A2O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 10,2001
Is Firewood The Best Fuel Choice?
WESTMINSTER, Md. As
winter kicks into high gear, the
cost of keeping warm increases.
And this year’s escalating
energy prices have many home
owners reevaluating their fuel
options. Among the possibilities:
firewood.
“Wood is a renewable re
source that when used with
modern catalytic stoves can be
an environmentally sound and
cost-effective source of home
heat,” says Jonathan Kays, a
Natural Resources Specialist
with Maryland Cooperative Ex
tension, part of the University of
Maryland’s College of Agricul
ture and Natural Resources.
However, the cost-effectiveness
of firewood depends on several
factors.
The heating value of any fuel
is measured in British thermal
units (Btu); one Btu is the
amount of energy required to
raise a pound of water one
Average Farm Feed
Costs for Handy
Reference
To help farmers across the state to
have handy reference of commodity
input costs in their feeding operations
for DHIA record sheets or to develop
livestock feed cost data, here's last
week’s average costs of various ingred
ients as compiled from regional reports
across the state of Pennsylvania.
Remember, these are averages, so you
will need to adjust your figures up or
down according to your location and the
quality of your crop.
Corn, No.2y 2.19 bu., 3.93 cwt.
Wheat, N 0.2 2.29 bu., 3.83 cwt.
Barley, N 0.3 —1.55 bu., 3.32 cwt.
Oats, N 0.2 —1.34 bu., 4.19 cwt.
Soybeans, No.l 4.19 bu., 6.99 cwt.
Ear Corn 60.52 ton, 3.03 cwt.
Alfalfa Hay 88.75 ton, 4.44 cwt.
Mixed Hay 88.75 ton, 4.44 cwt.
Timothy Hay 83.00 ton, 4.15 cwt.
WATERLESS TOILETS
“SUN-MAR”
Composting
Toilets
Several models available
including non-electric.
• NO Septic System
•NO Chemicals
Save the Environment l
Recycle Back to Nature l
FREE:
12 Page Color Catalog
We Perform Septic Inspections 81
Certifications
ECO-TECH Call Today 1-800-879-0973
degree Fahrenheit. Different
types of heaters burn fuel at dif
ferent efficiencies. For example,
the average airtight wood stove
burns at an efficiency of 50 per
cent, an oil furnace burns at 65
percent, natural gas at 75 per
cent, and electricity at 100 per
cent.
But knowing this is not
enough. You also need cost in
formation.
The costs of various forms of
energy are evaluated differently,
which makes comparisons diffi
cult. Such comparisons are fur
ther complicated by variations
in the cost of wood. According to
a recent survey of classified ads
in newspapers throughout
Maryland, prices for oak fire
wood cut, split and delivered
range from $l2O to $l5O per
cord. And these prices may in
crease as the winter progresses.
However, comparisons of the
cost of various heating fuels can
J-SIU
Silo In loader let hookas lakes a (.ianl leap loiward!
See Th e-se Dealers f-or /Petal/s Now...
be made on the basis of their
heat equivalents as expressed in
dollars per million Btu
($/MBtu). A comparison of dif
ferent fuel sources based on cur
rent prices (early December
2000) in the central Maryland
area follows:
Fuel Source
Oak firewood
fuel oil
electric baseboard
electric heat pump
soft coal
liquid propane gas
natural gas
As the table shows, firewood
even as $l4O a cord is a
competitively priced and eco
nomical source of heat espe
cially when compared to liquid
propane, natural gas, fuel oil
and electric baseboard heat.
f
uantum
SYSTE M
V |
TOWER
SILOS
REALLY
MEASURE
UP!
I ✓
tr-*
*.
Towers lose )ust 3% to 7% because of gravity, feed weight
and a good unloader like the Big Jim QUANTUM System.
QUANTUM can be installed in any type of 20' to 30'
forage silo.. conventional or oxygen limited and will
make your tower silo even better!
CALL US TODAY FOR A VIDEO AND BROCHURE
The Silo Unloader Experts
LKASK IT TODAY WITH
ONK PAVMKNT DOWN!
• CABLE ALLEY • WASTE HANDLING EQUIPMENT • FEED HANDLES
SCRAPER DUMPS - TANKS - TILLAGE APPLICATOR BELTS - FEEDERS -
CONVEYORS
FRANKLIN’S HOOVER EQUIPMENT
FARM SERVICE Tyrone, PA 16686
Laceyville, PA 814-664-1777
717-869-2407
HARRY TROOP
Cochranville, PA 19335
215-593-6731
HISTAND’S FARM &
HOME SERVICE
Rome, PA
717-744-2371
, Jl Jt>i )hippl * i' l . ' K&/ *,
f * t
YOUR ALL-IN-ONE
FARMSTEAD EQUIPMENT SOURCE
Measure for
measure, nothing
beats a tower silo for
storing forage. Just
compare them to
bunkers which
have up to 45%
storage loss, lower
capacity, increased
labor and lots of
inconvenience.
LAPP’S BARN
EQUIPMENT SALES &
SERVICE
Gap, PA 17527 717-442-8134
JAMES L. HOSTETTER
McVeytown, PA 17051
717-899-6386
Firewood can be used to supple
ment your existing high-cost
heat source and provide signifi
cant savings on weekends and
evenings.
Before making a decision
about switching from one heat
ing method to another, however,
you need to take into considera
tion the cost of installing a new
heater or making your existing
system safe. ‘lf you think that
firewood might be the best alter-
Cost
$l2O/cord
$l4O/cord
$l6O/cord
$1.60/gallon
8.39 cents/
Kilowatt hour
3.36 cents/
Kilowatt hour
SI3S/ton
$1.75/gallon
$ ,99/ccf
native for you,’ explains Kays,
‘you’ll have to buy a wood stove
or fireplace insert. In some
cases, you may have to have an
extra chimney installed or an
old chimney repaired and
cleaned.’ If you add a catalytic
GIVES YOU
A CHOKE OF
WSTOIRUTIOI
The new advance design distributor. Or, choose the
Volumaxx unloader gives Jamesway Powermaxx™
you the best of both worlds... broad pan silage distributor,
your choice of distribution. With proper distribution,
New HI-UFT legs let you raise you’ll have better quality
the unloader an extra feed, and you’ll
15" into the silo roof, I increase your silo’s
so you can use a I capacity up to 35%.
conventional side I j M And we can prove id
Volumaxx™ unloader. Expect the best from the leader.
McMILLEN
BROTHERS
Loysvllle, PA
717-789-3961
(Van Dale Dealer)
WIGGERS
FARM EQUIPMENT
Cory, PA
814-664-2661
converter to reduce emissions,
the price goes higher.
So it may take years of fuel
savings to pay for a new installa
tion. However, if you already
have a wood stove or fireplace
insert, you may incur only the
minimal costs involved in clean
ing and inspecting the existing
chimney and stove. And if you
are in a position to legally collect
your own wood, the savings will
be even greater.
It is the policy of the Mary
land Cooperative Extension that
no person shall be subjected to
discrimination on the grounds of
race, color, sex, religion, disabil
ity, age or national origin.
sMbtu
$lO.OO
$11.67
$13.33
$17.84
$24.58
$ 9.84
$ 9.00
$28.95
$15.23
vou
ROVENDALE AG &
BARN EQUIPMENT
Watsontown, PA 17777
570-538-9564
OR 570-742-4226
STAR SILOS
Myerstown, PA 17067
717-866-5708
SOMERSET BARN
EQUIPMENT
Somerset, PA 15501
814-445-5555
SOLLENBERGER
SILOS CORP.
Chambersburg, PA 17201
717-264-9588
GLADHILL
TRACTOR MART
Frederick, MD 21701
301-663-6060