Features Efficiency Energy
Taking stock of your finances and business decisions

As crops are now established and the spring craze has past, now is a great to reflect on how you made financial and other decisions, and how they can be improved upon the next time around.

Back in March, there would have been a last minute push to check all equipment and finish any outstanding maintenance issues that were left over from the fall. With the warm weather making an early appearance this year, it caught some off guard, making that push a little more difficult than it necessarily had to be. Along with the spring equipment maintenance, comes seed orders and supply confirmations, all of which need to run like clockwork to get crops in on time.

It is also at this time of year, when growers should be considering other suppliers, who, while they have to pay them year round, will be impacted as production picks up. Before you head into the growing season, are you looking at your utilities and suppliers of energy inputs each year to make sure they are capable of meeting your needs throughout the growing season?

Have your rates changed from last year and what kind of impact is that going to have on your bottom line? Are there incentives or new programs you could be participating in to help increase profit margins? Are there new suppliers or technologies that could advance this year’s crops over last year’s – or better yet, over your competitors’ offerings?

These are questions you can start to look at now if you haven’t already, and see if there are areas where savings and efficiencies can be gained.

It might be as simple as looking at your water, natural gas and/or electricity bills for the next couple of months and see where production changes have the greatest impact. That will help to target where you can begin to look for efficiencies and work on lowering your input costs.

Speak to your energy consultant for more information on how you can target energy costs through the growing season and keep those savings sustainable in the coming years.  

Lisa Brodeur is a Quality Assurance Supervisor at 360 Energy.