Propane: A Highly Efficient, Cost-Effective Way to Power Your Farm (Sponsored)

What energy source will power the farms of the future? Propane is a powerful, clean, reliable, and cost-effective solution for powering a variety of farm applications – including irrigation engines, grain dryers, building heat, forklifts, power generators, flame weeding systems, vehicles, and more.

“Propane use on the farm has continued to grow more prevalent in recent years. There are still some ag producers who don’t know about all the new technologies built to use clean, American propane,” said Cinch Munson, senior vice president of business development at PERC. “Today’s propane equipment is very different from propane equipment of the past and has many benefits. These benefits – combined with the fuel’s reduced costs and emissions and increased efficiency – are why many producers now consider propane the ‘farm fuel of the future.’”

Irrigation Engines

Propane-powered irrigation engines include the latest technological advancements and features, making them a great choice for farming operations. These high-performing engines can provide more than 300 horsepower of continuous power, to meet almost every ag pumping need.

Propane irrigation engines produce significantly fewer emissions, allowing producers to easily meet Tier 4 emissions standards requirements without the need for complex engines that need expensive diesel exhaust fluid and filters. Farmers who switch to propane irrigation engines cut costs on original purchase price as well as fuel, operation, and maintenance costs.

PERC PCDT propane Ag graindryer

Grain Dryers

Producers have long made propane their top choice for grain drying. In fact, more than 80 percent of grain dryers run on propane. With a higher BTU content than natural gas and reliable on-site fuel storage, propane-powered grain dryers result in fewer shutdowns, smaller and more economical gas controls, and the ability to avoid contamination. And today’s propane-powered grain dryers are up to 50 percent more efficient than previous generations of grain dryers.

PERC PCDT Ag building heat propaneBuilding Heat

Propane-powered building heat is a convenient source of consistent, comfortable temperatures and clean air required by livestock, poultry, and greenhouse plants. Propane provides more even, precise heat, is cost-effective, and is a cleaner, non-toxic fuel that doesn’t contaminate ground water or soil – making it safe to use around animals and plants.

Power Generators

Propane generators provide clean, efficient, reliable prime or backup power anywhere it is needed on a farm operation, independent of the power grid. Not only does this ensure power with no location limitations, it adds control and ensures any operation runs smoothly even during a power outage. Because propane does not degrade over time, it is also always ready to go when called upon, making it the perfect fuel for standby generators.

PERC PCDT Ag forklift propane webForklifts

Propane can efficiently power any size of forklift, from light duty forklifts with less than 5,000-pounds capacity to 10,000-pounds capacity heavy-lifters. With its low emissions, propane forklifts are also able to operate both indoors or outdoors, unlike its diesel counterparts. In addition, propane forklifts do not require lengthy recharging periods, and the power and lifting capacity does not diminish with battery usage, as is the case with electric forklifts.

Vehicles

Propane autogas is an alternative fuel for an operation’s trucks that can lower cost of ownership while reducing emissions. Powerful, clean, and economical, propane vehicles reduce fuel costs while eliminating additional fluids and pricey particulate filters required by diesel engines.

Propane autogas engines do not require anti-gels to prevent clogging of fuel filters and lines necessary for diesel vehicles in cold temperatures. With propane autogas, you can also avoid diesel particulate filters necessary to meet emissions requirements and skip the downtime typical for diesel engine repairs and maintenance. Propane autogas vehicles also operate quieter than diesel models without sacrificing horsepower, torque, and towing capacity.

Flame Weeding

Propane flame weeding systems are a 100 percent organic solution for weed control that works in multiple growth stages and eliminates the need for herbicides. Instead, propane flame weeding systems remove weeds by using heat to kill weeds between the rows. The intense, focused heat bursts plant cells, causing weeds to wither and die without harming crops. And unlike chemical herbicides, there’s no resistance to flame weeding, allowing farmers to return to fields almost immediately. Propane flame weeding also allows farmers to avoid expensive, non-selective chemicals or costly, labor-intensive hand weeding.

Propane: Farm Fuel of the Future

Because propane farm equipment is EPA- and CARB-certified, built from the ground up to run on propane, and operates on an independent system to avoid grid-related power interruptions or gas line fluctuations, it is a convenient solution to meet environmental regulations while maintaining the independence of your farm.

As an increasing number of new generation, innovative propane-powered equipment becomes available, propane is becoming the go-to fuel to power your entire farm.