'Energy crop queries

Press, 6 May 1980, Page 12

'Energy crop queries

When oil and natural gas-based energies priced themselves off the market farmers would be able to grow renewable replace-

ment energy sources, Sir William. Dunlop told the annual conference of the agricultural section of North Canterbury - Federated Farmers. • Technology had advanced to where,only the climate limited what a farm could produce. North Canterbury had a lot of land which could be improved by irrigation and then used to grow energy crops.

This posed many questions for farmers.

“Should we be looking at methanol, ethanol, or both; will we use different fuel on and off the farm; have farmers a better case for electricity and reduced prices (for irrigation) than Comalco, N.Z. Forest Products or any proposed new

industry; is the energy crisis a reason to speed up proposed irrigation schemes; should irrigation for energy production have precedence over hydro-electricity production; and, on what scale should farmers be planning — individual, group, co-operative, or commercial firms?” Sir William asked.

“If you do not find the answers someone else will, and then he will sell them to you.” 1 He said money could become a scarce resource. Farming leaders would have to press for more money to be allocated to farming to help improve production in many ways. The Rural Bank was providing some money for biomass production.