The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) has a strong track record of helping farmers identify on-farm energy savings opportunities, having conducted free energy audits on hundreds of farms across the state.

QFF are currently running a two-year program called Energy Southern Queensland (EnergySQ), supported by ACCIONA Energia, which is helping farmers to understand and manage their on-farm energy consumption and identify ways to reduce their energy spend. Any farms in the Southern Downs, Western Downs, Toowoomba, Goondiwindi, Lockyer Valley and Scenic Rim regional council areas can participate for free. The cost of the audits is covered by ACCIONA Energia, who is building the MacIntyre Wind Precinct in the Goondiwindi and Southern Downs area.

Ross Stuhmcke is a stonefruit farmer in the Lockyer Valley and owns Blackboy Ridge Farm which first engaged with QFF in 2019. Ross participated in QFF’s former on-farm energy efficiency program, Energy Savers, receiving an energy audit which recommended a number of energy efficiency improving opportunities.

Peaches from Blackboy Ridge

“The QFF team made a number of suggestions on ways that we could improve our energy efficiency. We actually implemented almost all of these, including upgrading the lighting in the processing room to LED, upgrading the irrigation pumping system and a few maintenance and insulation upgrades across our cold rooms,” Ross said.

“We achieved a 33 percent improvement on our pumping efficiency and with that increased flow rate we’re now seeing production improvements of around 10-20% per year.”

A case study of the BlackBoy Ridge project can be found here.

In total the Energy Savers program and QFF team helped Blackboy Ridge reduce energy consumption by 9% and costs by 53%, including productivity gains.

With these results, Ross was eager to work with QFF again when the EnergySQ program expanded to the Lockyer Valley late last year.

“I saw QFF was once again providing free energy assessments. I wanted to know if they could help me assess the feasibility of putting in battery systems on farm. I also had a few other things I was looking for some advice on, like the financial potential of upgrading our main cold room compressor to a more efficient Variable Speed Drive (VSD) version,” Ross said.

“I’m also working on a new greenhouse project and was hoping the team could help me explore some of the energy efficiency options there.”

QFF’s EnergySQ team recommended utilising existing energy sources to heat the greenhouse, including waste heat from the farm’s cold room system. Ross also received detailed financial estimations on the implications of upgrading the VSD for the cold room compressor, and the EnergySQ team provided information on a rebate to help finance the costs of the upgrade.

The compressor assessed by the EnergySQ team

Ross was also provided with preliminary estimations and implications for implementing battery systems on the farm, helping him understand the potential financial and operational benefits.

“The EnergySQ team have provided a lot of support that will help with our future energy plans here at Blackboy Ridge. I’ve recently received the Action Plan the team have put together and there is a lot of detail on tariffs, costings and other considerations for our next steps,” Ross said.

“I definitely recommend working with the EnergySQ team to any farmers who can. It’s great to work with a team who are really passionate about agriculture and optimising farm energy efficiency.”

Ross's experience with the Energy Savers and EnergySQ programs highlights the tangible benefits of implementing energy efficiency measures on farms. The QFF team is ready to provide personalised assessments and recommendations to help you optimise your energy usage and explore innovative solutions.

To learn more about EnergySQ and get involved visit the project page here.