Farmer pioneers green energy practices in Ohio

"I had plenty of time to read it," Dull recalled. "And I said, 'That's something we could do.'"

The 79-year-old Dull has since become an Ohio pioneer in green farming and renewable energy, jumping into it in hopes of increasing energy efficiency, cutting costs and protecting the environment.

There are six wind generators on his 2,800-acre farm in western Ohio. In one building sits a machine that produces hydrogen, made from electricity and water. Dull hopes it will soon replace the gas in his forklifts and supplant the propane that heats his pig barn.

Dull's office is geothermal heated and cooled. He dries his seed corn by burning rejected corn instead of propane, and he grinds corn cobs to sell as horse bedding and mulch.

Dull's practices have drawn such visitors as Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ohio Agriculture Director Robert Boggs. Strickland came away impressed by the farm and what it could mean for agriculture's role in environmental protection.

"He is demonstrating through his farming practices that you can have a profitable farming operation while caring for the Earth," Strickland said.

The governor and GOP legislative leaders want the state to rely more on alternative energy and are pushing a stimulus package that would earmark $150 million for advanced energy sources such as solar power, wind and clean coal.

Experts say that while Dull is still the exception, more farmers are expressing interest in green farming and in using renewable energy sources. Beyond environmental concerns, cost-conscious farmers are seeing economic benefits as fuel and fuel-based fertilizer prices soar.

"It's moving from the early adopters and true believers; now it's mainstream," said Geoff Greenfield, president of Third Sun Solar and Wind Power, which sells and installs wind generators and solar equipment for commercial and residential users.