potential source of energy data
Patrick Madden (pmadden@igc.apc.org)
Wed, 26 Apr 1995 08:48:35 -0700
Messages regarding availability of data on energy requirements of
various alternative farming practices and systems have drawn much
interest but little hard data. A potential source of this kind of
data is from the users of PLANETOR, a decision support software
and database system being developed at University of Minnesota's
Center for Farm Financial Management. NOw in version 2.0, this
system computes energy utilization for various farm plans in a
whole farm simulation setting. This is intended not only to
describe and document the energy utilization (plus pesticide
runoff, profits, finaancial risks etc) of an extant farming
system, but allows the user to explore the ecological, energetic,
and financial implications of various alternative farm plans.
The prototype of this software was developed by John Ikerd and
then given to U Minn for further development and implementation.
A contact person is Dick Hawkins and Bob Craven, phone 800 234
1111 or 612-625-1964.
This software and the supporting database is far from perfect.
But it lights some candles in an otherwise dark place.
Patrick Madden World Sustainable Agriculture Association