3 Ways to Increase Farm Efficiency
Finding ways to increase efficiency will have a positive effect on your farm. Making the most out of what you have is a core element of farming. It’s always a good idea to take matters into your own hands and find out how you could be doing things better. In this post, we’ll look at three different things you can do to make your farm more efficient.
1. Timing When You Decide To Plant Can Make A Huge Difference
Timing is something that comes with experience, and it is a powerful way to promote efficiency in your crops. Different types of seeds respond better or worse to certain soil temperatures. Planting too soon or too early can cause waste. Taking the time to really study your crops can help you figure out the perfect time to plant.
When the soil is too cold, the seeds take weeks to sprout or may not even sprout at all. It’s always a good idea to wait until temperatures are consistent in your area before planting a crop. Different vegetables all have their own soil tolerances so staggering is essential to making the most out of your crop space.
Another good way to promote efficient crops is to increase the nutrients in your soil. Methods like adding manure and additional plants will help to stabilize your soil. Healthy soil leads to healthy crops. Growing cover crops is always a good idea to increase water infiltration, chase insects away and prevent the soil from eroding.
2. Invest In Automatic Pig Feeders
Automatic pig feeders are an excellent way to create efficiency on the farm. Managing the weight of your animals is a difficult task that requires a lot of attention. Automatic pig feeders allow you to program a specific amount of food which makes controlling weight much more manageable. Using automatic feeders to your advantage will ensure you aren’t over or under feeding your pigs.
Establishing a consistent weight across the animals on your farm creates consistency in your profits. You can program the feeder to provide frequent, smaller meals or more rare, but larger feedings. Automatic feeders also help establish a regular routine which reduces anxiety in your animals.
Feeding early in the morning and on a consistent basis can be a hassle anytime you have plans change, or something sneaks up on you. Automatic pig feeders operate on your schedule so you can tend to other things. Automatic feeders also keep the food fresh, so you don’t have to worry about the quality of the feed. Automatic pig feeders also release the same amount of feed each time which helps you control food costs.
3. Analyze Which Utilities Are Using The Most Energy
Understanding the different ways your farm uses energy will help you find appropriate areas to cut back. With rising energy prices, it’s important to do what you can do minimize consumption and stay competitive. Farms that prioritize efficient energy use are much more likely to remain profitable.
Start by identifying all your energy sources. Electricity, propane, natural gas and gasoline are all familiar sources of power on a farm. It may also be worth your time to consider biogas or solar energy depending on your location. Once you identify everything that’s using energy you can monitor the levels and make changes.
Saving energy is sometimes as easy as modifying a temperature setting. Other times you may have to replace multiple pieces of equipment in order to get more efficient energy use. Taking the time to analyze your power usage will help you find the right area to attack first. Make sure you do your math and ensure the energy reduction is worth it before making any substantial investments.