Improving energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective ways to enhance farm productivity and sustainability. This section focuses on strategies to reduce energy use across irrigation, cooling, heating, and machinery operations. From variable speed drives to automated spray systems, producers are finding innovative ways to cut costs and emissions.
Resources include factsheets, webinars, and pilot project summaries that demonstrate how small changes can lead to significant savings. Whether you’re in horticulture, dairy, or broadacre cropping, energy efficiency measures can be tailored to your enterprise and supported through government programs and technical advice.
Fuel and energy top of mind?
NSW Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development (DPIRD) has a practical set of resources to help farmers take small low-cost actions to improve fuel efficiency — covering everything from ...
Webinar – Scaling-up domestic fats and oils feedstock production
Can we move away from fossil diesel? Renewable fuels can be a direct substitute for fuels like diesel (and aviation/marine fuels). These fuels drastically reduce the lifecycle carbon footprint of ...
Irrigation energy savings for horticulture – Webinar recording
A lifetime of pumping costs can far out-weigh the capital costs of an irrigation system, so designing, managing and maintaining an efficient irrigation system is vital to minimising costs. Agriculture ...
Insights from the Agriculture Energy Investment Plan – Webinar recording
The Agriculture Energy Investment Plan has supported agricultural businesses to reduce energy costs, improve energy efficiency and explore alternative energy options through energy assessments, grants, demonstrations, research and extension. Agriculture ...
Analysis shows energy advances by Victorian farmers
Agriculture Victoria has analysed data from 680 on-farm energy assessments and 320 grants to create a unique summary of Victoria’s on-farm energy use and improvements. This is a very large ...
Final results are in for NSW DPI’s energy efficiency farm pilot program
As part of the NSW Climate Change Research Strategy, NSW Department of Primary Industries implemented 7 energy pilot projects across 8 sites to demonstrate innovative technologies and practices to improve ...
Solar energy savings at Wilandra farm – Clydebank
Wilandra farm has been on a journey to reduce irrigation energy costs and maximise the utilisation of PV solar energy generated. The farm’s energy bills for irrigation were about $100,000 ...
Doolan’s Energy Smart Dairy Farm with Heat Pump Technology
Peter Doolan is a third-generation dairy farmer at Doolan Farms. Peter share farms with his brother Sam, their wives and his parents in Ecklin South, southwest Victoria milking 600 cows ...
Investing in Sustainable Energy – Larkman Nurseries – Webinar recording
Agriculture Victoria hosted a webinar on investing in sustainable energy with Larkman Nurseries. In this webinar Kelly Wickham, Agriculture Victoria, provides an overview of horticulture energy use and greenhouse gas ...
Energy Analysis – Webinar recording
Agriculture Victoria hosted a webinar to explore energy measurement, what to monitor and control options to assist you in gaining control of your on-farm energy usage. During the webinar Nigel ...
Chasing energy efficiency
Northern Victorian dryland farmers Craig and Julia Thomas expected energy savings and farm efficiencies from their involvement in the Victorian Government’s Agriculture Energy Investment Plan – and were happy to ...
Solar and heat pumps deliver
Like most dairies, heating water along with cooling milk were the biggest electricity uses at the Johnson’s dairy. For the Johnsons, involvement with the Victorian Government’s Agriculture Energy Investment Plan ...
