Massachusetts dairy farmers like Smith have taken steps in recent years to change their energy consumption through more efficient and sustainable practices. They are cutting costs in the process, important in an industry that operates on thin margins.
The half-dozen changes Smith has made, including installing photovoltaic panels on the roof to convert solar energy into cheese power, has helped reduce his energy costs by 60 percent.
Without the solar panels, new efficient lighting, and an energy-conserving fan system in his refrigeration room, Smith would be paying $3,000 a month for electricity. Instead, his bill last month was $1,200.
Smith’s eureka moment came in the mail five years ago, when he received a sky-high electricity bill.
“It gets your attention when you have costs that double, and don’t just go up gradually,’’ he said. “I was like, ‘Whoa, something needs to be done.’ ’’
The 112 photovoltaic panels, installed above the building where curds are pressed into wheels, brined, and aged into creamy smoked gouda, havarti, and cheddar, generate 33 percent of his electricity and save $1,000 a month, he estimates.
It takes 110 pounds of milk to make one wheel of gouda, and that means a lot of energy. His 200 Holsteins have to be milked three times a day to keep them healthy. Smith rises at 3 a.m. and oversees the early-morning session.
A variable-speed vacuum pump installed in his milking parlor in March enables him to milk 60 cows an hour and to cut back considerably on fuel, saving $300 a month. The system streamlines the process by revving up when the cows are ready to be milked and slowing down when they are done.
An agricultural energy grant from the state and incentives from National Grid helped defray costs.
“Someone has to start the ball rolling; that’s why these incentives are out there, and hopefully we can become less reliant on oil, at least foreign oil,’’ said Smith, 65.
