Mortenson Brothers Plants Seeds of Savings

Farm installs energy-efficient lighting in 100,000-square-foot wash facility

Mortenson Bros. Farms, Inc. is a 13,500-acre crop farm based in Plainfield, Wisconsin. Founded by brothers Jack and James Mortenson, in 1973, today it is farmed by Jack’s son, Jim, and his wife and children. In addition to potatoes, they also grow beets, carrots, sweet corn, peas, green beans, soybeans, and corn.

Jim has been farming this land for over 25 years and is active with the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association. He has embraced many new technologies to protect his cropland and is always looking for more efficient methods for the farm’s overall operation. To reduce the daily peak demand continued on pg. 42

WISCONSIN CERTIFIED SEED POTATOES continued from pg. 41 charges on utility bills, Mortenson Bros. Farms waters specific fields in the evenings to utilize lowhorsepower irrigation pumps. The operation also uses smart thermostats throughout the storage and processing facility for more in-depth temperature management with the heating and cooling schedules.

In 2010, a state-of-the-art wash facility was constructed. Consisting of approximately 100,000 square feet, this plant can store up to 560,000 hundredweight of potatoes. Because the site has different processes going on simultaneously, from conveyor systems and processing to refrigeration and storage, the farm needed to install energy-efficient lighting that would meet the needs of the various tasks occurring in the facility.

In the summer of 2022, a Focus on Energy advisor met with Jim to create a plan for this facility. By developing strategic energy goals and determining energy-saving priorities, Mortenson Bros. Farms received a 10% planning bonus.

Energy Efficiency

At that time, supply chain disruptions and market conditions were making it difficult to complete energy-related projects. Focus on Energy secured a 25% bonus for proceeding with the energy efficiency upgrades.

“Our storage facility consumes a lot of necessary electricity,” remarks Cory Gerzmehle, chief financial officer for Mortenson Bros. Farms. “With energy costs constantly on the rise and the overwhelming strain on the power grid, the need to find opportunities to lessen our load is real.”

“Focus on Energy was a big help on this project,” Gerzmehle relates. “They instructed us on the entire paperwork process and made sure the farm received all the available bonus offerings. It’s a great program for businesses looking to improve energy efficiency in their facilities.”

Working with local contractor Dakota Supply Group, Mortenson Bros. Farms installed 100 LED light fixtures throughout the wash facility. They also installed bi-level controls to better manage the lighting needs in each space.

This improved the safety of working conditions throughout the facility by adjusting the lighting levels as needed.

Mortenson Bros. Farms made the quickest, most cost-effective energy improvement because of this LED lighting system. The agribusiness received $9,450 in financial incentives from Focus on Energy.

This project will save upwards of 88,000 kilowatt hours annually, or $9,691, from the energy bill. This is the equivalent of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from more than 2,350 incandescent lamps