Heidel Hollow Farm is a family farm, owned and operated by Mr. David Fink & family since 1976. The farm dates back to 1852 when it was originally started by David's great grandmother’s uncle. The farm is dedicated to the production, processing, and distribution of quality forages. The 1,800 acre farm is located in Germansville, PA to which 900 acres are devoted strictly to quality hay production.
As a longtime client of the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), Heidel Hollow Farm decided to utilize the SBDC’s Environmental Management Assistance Program’s (EMAP) free and confidential environmental consulting services over the last couple of years. Since 2008, EMAP has assisted Heidel Hollow Farm upgrade their hay dryer and hay compressor units, and helped the business obtain a USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant. The REAP grant will subsidize almost $20,000 in overall project costs for an upgrade to Heidel Hollow Farm’s hay compression system.
After working with Pennsylvania SBDC business consultants to finance the hay compression equipment, Heidel Hollow Farm contacted EMAP in 2008 for assistance in upgrading the farm’s oil-fired hay dryer with a corn-powered dryer. The EMAP consultants performed research, determined potential cost savings, and provided their analysis to Mr. Fink for the hay dryer upgrade. By upgrading to a 900k Btu corn powered dryer, Heidel Hollow Farm would eliminate the use of over 10,000 gallons of fuel oil a year, prevent 102 tons of associated green house gases, and would include potential savings of over $22,750 in annual fuel oil costs. With EMAP’s extensive analysis at hand, Heidel Hollow Farm opted to move forward with the equipment upgrade.
In April 2010, Heidel Hollow Farm contacted EMAP for assistance with an energy assessment to satisfy the requirements of the USDA REAP grant application for energy efficiency improvements. Heidel Hollow Farm wanted to convert their hay compressor from a diesel-fired engine to an electric-fired engine, nearly an $80,000 project. After completing a thorough project analysis and associated report, EMAP consultant Mr. Jeremy Hancher determined that this upgrade should lower Heidel Hollow Farm’s yearly energy usage by a minimum 30,000 kWh and potentially up to 120,000 kWh. At a median projected 82,400 kWh eliminated, this upgrade would save Heidel Hollow Farm almost $10,000 annually.
Using the information from EMAP’s energy efficiency assessment and report, Heidel Hollow Farm was approved for a $19,400 grant through REAP. With the offsetting cost from the grant, the estimated payback for the project is projected at less than 6 years.
With the assistance of EMAP, Heidel Hollow Farm has undertaken a number of proactive environmental & energy efficiency-related initiatives over the years including the installation of energy efficient T-8 fluorescent lighting fixtures, the installation of a corn-fired furnace, and most recently the upgrade to an electric fired hay compressor.
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