The Manitoba Sustainable Energy Association held its conference in Portage la Prairie Wednesday at the William Glesby Centre. Daryl Domitruk, leader of industry planning policy for Manitoba Agriculture, says agriculture's both a huge user and generator of energy. He notes the way we use and procure it is important to agriculture.

"Lately that importance has been increased by the fact that we're linking our energy use to the emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gasses," says Domitruk. "So, it's a challenge for agriculture to reconcile a desired reduction in greenhouse gas emissions with the forms of energy we currently use to produce food."

Daryl Domitruk

Domitruk explains at the same time the ag sector's also asked to ensure Canadians and those around the world have enough food on their tables, making it a huge and complicated challenge. He adds the workshops are focused on locally figuring out what we can do in Manitoba to improve energy use, "in producing food, improve our energy use in distributing food, and in fact in storing food in the home and in the retail location. It's very important to our industry and to our province. And that's why our department's involved and will continue to be involved in these discussions."

He notes some questions people asked the panel of presenters about alternative forms of energy, such as electrifying vehicles and reducing and improving the efficiency of trucks, for example. Domitruk explains it's interesting to note that after we get past the simple things producers can do to help like improving aerodynamics or perhaps driving electric cars, there are many complicated issues underlying all of that. For all of the benefits of solar power, it's difficult for the hydro grid to absorb a great deal of solar energy produced during the day. He notes the intermittent nature of some of these renewable energy sources actually cause difficulties for the distribution system.

Domitruk notes from a farm perspective some of these new practices and technologies make sense. But when you get into the details it takes a lot of work and thinking to make them truly a part of our food production system.