DAIRY Australia's push to help dairy farmers save money through the efficient use of energy has been a success, according to the results of research into long- term behavioural change brought about by the Smarter Energy Use program.
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Dairy Australia in May 2012 received $1 million in federal government funding to roll out 900 farm energy assessments on dairy farms across the country and an important goal was to change attitudes about energy usage.
Dairy Australia natural resource management program manager Catherine Phelps said the program provided participating dairy farmers with an assessment of energy consumption in their dairies and identified any potential options to reduce the amount of energy being used.
"Once an assessment has been conducted, an Energy Efficiency Plan is prepared and provided - to date around 900 dairy farmers in the program have received one," she said.
"The funding has delivered energy assessments to all eight dairy regions in the country, tailored to meet local needs and the response to the program, in terms of doing things differently, has been good.
"Research into the results of the program and direct feedback from dairy farmers shows that 80 per cent of those interviewed a year after participating in the program say they now think or behave differently about energy use.
"The program has been such a success a further $721,000 was granted to assess another 500 farms over the next year."
There was a high level of interest in energy efficiency in the dairy industry and farmers were increasingly concerned about the cost of energy impacting on their business, so it was not surprising that the program had evolved into an effective national project, Ms Phelps said.