Post Carbon Institute has launched Local Energy Farm Demonstration Projects in Willits, California; Rogue River, Oregon; Kentucky State University; and Sebastopol, California. These projects are researching food and biofuel crops, developing reduced-input crop cultivation and processing methodologies, facilitating local food and biofuel systems, and working to realign agriculture and local commerce so that these basic needs are secured by those living and working in the community. These demonstration projects help to build skills and knowledge and aim to increase awareness by showcasing farm practices on the internet using online tools including blogs, web-casts, and forums.

Local Energy Farm Demonstration projects are varied but have a clear set of priorities

Production: Food First

1. Grow food for local consumption:

The program aims to generate toolsets, methods, and discourse that will prove useful to groups and communities that want to maintain food security in a post petroleum context. Additionally, the program provides data related to the true cost of food without chemicals, excessive transport, or subsidy.

2. Improve the soil:

The soil is the farm's greatest resource. If intensive vegetable and grain cultivation are expected, then an equally intensive compost system is required to secure the fertility of the land. When possible the Energy Farm Program makes use of marginal land to grow energy crops and works to revitalize soil with cover cropping, low-till, and compost teas.

3. Produce local fertilizer, local biofuel, local manufacturing feedstock, and forest— for sale/trade primarily in the local community:

In addition to growing food, Energy Farms produce commodities that support other farms and crucial pieces of community infrastructure. These Energy Farms generate items of legitimate value and can potentially be regarded as cornerstones of local commerce and energy backed currency.

Minimize External Energy Inputs

1. Rely more on manual labor:

Before cheap oil drastically influenced agriculture practice in the early to mid 20th century, most agricultural work was performed by muscle power (i.e. human, horse, ox, mule). Agricultural systems that rely on cheap, imported fuel are vulnerable to inflation in energy prices and may not be able to sustain current yields or operation. The Energy Farm program realizes that there is a need for more farms at a smaller scale. These farms must be able to produce consistent reliable forms of food and energy without relying on fossil fuel, heavy machinery, or petroleum based chemicals.

2. Research and employ intermediate and appropriate technology that saves fuel, labor and time:

Farmers are famous for improvising tools that meet the needs of specific farm tasks. Likewise, the Energy Farm program is developing tools and assembling toolsets that will meet specific needs of farmers in order to them help cultivate and process farm-based commodities in a post petroleum era. Society cannot afford to revert to primitivism and we must use our historical vantage point to integrate useful methods from past as we experiment with new tools to build the future.

3. Where necessary, use biofuel and/or electricity from renewable sources to power farm equipment and farm infrastructure:

Food and energy are interconnected and it is imperative that farm infrastructure be powered by renewable energy technology to produce consistent reliable food and energy. Some farm tasks require more energy than a team of laborers can perform and must look for ways to power the tools that has made modern agriculture so productive. Wind turbines and solar panels, ethanol and biodiesel, each have their place in an agricultural system that uses heavy machines only when necessary.

Relocalization

1. Prioritize using local labor, energy, materials, capital, and biomass for farm activities:

One of the surest ways to build your community is to invest locally in people, projects, and programs that are working toward a common goal of stewardship and sustainability. When groups derive their resources locally they are likely to be less vulnerable to resource scarcity concerns. Energy Farms are built to rely on as few outside imports as possible, and in some instances, even go as far as to grow their own organic fertilizer on site.

2. Develop relationships with local buyers of farm goods and providers of farm needs:

An Energy Farm is of no use in isolation. Thus, farm members participate in the community discourse and integrate themselves into many facets of the community in order to assist and be assisted by as many people as possible. Local organic restaurants, farmers markets, the Grange, welders and fabricators, master gardeners, universities, other non-profits, and permaculture guilds are all important connections for the Energy Farm because they provide an outlet for produce and a maintain a web of material and intellectual support.

3. Promote “relocalization” practices such as:

- Revitalization of co-ops supporting community supported manufacturing and agriculture
- Co-op acquisition of small threshing machines for cereal and oilseed processing or micro hydro turbines for electricity
- The creation of local waste management systems to collect food scraps to be converted to compost, biogas, and livestock feed

Research

1. Collect data on all farm production, including energy inputs, growing conditions, and yields:

Keeping data allows the program to make predictions and to compare differences between our system and to other systems in different climates, soil types, and with different tools.

2. Develop scientifically robust research programs to determine optimal local practices for food and energy production:

In order to replicate the practices at specific Energy Farm Demonstration Sites data must be collected to gauge the efficacy of practice.

3. Share research and collaborate with local institutions, researchers, and other farms in the Energy Farm Network:

Researchers in the Energy Farm Program produce blogs, essays, short videos, and presentations in order to get this important information to institutions and the public. This program works to inspire groups to join the Energy Farm Network and evolve these concepts in order to steward the Earth, maintain social equity, and guarantee local food and energy security.