3 - Calculating Energy and Food Production Potential and Requirements

This review combines results from a large number of studies investigating energy use in EU open-field agriculture, providing an overview of energy use and its concentrations. Such a review and its findings are important as it informs stakeholders and policymakers with evidence for supporting a green energy transition in open-field agriculture. Our review indicates that annual energy use in EU open-field agriculture is at least 1431 PJ, equivalent to around 3.7% of total EU annual energy consumption, with the majority of energy sourced from non-renewable energy sources. Our meta-analysis finds that the production of fertilizer is the largest energy consuming activity in EU agriculture, accounting for around 50% of all energy inputs. On-farm diesel use accounts for 31% of total energy inputs, while the production pesticides and seeds accounts for 5% of total energy inputs. Other energy uses, mainly irrigation, storage and drying, account for 8% of total energy inputs. This suggests that energy use in EU agriculture is significantly underreported and that around 55% of total energy inputs, associated with the production of fertilizers and pesticides, come from indirect sources which can be assigned to the agricultural sector but is used prior to reaching farms. The importance and potential of various fossil-energy-free technologies and strategies are discussed. In addition, this review highlights that in the medium and long term there is need for the development and application of detailed and standardized methodologies for energy use analysis of agricultural systems, as well as for meta-analyses investigating energy use in agriculture.

The most recent National Research Council Nutrient Requirements for Sheep and Goats was published in 2007, one of the most consequential nutrient requirement recommendations for sheep and goats in the world. The enhancement of production efficiency, minimization of carbon footprint, and maximization of resource economy, among others, motivate the continuing discussion of nutrient utilization and refinement of nutrient requirements in sheep and goats that are increasingly important in various parts of the world. Progress has been made in the estimation of energy and protein requirements in sheep and goats, mainly utilizing empirical feeding experimentation, comparative slaughter techniques and minimum endogenous loss methods. In sheep, newer estimates of energy and protein requirements for maintenance and growth and partial efficiencies has been reported since 2007. There were suggestions that energy and protein requirements could have been affected by breed, wool growth, gender and size, with these reported values being similar or lower than the recommended values in international feeding systems such as NRC, ARC, INRA and AFRC. In goats, energy and protein requirements for growing goats were reported to be either higher or lower than the established recommendations, depending upon meat or dairy breeds. Effect of gender on energy requirement appeared to be related to the stage of growth or degree of maturity. Newer data also suggested that existing recommendations on nutrient requirements may not be adequate for non-pregnant and non-lactating pubertal females. In multiparous pregnant goats, energy and protein requirements for maintenance did not appear to be affected by days of pregnancy, but efficiencies of metabolizable energy and metabolizable protein utilization for pregnancy were. There were suggestions that metabolizable protein can be predicted from energy intake using equations that encompass both sheep and goats, but more data on goats were called for to account for specific differences in nutrition. In addition to sulfur, there has been progress made on the estimation of maintenance and growth requirements of calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium in goats, with suggestions on the consideration of gender and breed differences. While conventional factors such as breeds and species, genotype, stage of maturity, gender, body composition, mobilization of tissue energy for production, and additional activity energy required due to resource limitation and acclimatization remain as important considerations for the estimation of nutrient requirements in sheep and goats, emerging factors such as climate change, heat stress, parasitism and secondary plant compounds that can affect nutrient utilization should also be considered in the estimation of nutrient requirements. Model equations and partial efficiencies used by NRC to predict energy and protein requirements for maintenance, growth, lactation, and fiber have been highlighted and discussed for the purpose of a more focus discussion and refinement for the future. Potential limitations of both traditional and emerging methodologies in determining the nutrient requirements in sheep and goats were discussed. The advancement in nutrigenomics can potentially move nutrient requirements beyond its population-based guidelines. To justify the research investment, emerging methodologies such as nutrigenomics will have to be linked more directly to the improvement of production efficiency via more precise prediction of nutrient requirement. With the assistance of artificial intelligence and more data obtained from sensor technology, precision nutrition has the potential to deliver nutrients precisely to individual animals and meet nutrient requirements in sheep and goats.

The most recent National Research Council Nutrient Requirements for Sheep and Goats was published in 2007, one of the most consequential nutrient requirement recommendations for sheep and goats in the world. It is pertinent to continue the refinement and discussion of nutrient utilization and requirements for the purposes of enhancing the efficiency of production systems, maximizing resource economy, and minimizing the carbon footprint, among others. Progress has been made in the estimation of energy and protein requirements in sheep and goats, mainly utilizing empirical feeding experimentation, comparative slaughter technique and minimum endogenous loss method. In sheep, newer estimates of energy and protein requirements for maintenance and growth and partial efficiencies had been reported since 2007. There were suggestions that energy and protein requirements could have been affected by breed, wool growth, gender and size; with these reported values being similar or lower than the recommended values in international feeding systems such as NRC, ARC, INRA and AFRC. In goats, energy and protein requirements for growing goats were reported to be either higher or lower than the established recommendations, depending upon meat or dairy breeds. Effect of gender on energy requirement appeared to be related to the stage of growth or degree of maturity. Newer data also suggested that the guidelines of the major feeding systems for the entire growth phase may not be adequate for non-pregnant and non-lactating pubertal females. In multiparous pregnant goats, energy and protein requirements for maintenance did not appear to be affected by days of pregnancy, but efficiencies of metabolizable energy and metabolizable protein utilization for pregnancy were. There were suggestions that that metabolizable protein synthesis in the rumen can be predicted from energy intake using combined equations that encompass both sheep and goats, but more data on goats were called for to account for specific differences in nutrition. In addition to sulfur, there has been progress made on the estimation of maintenance and growth requirements of calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium in goats, with suggestions on the consideration of gender and breed differences. Species, level of Intake, genotype, mature size, age, gender, body composition, use of tissue energy, activity, season, and acclimatization continue to be important considerations for the estimation of nutrient requirements in sheep and goats, with emerging factors such as climate change, heat stress, parasitism and secondary plant compounds. Model equations and partial efficiencies used by NRC to predict energy and protein requirements for maintenance, growth, lactation, and fiber have been highlighted and discussed for the purpose of a more focus discussion and refinement for the future. Potential and limitation of both traditional and emerging methodologies in determining the nutrient requirements in sheep and goats were discussed. To justify the research investment, emerging methodologies such as nutrigenomics will have to be linked more directly to the improvement of production efficiency via more precise prediction of nutrient requirement.

Effects of tillage method and crop rotation on non-renewable energy use efficiency for a thin Black Chernozem in the Canadian Prairies

Fossil-fuel based energy use in agriculture leads to CO2 and non-CO2 emissions. We focus on emissions generated within the farm gate for crop and livestock production and from fisheries, providing information relative to the period 1970–2019 for both energy use and the associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Country-level information is generated from UNSD and IEA data on energy in agriculture, forestry and fishing, relative to use of: gas/diesel oil, motor gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, fuel oil and coal. Electricity used within the farm gate is also quantified, while recognizing that the associated emissions are generated elsewhere. We find that in 2019, annual emissions from energy use in agriculture were about 523 million tonnes (Mt CO2eq yr−1), and up to 1,029 Mt CO2eq yr−1 when including electricity. They increased 7 % since 1990. The largest emission increases from on-farm fuel combustion were from LPG (32 %), whereas significant decreases were observed for coal (−55 %), natural gas (−50 %), motor gasoline (−42 %) and fuel oil (−37 %). Conversely, use of electricity and the associated indirect emissions increased three-fold over the 1990–2019 period, thus becoming the largest emission source from energy use in agriculture since 2005. Overall the global trends were a result of counterbalancing effects: marked decreases in developed countries in 2019 compared to 1990 (−273 Mt CO2eq yr−1) were masked by slightly larger increases in developing and emerging economies (+339 Mt CO2 eq yr−1). The information used in this work is available as open data at: https://zenodo.org/record/5153241 (Tubiello and Pan, 2021). The relevant FAOSTAT (FAO, 2021) emissions database is maintained and updated annually by FAO.

Predicting how a planned city will develop and expand after its construction, and which resources, such as energy, the city will need over time is only possible if one can rely on similar examples and reliable models. Given the existing spatial plans for the design of the new capital city of Indonesia, there is a need to develop and compare city development scenarios–in spatial expansion, population size, resource, energy and food requirements. A combination of various geospatial data approaches can address this knowledge and assessment gap. This article investigates spatial expansion, forest encroachment and sustainable energy infrastructure requirements using open access geodata and models. The hypothesis is that the constitution of the new capital city of Indonesia can rely on existing energy infrastructures but may also need to rely on additional resources. The research approach was to collect and integrate different types of geospatial data related to land use, terrain characteristics and population growth assumptions and connect these to both urban growth models and predictions and energy. This relied on land use change methodologies and urban growth models to simulate and predict spatial effects, with ca particular focus on the expansion of energy requirements. The choice to focus on energy requirements additionally required a comparison of different kinds of energy sources, such as solar and wind energy. The conclusion is that all design and expansion scenarios indicate a possible spatial conflict between locating sustainable energy production facilities with maintaining ecologically sensitive areas. A possible solution is to make use of existing mining infrastructures to enhance sustainable energy production and to make use of dual land and water solar energy systems.

Measurement of energy balance represents a basic theoretical concept in the determination of nutritional and fluid requirements in humans in health and disease. Infants have special nutrient requirements, more limited reserves and relative immaturity of organ function. Energy requirements of infants have been based either retrospectively on intakes required to achieve normal growth or on equations derived from energy expenditure studies performed early this century. Recently, improved techniques for studying resting energy expenditure (REE), total energy expenditure (TEE) and metabolically active body compartments in infants have facilitated more accurate estimates of energy requirements. Such studies indicated that current reference values for energy requirements are overestimates, and that compared with measured values, predicted values vary markedly between the various predictive equations with wide co-efficients of variation. In disease states with altered body composition, such as cystic fibrosis and end-stage liver disease, predictive equations markedly underestimate both energy and fluid requirements. In cystic fibrosis, both TEE and REE are 25% higher than values in healthy infants. In extrahepatic biliary atresia, energy expenditure per unit body cell mass is markedly elevated, suggesting that this is a catabolic condition in infants. Current estimates of energy and fluid requirements in both health and disease in infants need reappraisal. Bedside and free living energy expenditure methodology should be used to define accurately components of energy requirement in individual infants.

Comparison of energy evaluation systems and a mechanistic model for milk production by dairy cattle offered fresh grass-based diets

Nutrient requirements of South American camelids: A factorial approach

Meeting nutrient and energy requirements in old age

We studied the food habits of midcontinent sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) during spring 1978 and 1979 at their primary staging area along the Platte River and compared population food and foraging habitat requirements with availability. Crane diets varied among the 3 principal foraging habitats, but not between sexes, ages, or years. Cranes feeding in cornfields ate >99% corn (total dry wt); those feeding in native grasslands and alfalfa fields consumed 79-99% invertebrates. The composite diet of cranes was 97% corn and 3% invertebrates, including 2% earthworms, 0.5% snails, and 0.5% insects. Presumably, corn provided energy, whereas invertebrates from grasslands and alfalfa fields provided supplemental nutrients to compensate for protein and calcium deficiencies in corn. The mean density of waste corn decreased (P 50%. Management by burning, haying, and grazing is compatible with crane use of grasslands, and reduced-till farming could benefit cranes by increasing invertebrate populations. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 50(1):71-79 A growing awareness of the impact of water resource development on spring staging habitat of sandhill cranes in the Platte River Valley of Nebraska has stimulated private, state, and federal conservation efforts (Krapu et al. 1982). Depletion of flows in the river has increased development of native wet meadows for crop production and reduced the width of river channels. This has concentrated cranes in restricted reaches of the river and caused concern that food resources needed to meet energy and nutrient requirements of the population may become inadequate. In particular, the role of grasslands in the feeding ecology of cranes needs more study (Wheeler and Lewis 1972, Reinecke and Krapu 1979). Our research was part of a larger investigation of sandhill crane staging ecology (U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. 1981) that provided necessary background information to assess the management implications of population food and energy requirements. The objectives of our study were to: (1) relate qualitative aspects of food use t foraging habitat, (2) calculate daily and seasonal population food requirements, and (3) estimate food availability for comparison with projected requirements. We thank C. R. Frith and R. J. Wicht for assistance in contacting landowners and the landowners of the Platte River Valley for access to their properties. D. Janke and D. Jenson contributed to our corn sampling project. B. A. Hanson assisted with insect taxonomy and, along with D. G. Jorde, R. E. Atkins, and G. R. Lingle, collected crane specimens. Molluscs and earthworms were identified by F. M. Uhler and W. N. Beyer, respectively. D. H. Johnson and A. M. Frank supervised the statistical analyses, and T. J. Dwyer and C. E. Korschgen reviewed the manuscript.

Dnya nfusunun oalmasna bal olarak gda ve enerji ihtiyalar da artmaktadr. Enerji ve gda tketimi karbondioksit salnm miktarnn ykselmesi ile yakndan alakaldr. Karbondioksit miktarnn artmas Sera gaz etkisi gstererek kresel snmaya sebep olmakta bylece doal afetler yaanmaktadr. Sera gaz etkisinin azaltlmas iin fosil kaynaklara alternatif enerji kaynaklar bulunmal ve atklarn srdrlebilir ekilde

-The weight loss of incubating Black-browed Albatrosses (Diomedea melanophris) and Grey-headed Albatrosses (D. chrysostoma) was measured at Bird Island, South Georgia. The rate of weight loss did not differ significantly either between the sexes or between the species. The results suggest that these two species have the same metabolic requirements. The difference in the quality of their diet leads to estimates of daily food intake considerably higher for the Grey-headed than for the Black-browed albatross. This may have been a factor in the evolution of biennial breeding in the Grey-headed Albatross. The Black-browed Albatross (Diomedea melanophris) and Grey-headed Albatross (D. chrysostoma) are widely distributed in the subantarctic zone. Their breeding biology (Tickell and Pinder 1975) and food and feeding ecology (Prince 1980) have been extensively studied at South Georgia. The timing and duration of events in their breeding cycle are similar although Greyheaded Albatrosses take approximately six weeks longer to complete the cycle. The chicks of the two species grow at different rates (Ricketts and Prince, in press), possibly as a result of difference in diet. The Black-browed Albatross feeds mainly on krill and fish whereas the Grey-headed Albatross feeds principally on squid; krill have a higher energy content (Grantham 1977) than squid (Voss 1973). The basic energy requirements of birds are closely related to their weight. Blackbrowed and Grey-headed albatrosses are similar in size and weight but the different energy content of their food suggests that they may have different energy requirements. We therefore studied the rate of weight loss in incubating birds to assess whether there is any indication of a metabolic difference between these two species.

Colonial-nesting waterbirds such as ibis and spoonbills (Threskiornithidae) can account for a significant proportion of energy flow through wetlands, particularly during large breeding events. However when food availability is reduced, chicks may starve and adults may abandon nests. If the energy required to rear chicks could be calculated, data quantifying prey energy value and availability could be used to develop landscape scale management targets to ensure that food requirements are met to support chicks until they attain independence, thereby maximising recruitment. We calculated ibis and spoonbill chick biometrics and energy requirements through (a) an international literature review, extracting and synthesising the best available growth and energy data; (b) new measurements of ibis and spoonbill chick biometrics for selected species; and (c) analysis of the resulting databases to construct growth curves and predict energy requirements for selected species. Here we present the first models of Royal Spoonbill growth and of Royal Spoonbill and Australian White Ibis chick energy requirements. The total energy estimated to raise a single Royal Spoonbill chick from hatching to independence was 71,290 kJ and for an Australian White Ibis chick was 67,160 kJ. Using prey energy values from the literature, extrapolations indicate that for either species, a nesting event of 1000 nests producing three chicks per nest would require an estimated ten tonnes of freshwater crayfish (Cherax destructor) or eight tonnes of invasive juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio) to support chicks from hatching to independence. Effective water and wetland management is critical to optimise both energy availability in foraging sites and breeding success.

This paper discusses how integrating renewable energy, AI, and IoT becomes important in promoting climate-smart agriculture. Due to the changing climate, rise in energy costs, and ensuring food security, agriculture faces unprecedented challenges; therefore, development toward innovative technologies is emerging for its sustainability and efficiency. This review synthesizes existing literature systematically to identify how AI and IoT could optimize resource management, increase productivity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions within an agricultural context. Key findings pointed to the importance of managing resources sustainably, the scalability of technologies, and, finally, policy interventions to ensure technology adoption. The paper further outlines trends in the global adoption of renewable energy and smart agriculture solutions, indicating areas of commonality and difference and emphasizing the need for focused policies and capacity-building initiatives that will help, particularly in the developing world, the benefits of such innovations. Eventually, this research covers some gaps in understanding how AI, IoT, and renewable energy could jointly contribute to driving towards a greener and more resilient agriculture sector.