Farm Energy Success Stories
Efficiency Plus Irrigation Program
This program of NorthWestern Energy offered irrigation system audits to NorthWestern Energy customers in Montana, and also funded selected energy-saving projects that irrigation customers proposed. NCAT conducted the audits, measuring flow rates, pressure, and the electrical consumption of a system, calculating the system's pumping plant efficiency, and making recommendations for cost-effective energy saving projects.
 Montana Rivers Project
In the American West, irrigation takes a major environmental and social
toll. For example, over 2,600 miles of river in Montana have been classified as "chronically dewatered," meaning that in most years stream flows do not provide adequate fish habitat. Over a seven year period (1997 to 2004), NCAT studied the causes of stream dewatering and tested innovative solutions. The Montana Rivers Project installed soil moisture monitors and promoted other water and energy-savings technologies at over 60 farms and ranches along the Jefferson, Boulder, Big Hole, Blackfoot, Beaverhead, Clark Fork, Ruby, Shields, and Yellowstone Rivers. NCAT also sponsored numerous workshops and educational events, was instrumental in creating the Jefferson River Watershed Council, and worked closely with many other local watershed groups in these river valleys.
Diverse project funders included the Fanwood Foundation; Ferguson Foundation; General Service Foundation; Greenville Foundation; Montana
Fish, Wildlife, & Parks; Montana Power Company; Montana Trout Foundation; National Fish & Wildlife Foundation; Norcross Wildlife Foundation; Trout Unlimited; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Montana Rivers Project built a reputation for positive, collaborative, and respectful engagement, developing a model that can be applied in other regions of the Intermountain West where agricultural water use is an issue.
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Oilseeds for Fuel, Feed and the Future
Farm Energy Search Tool
This online tool makes it easy to find Farm Energy resources in your state.
Farm Energy Calculators
Here you'll find links to several energy calculators designed to help producers save electrical energy, fuel or fossil-fuel-based fertilizers.
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
NCAT Newsletters
The Presidential Climate Action Project
The imperative to address global warming grows daily. The Presidential Climate Action Project is a national initiative to develop a bold and decisive climate action plan for the next President of the United States.
Energy Assistance
National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) is a free service for persons who want information on where to apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which may pay a portion of the energy bills of eligible low-income persons. Call 1-866-NRG-NEAR
(866-674-6327).
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