A field study of energy consumption in wheat production in Canterbury, New Zealand

This paper examines the energy consumption of wheat production in Canterbury province, New Zealand. This study was conducted within a 35,300 ha of irrigated and dry land wheat fields in Canterbury in the 2007–2008 harvest year.Total energy consumption for wheat production was estimated at 25,600 MJ/ha. On average, fertilizer and electricity were used more than other energy sources, at around 10,654 (47%) and 4870 (22%) MJ/ha, respectively. The energy consumption for wheat in irrigated farming systems and dry land farming systems was estimated at 25,600 and 17,458 MJ/ha, respectively. The main source of energy in both systems is fertilizer and it consumed around 10,188 and 11,429 MJ/ha for irrigated farming and dry land farming, respectively.The average operational energy consumption was 7997 MJ/ha. In irrigated farming system, operational energy was approximately three times more than that in dry land farming. The maximum energy consumed in operational wheat production was about 7762 (71%) MJ/ha for irrigated farming systems, including irrigation, and it was 1451 (46%) MJ/ha for dry land farming including tillage. The average values of estimated output to input energy ratio for wheat in irrigated and dry land farming systems were 11.5 and 15.1, respectively.

Research highlights
► We determine the energy use in wheat production base on farm operation and energy sources on dryland and irrigated farms in New Zealand.
► The study estimate and compare different energy inputs in wheat production using around 40 samples.
► The results show fertilizer is the most important energy inputs on farms.
► The significant correlation between energy use and wheat production must be taken into consideration.