Farmer pioneers green energy practices in Ohio

But uncertainty remains about whether wind generators can pay for themselves, whether there is a market for hydrogen, if there is interest among neighboring farmers in sharing expenses and labor, and whether there can be an adequate supply of rejected corn to fuel the dryers.

Steve Fugate, a renewable energy expert in Iowa City, Iowa, said farmers must adopt some of these new technologies to survive.

"If they don't, they're done," he said. "This run-up in fuel prices has really put the branding iron to their backsides."

The national average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline hit a record $3.62 a gallon last week, according to a survey of stations. Diesel prices were $4.24 a gallon.

U.S. prices for natural gas, a major component in the production of the nitrogen fertilizer anhydrous ammonia, have nearly doubled since late August.

Dale Arnold, director of energy services for the Ohio Farm Bureau, said more operators of small and medium-sized farms of about 600 acres or smaller -not just the larger farms -are crunching numbers and trying to decide whether it makes financial sense to invest in alternative energy.

"This is not what you would call an impulse buy," Arnold said. "You're talking about spending the same amount of money as you would on a new combine or major piece of equipment on their farm."

Dull spent $210,000 on his 120-foot-high windmills, 25 percent of which was bankrolled by a state grant. The windmills account for about 15 percent of the $40,000 worth of electricity required to run the farm each year. Dull spent about $100,000 on his corn-drying furnace; at current propane prices, it has saved him about $150,000.

"Five or six years ago, Ralph would have been considered a voice crying out in the wilderness," said Arnold. "Now, other farmers are lining up behind him."

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