribution chain through energy efficiency, water conservation and implementation of lower-impact ozone depleting refrigeration technology.  A survey of the energy use and types of refrigerants used in the industry are part of the deliverables and will be included in the final report.

Objective 2: Identify Opportunities – As a result of our EPA Region 2 Pollution Prevention Grant, we have met with farmers, food processors, distributors and retailers in the food supply chain.  We are in the process of collecting data on refrigeration systems used by the industry and their impact on greenhouse gas production and energy efficiency.

Objective 3: Joint Proposals – no current activities

Other accomplishments (not necessarily related to NECC-1501 Multistate Project Objectives

1. Energy studies

Conducted several energy audits in a variety of agricultural facilities. 

2. Promoting more efficient use of lighting

As a result of our horticultural lamp testing work, we proposed a label that contains key product information useful to greenhouse growers interested in using supplemental lighting for crop production. 

Outreach activities (presentation, publications, demonstrations) to stakeholders

• The proposed lighting label has been presented to scientific and grower audiences across the US and at a scientific conference in Australia. Several lighting manufacturers have responded positively and indicated they would be adding the proposed label to their products. We plan to continue our outreach efforts for expanded implementation of the label.
• A variety of outreach presentations on high tunnel construction, greenhouse lighting, energy consumption, and electrical safety have been delivered at local and out-of-state venues. A $50K travel grant was secured from the USDA to help support travel expenses of NCERA-101 members who attended the 5^th International Controlled Environment Meeting (AusPheno) in September 2016 in Australia. Rutgers University is contributing to a consortium headed by Cornell University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, that is funded by NYSERDA and aims to study greenhouse lighting and systems engineering.
• The Rutgers EcoComplex has organized three workshops targeting farms, food processors and food distributors including refrigerated warehouses for energy efficiency and water conservation technology and practices. The goal of the workshops was to make businesses aware of new technology developments for water conservation ,energy efficiency and refrigeration options that they could potentially implement in their businesses.
• The Rutgers EcoComplex has recently been designation as a regional hub for a “Clean Energy Proof of Concept Center and Accelerator Program”. Funding for this program was provided by the US EDA. As part of this program, Rutgers will be reaching out to start-up companies in the clean energy industry to help them succeed through the business development phase.
• The Rutgers EcoComplex recently completed an assessment on the co-digestion of food waste with dairy manure for clean energy production, nutrient recovery and manure management. The analysis looked at four different food waste and food processing waste feedstocks and blending ratios to determine which system would be more environmentally and economically beneficial.

EXPERIMENT STATION:   Vermont (University of Vermont)

 Objective 1: Survey Report

• From Efficiency Vermont (JJ Vandette):
  • Dairy: implementing new barn circulation fan controls strategies (centralized VFD controls, though other designs are coming forward)
  • Dairy: benchmarking automatic milking systems (launching soon to assess differences in system design and energy use)
  • Maple sugaring: implementing rotary screw vac pumps with built-in VFDs (meter data proved the next generation of maple vac pumps)
  • Maple sugaring: implementing high brix reverse osmosis (essentially deep oil savings and the electrification of the maple industry)
  • All ag: planning Farm to Plate event re: food systems role in the VT Comprehensive Energy Plan
• From VT Agency of Ag, Food and Markets (A. DePillis):
  • With regard to farm energy projects getting built, dairy prices seem debilitating.
  • PV projects, occasionally with the farm as one of the off-takers, are getting built on farmland, raising land-access and preservation concerns. Projects are typically not farmer-owned. 
  • Big, complicated electricity projects, like digesters or wind power, in the absence of large subsidies, are stalled.
  • Bioenergy thermal projects like biodiesel or wood or grass energy, are stalled due to lack of capital and the low price of fossil fuels.
  • Two promising trends: compost heat recovery and RNG for transportation.
  • Research, education, and extension opportunities and needs for the topic of farm energy:
    • Small digesters.
    • Heat recovery from biochar production.
    • Farming-friendly solar.
    • Low-grade wool fibers for insulation and/or fertilizer.
  • Overall, we’re doing a poor job on climate-related messages. There’s good work out there on which to base outreach materials and even help farmers with strategies, and we’re missing the mark on messaging and offer farmers few things that will help viability. 
  • Joint proposals ideas for funded projects in farm energy research, education, and Extension
    • Biochar: on-farm production and energy capture. Quality and agronomic results.  Update the eXtension factsheet, or maybe re-orient the focus/theme.
  • From UVM Extension Ag Engineering (C. Callahan):
    • Depressed fossil fuel prices have led to dramatically reduced interest in heating with alternatives and renewable fuels primarily due to (a) extended payback periods and even no-savings use cases, (b) cost and other burdens associated with conversion to a new system, and (c) overall operational burden (labor and attention) associated with alternatives. Especially the case with greenhouse heating systems.
    • Dramatically reduced interest in on-farm biodiesel production for similar reasons.
    • Local Food Initiatives (e.g. Vermont Farm to Plate) offer some opportunities to explore alternative energy models and also food businesses beyond farms.

Objective 2: Identify Opportunities

• A regional, New England group has emerged with a focus on Farm Energy topics and are seeking to better coordinate research, education and funding initiatives in this sector. Participants include representatives from Land Grant Universities, State Energy Efficiency Utilities, State Agencies of Agriculture / Food / Markets / Natural Resources, and State Farm Energy Groups. This group will be gathering for a farm tour in Massachusetts in the week of June 26 and regularly discusses opportunities for joint programming and proposals.

 Objective 3: Joint Proposals

• As an extension of the SARE Professional Development Program funded “Farm Energy IQ” Multi-State project previously reported to this committee by D. Ciolkosz (PSU), a team from The University of Vermont, Pennsylvania State University, and Rutgers University is coordinating a registration-funded workshop, “Introduction to Farm Energy Analysis: A Workshop for Users of Energy Audits”, scheduled for August 24-26 in New Jersey. This three-day workshop will cover the fundamentals of energy in agriculture with a specific focus on energy audits. The content is primarily intended for those who use the results of energy audits for making funding and project decisions. Interactive classroom sessions will be split with field visits to put new learning into action and reinforce critical concepts.  The workshop will conclude with a focus on the development of reports consistent with ANSI/ASABE S612 and discussion about trends and future opportunities in agricultural energy.
• UVM Extension in partnership with VT Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and Vermont Energy Investment Corporation / Efficiency Vermont secured funding from Green Mountain Power (VT Electric Utility) and the High Meadows Fund to support the installation of biomass boilers for heating Vermont Greenhouses / Hoop houses. This work continued earlier installation and demonstrations of biomass heating of greenhouses carried out by Grubinger and Callahan over the past 9 years. The projects were a combination of (1) incentive funding to offset increased capital expense associated with new heating systems and (2) engineering support in system design and installation. With the most recent funding, a total of six (6) new biomass heating systems were installed in greenhouses. This brings the total number of active systems associated with this work to twenty (20). 

EXPERIMENT STATION: Wisconsin

Objective 1: Survey Report

No accomplishments to report

Objective 2: Identify Opportunities

Research project looking at a new way to distill oil from essential oil plants (mint) to improve energy input and reduce water use. Built prototype distillation unit, going into 2^nd year of testing. Funded by USDA – NIFA – Specialty Crops. (Sanford)

Outreach activities on anaerobic digestion in Wisconsin and Africa.

Objective 3: Joint Proposals

No current activities

Other accomplishments that do not necessarily relate to the NECC-1501 Multistate Research Project objectives:

Wisconsin State Wood Energy Team – Promoting the use of wood energy for heating, process heat and power. Offering free feasibility studies. (Sanford)

• Pole Building insulation techniques - Evaluation and Optimization of Post-Frame Thermal Envelopes.  Continued work with graduate students Holstein and He on a rotatable guarded hot box. (Bohnhoff)
• Reducing Water for Anaerobic Digestion Collaborators: V. Tumwesige, S. Stefanos, A. McCord Funding: Securing Water for Food (SWFF). Objectives:  implementing solid liquid separation systems to reduce the water usage in East Africa (Larson)
• A Multi-Scale Platform for Technology Evaluation and Decision-Making in the Dairy-Water-Energy Nexus Collaborators: V. Zavala, D. Noguera, K. Karthikeyan, and A. Hicks Funding: NSF and USDA NIFA (INFEWS) Objectives: provide scientific based information on waste optimization across sectors to reduce environmental impacts (Larson)
• Multi-stakeholder decision-making for the development of livestock waste-to-biogas systems Collaborators: V. Zavala Funding: NSF CBET. Objectives: provide scientific based information on the development of anaerobic digestion systems (Larson)