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of farming done, one should look at options to reduce wastage in the areas of water, motor/machinery, heating, lighting, transport and milking. A simple example could be regular servicing of motors, which will make the machinery work more efficiently. Insulating farms and barns will also save energy. Similarly, using milk pre-coolers will reduce the cooling system load on dairy farms. The ways to save on energy are endless.

8. HARNESS SOLAR, WATER AND WIND POWER:
Some farms and ranches are able to capture big energy savings by simply harnessing solar, water or wind power. Solar energy can be used for growing crops and is also useful for heating air or water and generating electricity. A typical wind system consists of a wind turbine mounted on a tower, and this energy supplements the farm/home energy on windy days. For farms close to streams or rivers, water windmills can be installed to effectively channel water energy towards the farm.

9. RECYCLE, REDUCE, AND REUSE:
As with any industry, following the 3 R's of reducing, recycling and reusing, will eliminate any wastage and conserve resources and money.

10. REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS:
And finally, farms can reduce methane, carbon and nitrous gas emissions by doing some of the following- conservation tillage, grazing land management, reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, re-looking at manure handling, reducing irrigation and switching to biofuels to name a few.

Learn more about this author, Usha Krishnan.
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