ABSTRACT
Although agriculture uses energy in various forms or types, agriculture also produces energy. One of the reasons why energy use in agriculture is important is because of the increasing cost of direct and indirect energy, linked to depletion of energy from fossil fuel sources, and increasing use in intensive agricultural systems. The concern has prompted a heightened interest in, and a growing need to develop, more sustainable agricultural production systems (Zinck et al. 2004). The agri-food sector (including on-farm production, processing and packaging of agri-food products, and distribution and marketing subsectors) accounts for an estimated 19% of national fossil fuel energy use in the United States (Pimentel 2006).
