"It’s just another increase that we’re having to tack on," dairy farmer Tim Marsh said Monday. "It’s going to come right off the bottom line, that’s for sure."

The province’s 278 dairy farmers just received a two per cent increase for their milk but some of that will now go toward higher power costs, Mr. Marsh said from his Hants County farm.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has approved average power rate increases of 3.8 per cent for Nova Scotia Power Inc. The residential hike will be 4.8 per cent.

Mr. Marsh said most dairy farmers pay about $1,000 per month for power, and the new rate hike is just one of many cost increases they will have to absorb. He said it means another $40 a month, which doesn’t seem like a lot until you add on all the other increased costs that farmers are facing for feed, fuel, transportation and equipment.

"I know there’s been a lot of interest in alternative power sources in agriculture," Mr. Marsh said. "I’m seriously looking at alternative sources like wind power and other things to augment it.

"It’s getting to the point where it’s becoming more and more cost-appealing to switch."

Source: The Chronicle Herald