Energy and Agriculture

202 Pages·1984·8.054 MB·English

by  G. Stanhill (auth.), Professor Dr. Gerald Stanhill (eds.)

Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences 14
Co-ordinating Editor: B. Yaron, Bet-Dagan
Editors: D. F. R. Bommer, Rome B. R. Sabey, Fort Collins
G. W.Thomas, Lexington Y. Vaadia, Jerusalem
L. D. Van Vleck, Ithaca
Energy
and Agriculture
Edited by G. Stanhill
With 55 Figures
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo
1984
Professor Dr. GERALD STANlHLL
Institute of Soils and Water
Agricultural Research Organization
The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6
Bet Dagan 50-250/Israel
ISBN -13 :978-3-642-69786-9 e-ISBN -13 :978-3-642-69784-5
DOl: 10. 1007/978-3-642-69784-5
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data. Main entry under title. Energy and agriculture.
(Advanced series in agricultural sciences; 14) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Agriculture
and energy. I. Stanhi1l, G. II. Series. S494.5.E5E53 1984 333.7 84-1518
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© by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1984
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Preface
Energy and agriculture are both extremely broad subjects and their
interactions - the subject of this book - cover almost the full spectrum of
the agricultural sciences. Yet the subject is a relatively new one whose
importance first received widespread recognition barely a decade ago,
following the dramatic increase in oil prices during 1973.
The impact of this increase was such as to promote a world-wide
debate on the future direction that agriculture should take. This debate
was, and is, of particular concern in countries where agriculture plays a
leading role in economic and social development. During the last half
century many national agricultural systems have been transformed from
almost closed, self-sufficient systems with few locally produced inputs
geared to satisfy local requirements, to intensive, open systems, utilizing
large quantities of energy-rich inputs such as fossil fuel for manufactured
agro-chemicals, water distribution and imported animal feedstuffs to
produce a range of sophisticated products, often for export, which in
tum require many energy-rich inputs for their marketing.
This industrialization of agriculture has proved to be very successful
in many respects and indeed was accepted as a general model for
agricultural development allowing increased productivity and efficiency
per unit land, labor and water, even in areas with limited natural
resources.
However, the 1973 oil crisis revealed that this success did not extend
to energetic efficiency. In many cases, each unit of edible, metabolic
energy produced by intensive agriculture required the input of more than
one unit offossil fuel energy. Before the increase in oil costs, this negative
energy conversion ratio was monetarily profitable, sufficiently so in
many cases for agricultural exports to pay for imported basic food and
feed required to provide for the national energy intake.
The sharp increases in fuel costs recurring during the last decade
have steadily reduced the profitability of energy-intensive agriculture,
initiating a lively debate among agricultural planners, economists and
scientists as to the appropriate strategy for agricultural development
faced with an energy-expensive future.
The meeting and this book which developed from it was one
outcome of that debate. Held at Kiryat Anavim in March 1983, the
meeting was organized by the National Council for Research and
Development within the framework of the Israel Scientific Research
Conferences - a series designed to provide opportunity for local scientists
and planners to meet leading international authorities and discuss with
VI Preface
them in-depth topics of current scientific interest which are of national
significance. The conference was planned to take a very wide view of the
topic and the greater part of the program was devoted to seeking a basic
understanding of the many mechanisms and processes involved in the
flow of energy through the food production system with a view to
increasing its efficiency.
To this end, a number of scientists representing a variety of the more
important disciplines involved were invited to prepare papers which,
taken together, would represent an authoritative, multidisciplinary,
state-of-art review. It is these review papers which are presented in this
book.
I am grateful for this opportunity to thank not only the authors ofthe
reviews that are presented for their prompt preparation of the manu
scripts, but also the many local and visiting contributors to the
conference program whose participation contributed so much to the
meeting. I also wish to acknowledge the work of Drs. Eyal, Dvoskin,
Felsenstein, Nir, Waldman and Zarmi, fellow members of the organizing
committee, as well as that of the Conference Secretariat and the
administrative and secretarial staff, both at the National Council for
Research and Development, Jerusalem and at the Soils and Water
Institute, Bet Dagan.
Bet Dagan, June 1984 G. STANHILL
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Role of Energy in Agriculture
G. STANHILL . • . . . 1
1.1 Definition and Scope . . . . . 1
1.2 Energy Analysis and Agriculture 3
1.3 References . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part 1 Principles and Processes
Chapter 2 Economic Impacts of Energy Prices on Agriculture
E.O; HEADY . . • . . • . . . • . . 10
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2 Resource Prices and Technologies of Agriculture 10
2.3 Energy Prices Impact . . . 11
2.3.1 Developed Countries . 12
2.3.2 Developing Countries. 14
2.4 Increased Energy Prices . . 15
2.5 Expected Future Impact of Energy Prices . 16
2.6 Income Redistribution . . . . . . . . . 18
2.7 Time Flexibility in Food Production. . . 19
2.8 Research Induced by Resource Endowments and Prices. 21
2.9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter 3 Energy Analysis of the Environmental Role in
Agriculture
H. T. ODUM (With 10 Figures). . 24
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2 Definitions and Procedures for Calculation 25
3.2.1 Energy Transformation Ratio. . 25
3.2.2 General Plan of Agroecosystems 25
3.2.3 Solar Embodied Energy . . . . 27
3.2.4 Nonadditivity of Byproduct Flows. 27
3.2.5 Partitioning Embodied Energy of a Split Flow 29
3.2.6 Summing of Embodied Energy in Storages . . 29
3.2.7 Energy to Dollar Ratio for Evaluating Human Service 29
3.2.8 Corrections for Double Counting in Service Evaluation 29
VIII Contents
3.2.9 Dual Calculation for Purchased Resources 30
3.2.10 Evaluation of a Capital Addition . . . 31
3.2.11 Net Energy Yield Ratio . . . . . . . 31
3.2.12 Primitive Energy Transformation Ratios 31
3.2.13 Energy Investment Ratio. . . . 31
3.2.14 Calories or Joules. . . . . . . 31
3.2.15 Solar Energy Embodied in Fuels 32
3.3 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.4 Discussion of Perspectives . . . . . . 35
3.4.1 Embodied Energy Predicting Economic Contribution 35
3.4.2 Effect on Net Energy Estimation of Including Goods
and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.4.3 Low Intensity Agriculture, with Net Energy. 36
3.4.4 Criteria for Economic Success. . . 37
3.4.5 Energetics of Water Application. . . . . . 37
3.4.6 Energetics of Fertilizer Application . . . . 37
3.4.7 Foreign Trade Evaluation with Embodied Energy 38
3.4.8 Balancing Embodied Energy Exchange. . . . . 38
3.4.9 Total Energy Intensity of Agriculture . . . . . 39
3.4.10 Models of Agricultural Trends with Rising Relative
Price of Fuels. . . . . . . . . 39
3.4.11 Appropriate Agroecosystems . . . . 39
3.4.12 Discussion of Previous Analyses. . . 40
3.4.13 Other Embodied Energy Approaches. 41
3.5 Footnotes for Figures and Tables 41
3.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Chapter 4 Genetic Engineering to Modify Energy Flow in
Agriculture
H. W. WOOLHOUSE (With 20 Figures) . 52
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.2 Extrinsic Energy Flow . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.3 Problems in the Modification ofIntrinsic Energy Flow to Crops 56
4.3.1 Photosynthesis and Respiration 57
4.3.2 Transport Processes . 59
4.3.3 Growth. . . . . . . 59
4.3.4 Control of Flowering . 60
4.3.5 Seed Production . . . 61
4.3.6 Energy Flow to Seeds and Storage Organs. 61
4.3.7 Specific Chemical Products . . . . . . . 63
4.4 Problems in the Modification of Exogenous Energy Flows in
an Agroecosystem. . . . . . . . 63
4.5 Prospects for Genetic Manipulation 72
4.5.1 Sexual Methods . . . . . . 73
Contents IX
4.5.2 Asexual Methods. . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.5.3 Vectors for Higher Plant Transformation 75
4.6 Conclusion . 78
4.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Part 2 Energy Sources for Agriculture
Chapter 5 Energy in Different Agricultural Systems: Renewable
and Nonrenewable Sources
R. M. GIFFORD (With 2 Figures) 84
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . 84
5.2 Sources of Energy. . . . . . . . . . 84
5.2.1 Categories of Energy . . . . . . 84
5.2.1.1 Photochemically Active Radiation 85
5.2.1.2 Thermal Energy. 85
5.2.1.3 Fossil Fuels. . , . . . . . . . 88
5.2.1.4 Biomass . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2.2 Global Scale of Fossil Fuel and Biomass Options for
Liquid Fuels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5.2.2.1 Global Primary Production by Vegetation.. 98
5.2.2.2 The Petroleum Resource . . . . . . . .. 99
5.2.2.3 Matching Future Demand to the Resources. 100
5.3 Energy, Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, and Agriculture. 101
5.4 Support Energy for Agriculture in the Future 102
5.4.1 General Points. . . . . . . . . . 102
5.4.2 Options in Industrialized Countries. 103
5.4.3 Options in Third World Countries 106
5.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter 6 Agricultural Labour: From Energy Source to Sink
G. STANmLL (With 3 Figures) . 113
6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . 113
6.2 Accounting for Agricultural Labour . 114
6.3 Substitution of Fossil Fuel Energy for Labour During
Agricultural Development . . . 115
6.3.1 Intranational Development 115
6.3.2 International Comparisons 119
6.3.3 Subsystem Development. . 122
6.4 Indirect Energy Costs of Reducing Farm Labour 126
6.5 Discussion and Conclusions . 127
6.6 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
X Contents
Part 3 Case Studies
Chapter 7 Energy Use in the Food-Producing Sector of the
European Economic Community
M. SLESSER (With 12 Figures) . . . . . . .. 132
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 132
7.1.1 Is a High Energy-Intensive Agriculture Inevitable? 133
7.1.2 Importation of Food into EEC 135
7.2 Energy Use in Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . 135
7.2.1 Methodology of Energy Analysis. . . . . . 135
7.2.2 Changing Technology of Agricultural Inputs. 137
7.2.3 Procedure. . . 138
7.2.4 Data Collection 141
7.3 Results . . . . . . 142
7.3.1 Gross Energy Requirements of Food Production 142
7.3.2 Analysis of Energy Data . . . . . . . . 143
7.3.2.1 Correlation of Data . . . . . . . . . 143
7.3.3 Energy Efficiency of European Agriculture 145
7.3.3.1 Total Energy Including Transport Energy. 145
7.3.3.2 Comparison of Imported Food with Added
Transport Energy . . . . . . . . . . .. 146
7.3.3.3 Consequences of Increasing Imports of Food 146
7.4 Conclusion . 152
7.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Chapter 8 Energy in Australian Agriculture:
Inputs, Outputs, and Policies
R. M. GIFFORD (With 6 Figures) . 154
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8.2 Review of the Earlier Studies . . . . . . 154
8.3 Major Changes in Australian Agricultural Energetics During
the 1970's . . . . . . . . . 156
8.3.1 Agricultural Production. . . . . . . . . . . 156
8.3.2 Energy Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
8.3.2.1 Fuel and Power Used Directly on Farms 158
8.3.2.2 Irrigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
8.3.2.3 Fertilizer 162
8.3.3 Current Energy I/O Ratio for Australian Agriculture 163
8.4 Agricultural Energy Policy 165
8.5 Conclusions 167
8.6 References . . . . . . . 167
Contents XI
Chapter 9 Energy Use and Management in US Agriculture
B. A. STOUT, J. L. BUTLER, and E. E. GA VETT
(With 2 Figures). . . . . . . 169
9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
9.2 Current Energy Use in US Agriculture. . 171
9.2.1 1974: Agricultural Energy Data Base 171
9.2.2 1978: Energy and US Agriculture. . 172
9.2.3 1981 Update: Energy and US Agriculture 172
9.2.4 State Energy Audits . . . . . . . 172
9.2.5 Critical Importance of Liquid Fuels. . . 172
9.3 Energy Management. . . . . . . . . . . . 177
9.4 Agricultural Energy Research, Development and
Demonstration (RD&D). . . . . . . . . . . 178
9.4.1 Appropriations for Agricultural Energy RD & D 178
9.4.2 Organization for Agricultural Energy RD&D 179
9.4.2.1 National Level 180
9.4.2.2 State Level . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
9.4.2.3 Local Level. . . . . . . . . . . . 181
9.4.3 Analysis of Energy Projects Reported in the Current
Research Information System (CRIS) . . . . . .. 181
9.4.3.1 Energy Conservation. . . . . . . . . .. 181
9.4.3.2 Biomass Production and Conversion to Fuel 184
9.4.3.3 Solar, Wind, Geothermal, and Hydropower. 185
9.4.3.4 Home and Family Energy Use . . . . .. 186
9.4.3.5 Systems, Energy Self-sufficiency and Integrated
Farms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 186
9.4.3.6 Economics, Policy and Social/Environmental
Implications . . . . . . . . 187
9.4.3.7 Miscellaneous Energy Projects. 187
9.5 Discussion an<;l Conclusions 188
9.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191