Excerpts from the report: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has studied the use of wind energy to generate power for farming and rural applications. The research, carried on by the Department's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), was funded through the U.S. Department of Energy. The purpose of the research was to determine reliability and performance of wind machines, and to identify applications in which wind energy can be most useful and economical. The studies presented here cover six specific applications in using wind power to heat water and cool milk in dairy operations, heat rural structures, operate high- and low-lift irrigation pumping systems, and cool apple storage facilities.