Future Farmstead

DC's Solar Decathlon 2009

2009-11-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

After watching several videos and checking out loads of pictures of DC's Solar Decathlon, it seems that there is a recurring theme in many of the houses. Edible. Landscape. I really enjoy the aesthetic appeal of the various colors that plants and flowers can add to a landscape. It's even better when growing plants locally means there is a smaller amount of petroleum is tied up in each edible plant. Just think about the freshness, too!

Growing your own food locally is really catching on. From Community Supported Agriculture to sharing your own backyard, locally grown produce often times is tastier and better for you. I have found a great website called www.sharingbackyards.com.This

website helps people with little or no land for growing things connect with people who do.

What are your thoughts on edible landscapes? What do you think about sharing your backyard?

The Living Roof

2009-10-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

This week I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the California Academy of Sciences. This museum was a wonderful variety of aquariums, a planetarium, and a natural history museum. But, the coolest feature was the living roof.

This 2.5 acre roof is huge with three dome-like hills. The skylights on these domes allow natural light to come in while also releasing hot air that rises to the roof. These skylights are controlled via sensors that open and close when needed.

Nearly two million plants were chosen for the roof. These native plants are grown in coconut fiber trays that are fit together like pieces to a massive puzzel. These plants are pollinated via bees that have their own hive located on the gigantic roof.

This type of roof does not contribute to heat island effect, and it keeps the buildings' temperature an average of ten degrees cooler than conventional buildings. (www.calacademy.org)

What are the best characteristics for a modern home in south Georgia?

2009-10-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

One of the many goals of the Future Farmstead is to build an ecofriendly farmhouse to remotely monitor the farm. Since the home will be in south Georgia, we want it to appeal to the southern region. What are the characteristics of a modern home would suite south Georgia well?

Welcome to the Future Farmstead Blog

2009-09-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

What is it?

The Future Farmstead is an energy independent experimental farm and farmstead dedicated to developing and demonstrating advanced technologies which will enhance farmer efficiency to achieve the nation’s future energy, food, and environmental requirements.

Future Farmstead is a research, extension, and education initiative with many public and private partners, led by the University of Georgia. The program is dedicated to advancing on-farm energy generation and conservation in the Southeast focusing on efficiencies as a way to save energy and protect our natural resources.

Why should I care?

Today, agriculture has the opportunity to transform our economy from one which depends on fossil fuels to one which thrives on renewable energy. Within 15 years the majority of advanced biofuels are likely to come from a variety of plant-based carbon sources including cellulose and lignin, and this is where Southeastern agriculture and forestry shine.

Efficient methods to convert biomass to biofuels are now being commercialized, yet to remain competitive the nation's bio-fuels industry must constantly improve biomass growth, harvesting and conversion methods, in an environmentally sound way. The SE will also employ energy capture and conversion from solar, wind, water and farm byproducts. Georgia has a great opportunity to be a net exporter of energy.

As energy prices continue to rise, farmers must increase energy use efficiency. Improvements in energy conservation are important state and national goals. Over the next 10 years we will see net energy outputs from agriculture rise as farm machinery becomes more efficient and cultural practices save time, energy and natural resources. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 15 percent of agricultural production costs are energy related. To have an immediate impact on this climbing cost and reduce our fossil fuel dependence we must improve energy efficiency. With public and private partners UGA’s Future Farmstead team will look to advanced communication, sensor, automation, and genetics to better manage a more suitable production environment. By making farms cleaner, more efficient, and more profitable we will reduce our dependence on foreign fuels.