The three little pigs of nursery rhyme fame had a house made of straw, but even they could not have envisioned a house with straw as the main heat source; however, it is something the East Prince Sustainable Agricultural Initiative is now studying seriously. The group consists of a number of potato producers in East Prince who are looking at ways to get more out of, not only the potato crop, but also the cereal production used in the three-year rotation.
Researching the topic led them to Denmark, where farmers are building on their farms small-scale plants that use straw to run generators and then selling the heat to their neighbours. With assistance from the Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council, which administers funding from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada CARD Program, group members George Webster, John Visser and Peter Boswall went to Denmark last year to look at the technology first-hand. Webster and Visser are both potato growers while Boswall is a resource person from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry who is assisting the group.
"It is similar to the energy from waste plant here, except that you are using straw instead of garbage," Boswall explained.
The trio spent six days in Denmark, viewing straw-fired plants that varied in size from serving five to six houses to major operations that could provide heat to almost a whole village. They also met with companies that manufactured the boilers and the piping that runs into the homes. All three came back with no doubt the technology could work in this province. Right now, Boswall said, they are studying the economics of the idea.
"The houses in Denmark are closer together than they are here," Boswall said. "As well, there is no strip development like you see in many areas of the Prince Edward Island."
He explained the increase in liquid manure systems over the last number of years has meant there is less demand for straw for livestock. Many potato farmers, he said, don't like to leave a great deal of straw in the field since it can increase the risk of scab in the next year's potato crop.
Boswall said the system would also fit in well with Canada's efforts to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol, since the straw-fired plants are considered neutral in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
He said if the economic analysis proves successful, the most likely scenario would be a number of farmers getting together to build and operate the plant and selling the heat directly to the consumer.
Boswall said the initiative would also have the impact of bringing the farmer and the final consumer closer together since there would be no middleman.
In Denmark, roughly 20 per cent of the straw produced goes to heat, and Boswell said if the project gets off the ground here, the percentage would probably be about the same. He added, "Never in our wildest dreams did we envision that the straw produced on Prince Edward Island would be used for heat."
This is one of a series of articles prepared by the Agricultural Awareness Committee to highlight new and innovative developments in the province's farming community and is funded through the Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council.