Energy topic

Press, Issue 33844, 16 May 1975, Page 7

Energy topic

“The energy cost of producing wheat and meat at the farm gate in New Zealand is probably the lowest among the countries with a highly developed agriculture,” says Professor T. W. Walker, professor of soil science at Lincoln College.

Professor Walker will be giving a paper on the energy crisis and New Zealand farming at the farmers’ conference, whiih will be held at the college next Thursday and Friday. This efficiency is mainly because the New Zealand farmer uses so little nitrogen fertiliser, he says. Nitrogen-fixation by clovers and other legumes is the New Zealand farmers’ answer to bag nitrogen as applied by their European and North American counterparts.

The high, energy cost of producing nitrogen fertilisers is forcing agriculturalists overseas to re-examine the whole question of le,gumes in their agriculture. The energy cost of nitrogen fertiliser used to grow a hectare of wheat in Brit-

ain is twice the total amount of energy needed to cultivate, fertilise and harvest a hectare of wheat in New Zealand.

“However,” said Professor Walker, “the New Zealand farmer’s main way to lower energy inputs is to reduce fuel consumption. To assist this we need more research on minimum cultivation techniques.” “It costs the New Zealand fanner an extra cent a kilogram to produce, process and transport his meat to Europe every time the price of fuel oil rises by 6c per gallon,” says Mr R. G. Pearson, an energy research fellow at the college, who Is also giving a paper. He will explain why the energy inputs to the production chain of farm, domestic transport, processing, and snipping of meat, wool and dairy products combine to form one of the major costs of the New Zealand farmer. The importance of the efficient use of energy to maintain competitiveness on world markets will be stressed by Mr Pearson by outlining the flows of energy (coal, oil, gas and electricity) in New Zealand and its agriculture.