Energy-Smart Farming

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Improving efficiency can be as easy as creating a maintenance schedule

By Emily McKinlay

Energy costs continue to be a major expense for farmers across all sectors. While many energy-related expenses continue to rise, producers can use strategies to increase efficiency and track the returns on their energy-saving investments.

Paul Maurice, an OFA executive member and Zone 13 director (Peel, Simcoe, and York), says energy is a top concern across the industry.

“It’s probably one of the top issues that concerns farmers. Taxes seem to be the greatest concern, but energy tends to be the second highest input cost that we are facing,” says Maurice.

“Depending on the sector, there are a lot of different places where fuel costs come in. Fuel is used for field operations with grain crops, livestock producers are looking at electricity for ventilation and heating or cooling, and in greenhouse facilities, there are energy demands for important day-to-day operations.”

Steve Beadle, senior engineer for sheep and swine housing at OMAFA, says that livestock producers also feel the financial pressure of powering their farm operations.

“For many livestock operations, energy costs can make up between five to 15 per cent of the cost of production,” says Beadle.

Where are producers using the most energy, and how can they invest in increasing their energy efficiency?

Energy users

Each unique operation will have demands related to its sector, what they produce, and its management. There are also seasonal demands across sectors that can change year to year with weather or other unexpected production challenges.

“Crop farmers are using propane and natural gas for grain drying, and on horticultural operations, there are significant demands from heating, lighting, and environmental controls,” says Maurice.

Beadle adds, “For livestock operations, the largest users of energy are typically heating and ventilation systems such as heaters and fans, followed by lights and feed auger motors.”

While many of these costs are routine for operations and necessary to their production, some years may be more demanding energy-wise than others.

During winters with cold, damp, windy weather, livestock producers may spend more on heating or ventilation to keep barns warm and dry, or fuel expenses may be higher to accommodate increased feed or bedding demands.

In 2025, many grain farmers found that their corn wasn’t drying down in the field as expected before harvest. This led many to incur unexpectedly high drying costs on their corn crop.

“There has always been an upward pressure that we are facing related to energy costs, and then there are seasonal pressures as well. For example, if you look at fuel, there are definitely seasonal trends associated with field work,” says Maurice.

“This past year, when it came to grain drying, the corn crop was higher in moisture, which added increased drying costs. 22 to 25 per cent moisture is a nice point to start harvesting. We all need to dry corn down 14.5 per cent for proper storage and processing, but a lot of farmers had to dry their corn this year. Much of it was harvested in the 30 per cent range, so that definitely has an impact on energy costs.”

He notes that while natural gas has reduced drying costs for many farmers, it’s not yet widely available to all operations.

“Natural gas expansion has definitely helped to reduce some of these energy costs,” says Maurice.

“But in statistics from 2017, less than 20 per cent of Ontario farms had access to natural gas.”

OMAFA’s Factsheet #24-005, released in March 2024, states that grain dryers can waste up to 40 per cent of the energy used. Improved efficiency, especially when dealing with challenges like the 2025 corn crop, can help elevator operators manage costs while also making it easier to handle the rush of harvest season.

Across the farm, there are many opportunities to increase energy efficiency and save money.

Money-saving upgrades

Projects to improve on-farm efficiency can range from as easy as changing a lightbulb to much larger upgrades with significant investments. It’s important that the investment is balanced against the predicted energy savings and potential return.

“You have some simple stuff you can do, and then you can also get into stuff that is not so simple, and much more costly,” says Maurice.

“Have to assess your return on investment and your capital investment.”

Maintenance is one of the simplest ways to increase efficiency for fuel and energy usage.

“Cleaning and maintenance are of primary importance. Cleaning a fan or maintaining a heater will ensure the equipment can perform as expected,” says Beadle.

Maurice adds, “Just making sure your equipment is in good operational status is an easy way to decrease energy usage. For example, when you’re operating a tractor, don’t idle for unnecessary reasons.”

OMAFA’s Factsheet #24-005 also recommends maintenance as an important way to maximize dryer efficiency. The factsheet recommends keeping screens, inlets, exhausts, and fans as clean as possible, hiring a certified gas technician to adjust burners for efficiency, ensuring belts are in good condition, and calibrating sensors annually.

Proper settings and calibration in barns are also important for efficiency.

“Ensuring that ventilation systems are set properly and well calibrated will also realize energy savings – and likely animal performance improvements,” says Beadle.

Maurice also recommends paying attention to off-peak electricity pricing when planning the day.

“It can be a royal pain – but try to use energy at the most efficient times. It’s not easy to do, but you have to keep working at it,” says Maurice.

Outside of routine maintenance and scheduling tasks to match energy pricing, upgrades to equipment and facilities can also improve efficiency. These improvements involve investments ranging from a few dollars and an hour of labour to much larger financial undertakings.

“For some simple examples, you can start by replacing existing lighting with more efficient LED lighting,” says Maurice.

“You could also consider updating thermostats and environmental controls to maximize efficiency when using energy sources.”

Beadle adds, “LED lights are generally the standard now in newer livestock facilities and offer reduced electricity usage compared to older technologies.”

As one step up for capital and labour investment, Beadle recommends upgrades to insulation, and heating and ventilation technology.

“Good insulation in barns can help to retain heat in the winter and reduce solar heat gain in the summer, reducing strain on heating and ventilation systems,” says Beadle.

“Heat recovery can improve energy efficiency. A lot of heat is lost through the ventilation system. Using a heat exchanger can capture some of that exhausted heat and return it to the barn, improving overall energy efficiency of the heating system. Facility set-up can also reduce energy usage. For example, it is more energy efficient to employ a tunnel ventilation system in summer than it is to use a typical cross ventilation system.

“Newer fan technology can improve energy efficiency. Fans with Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) and Electronically Commutated (EC) motors can significantly reduce electricity usage. These types of fans are also variable speed, which helps with ventilation system staging.”

There are also larger-scale projects that require a significant investment and time to install.

“If you are updating your grain dryer, some producers choose to install higher efficiency motors, but that often involves an upgrade from single-phase to three-phase operations for power. There are also heat recovery systems, but that also gets to be a more expensive option. Some farmers are also looking at developing renewable energy options at their operation, with biomass heat or solar panels,” says Maurice.

“It’s important to understand the cost of making these changes and understand the efficiency you’ll receive out of it.”

Measuring progress

As with any investment, it’s important to understand the return on investment. In this case, producers should follow changes in energy usage to understand how their upgrades affected energy efficiency.

The easiest way to measure these changes is to monitor hydro and fuel bills.

“When you receive a bill from Hydro One, you can look at the reports to see peak usage, and you can compare hydro usage to previous years,” says Maurice.

“There are also more sophisticated ways to track your improvements, but it depends on how much money you want to spend on an audit.”

Beadle says energy audits can help identify which areas of the farm use the most energy.

“Producers should see improvements on their energy bills. More detailed monitoring options may include additional follow-up energy audits or installation of electronic energy monitors in parts of the barn,” says Beadle.

“An energy audit can give producers a snapshot of their energy usage and identify which items use the most energy. An assessment of available technologies, with estimated energy efficiency, can then be used to determine opportunities for improvement.”

To compare overall efficiency, energy use can be calculated relative to production.

“You can trace energy per unit of production – per litre of milk, per bushel of grain dried, or per square metre for greenhouse operations,” says Maurice.

“There are a lot of ways you can do your own benchmarking from previous years’ energy use.”

Improving energy efficiency has big implications for farm expenses.

“Last time I filled the combine, the fuel truck was in the yard and filled it for me. It was just under $1,000 to fill, so improving fuel and energy efficiency means a lot at the end of the day,” says Maurice. BF