Welcome to part one in a four part exploration. This exercise is intended to stimulate thought and imagination. What might future Local Energy Farm Demonstration projects look like? What issues will they attempt to confront? What are some of the guiding agricultural principles and how will the research and actions at these farm sites connect with community needs or local economy?

Certain energy farms will confront the issue of Food Security. To be certain, energy prices and the price of food are interconnected. Today’s' agricultural system uses massive amounts of energy as petroleum mediates almost every aspect of food production. Petroleum based fuel is required for the tractors, it is used in the transport of produce, natural gas is used to make fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides are saturated with petrol, and large amounts of electricity is required for the processing of food. Intense dependency on petroleum is not only costly economically, but is also taxing to the surrounding ecosystem.

The Post Carbon Institute is practicing and experimenting with methods of food production that are adapted to a post-peak world.These methods are intended to minimize excess energy inputs where ever possible and to generate quality organic food to be distributed locally. Resource management and curtailment are the cornerstones of crop production methods that improve rather than deplete the quality of the soil, water and surrounding eco-systems.

Local food production farms will demonstrate the foundations of sound agricultural practice. These sites will typically contain rich, arable land, ideal for the cultivation of healthy crops. The aim in such a farm is to maintain the health and fertility of the land by utilizing a basket of sustainable agricultural practices. These farms are designed to meet the food needs of the immediate community and are intended to be a model of community participation and the processes of relocalization.

The following agricultural practices will be our foundation:

• Permaculture design
• Integrated pest management
• Preservation of the soil foodweb
• Crop diversity and crop rotation
• Reduced use of petroleum
• Chemical free weed management
• Composting practices utilizing activated compost tea
• Companion planting
• Water management
• Local distribution of produce
• Utilization of renewable energy

While many communities may choose a strictly vegan diet, other communities may adapt differently. In anticipation of the diversity of transition methods the food security of livestock and labor animals needs to be addressed. These crops would be grown on decent to marginal land to meet the dietary needs of free range dairy cows, plow horses, goats, pigs, or chickens. It is clear that goats, dairy cows, and chickens have secondary benefits that outweigh their meat value. While it is indeed true that many of these animals can and will exist without supplementary food, they will not produce high quality milk or eggs on a consistent basis. These products are large sources of stored energy and considered to be staples in many food regimes.

The following examples illustrate what energy farms addressing food security might look like:

Example 1: Two acres of an unused baseball field would be converted into an organic farm. Energy and water needed for irrigation and food processing would be secured via an onsite well and renewable energy technology. A mix of perennial and biointensive cultivated annual plants would be grown. An onsite composting system would be essential in recycling crop wastes and maintaining the vitality of the soil. A farm tractor from the local tractor co-op might be used to incorporate over-winter cover crops into the soil and prepare the seed bed for new spring crops. Although tractors are available, the farm site does not rely on them on consistent basis as farm managers may decide on a low-till system. Integration of a greenhouse would allow farmers a jump on the each season to ensure as much food production as possible.

Example 2: Four acres is used to grow organic chicken feed. Crops including corn, oats, barley, sunflower, flax, and fava bean would be grown with minimal water or labor input. To preserve the vitality of the land these crops would be rotated and intercropped with legumes to create land better suited for human food. Supplying a community with supplementary chicken feed is a way to secure quality egg production from multiple flocks of chickens.

It is also probable that food producing farms could grow small amounts of energy crops in combination with food crops. For example, flax, an energy crop because of it fiber and oil seed, has been known to enhance the growth and flavor of carrots and potatoes. Flax also repels the dreaded potato bug. This is not only a form of integrated pest management, but also a small effort toward energy security if the oil was used for small scale biofuel production.