Since 1981, nominal fuel prices have shown a slight decline. Direct energy costs represented about 4 percent of total farm production expenses in 1972. Increases in energy prices nearly doubled energy's share of expenses by 1981. However, in the past several years, lower energy prices have pushed the energy share of production expenses back down to about 5 percent for 1995. Indirect energy expenditures as reflected in fertilizer and pesticide expenditures during the same period accounted for 10 percent of total farm production expenditures.
Energy requirements vary by crop and region.
Rice production has relatively high energy costs because it uses large amounts of fuel and chemicals. Sorghum's relatively high energy cost comes from a combination of fuel, chemical, and high irrigation needs. Cotton ranks high because of its large chemical requirements, and energy for ginning. Field crops generally use more energy to produce than fruits, vegetables, and livestock operations. Overall, energy efficiency in agriculture has increased because agricultural productivity has increased.