Energy Grants to Agricultural Producers

COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION CASE STUDY

Enhancing Energy Efﬁciency in Poultry Operations

Location: Southeastern

Project Summary: A partnership was formed to assist agricultural producers in enhancing the economic viability of their poultry production facilities through improved energy efficiency.

A computerized controller is programmed to manage the environment in a upgraded poultry houses.

Resource Challenge

Energy efﬁciency is critical to poultry producers, especially for those who have dated production houses, which usually lack more efﬁcient design and construction features of newer production houses. Given the competitive markets in today’s poultry industry, producers need to reduce their energy usage and increase their production to remain competitive. Energy costs consume about 20 percent of a broiler producer’s total return. Meanwhile, energy costs continue to climb while the prices paid to producers have remained relatively stable.

Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) launched the Renewable Energy and Energy Efﬁciency Improvements Grants Program, designed to assist agricultural producers and small rural businesses with installing renewable energy systems and making their facilities more energy efﬁcient. Producers lacked the resources to prepare grants and most were unaware of the Section 9006 grant program. The Southwest Mississippi Resource Conservation and Development Council saw an opportunity to assist some of the state’s nearly 3,000 poultry producers in making their agricultural operations more energy efﬁcient.

Examples of Key Partners

Southwest MS RC&D Council, Mississippi Poultry Association, MS State University-Extension Service-Food & Fiber Center (CSREES), MS State University-Poultry Science Department, Mississippi Development Authority, USDA Rural Development-Rural Business/ Cooperative Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Mississippi Farm Bureau.

Results and Accomplishments

The Southwest Mississippi RC&D Council, assisted by the Missouri Poultry Association, coordinated the project. Technical assistance was provided by MSU-Extension Service and MS Development Authority. Project accomplishments include:

Mississippi agricultural producers received 45 percent of the total funds awarded in the entire country through the Farm Bill Section 9006 program’s ﬁrst two years (2003 and 2004), with 44 poultry producers awarded grants totaling $1.5 million.
Agricultural producers invested $4.8 million for these energy efﬁciency improvements.
Participating producers are projected to save $264,000 annually in on-farm energy costs, with production facilities realizing an average 40 percent increase in energy efﬁciency.
The annual value of production increases is projected to be $1.8 million.
Total economic beneﬁ t to the 44 participating farms is projected o be in excess of $23 million over a ten-year period.
In 2005, more than 120 producers attended public information meetings on program opportunities and 39 grant applications were prepared.

Innovation/Highlight

Cooperation among federal and state agencies, along with organizations representing agricultural producers, brought ﬁnancial and technical assistance to Mississippi’s poultry producers, helping them improve their energy efﬁciency and increase proﬁts

Project Contact

Leslie Threadgill
Grower Relations Coordinator
Mississippi Poultry Association

,
601-355-0248
lesliempa@bellsouth.net

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