Article

Seeds of knowledge

Farmers discover firsthand how propane equipment can benefit their operations

(Photo courtesy of University of Nebraska - Lincoln)

Jason Willberg was in the market to buy a lawn mower that would maintain the grass around 300 pecan trees on his Texas farm.

He just wasn’t seriously considering a propane lawn mower.

But one day, while leafing through a farming magazine, he glanced at an advertisement for a propane industry program that would save him money on a propane equipment purchase. He followed up on his curiosity, applied for the Propane Farm Equipment Efficiency Demonstration (FEED) program and today owns a Dixie Chopper LP3000 propane lawn mower.

“I wouldn’t have even thought about a propane lawn mower,” says Willberg, who owns a beef cattle farm in Temple, Texas. “There aren’t that many propane mowers out there, and they’re not advertised that much. If you don’t look for them, you’re not going to see them. But everything came together to sway my decision to go with propane.”

Now, Willberg is eager to add more propane equipment to his farm and willing to spread the fuel’s beneficial features to other farmers. That was the program’s intent when the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) launched it last year. It offers farmers a monetary incentive (up to $2,500) toward the purchase of a propane irrigation engine, mower or tankless water heater for use on the farm. In exchange, farmers provide feedback on the equipment and promote propane to their farm peers.

Through the Propane FEED program and on-farm state equipment demonstrations, the industry is making a push to increase propane’s summer load. The goal is to encourage agriculture industry members to try new equipment while providing PERC with valuable data.

“The industry has to make farmers more aware of the economic advantages that propane can afford them on their farm,” says Robert Jacobs, vice president of retail operations for Delta Liquid Energy in Paso Robles, Calif., and a member of PERC’s Agriculture Advisory Committee.

“That’s the challenge for marketers – to get that message to farmers that propane is a viable alternative to solve problems they may have.”

Start your engines
Irrigation engines and lawn mowers are the focus of both the Propane FEED program and the on-farm state demonstrations. These applications are used on 25 percent of the approximate 2 million farms in the United States, says Matt Kumm of CHS Inc.

The irrigation engines have high-volume potential, running about 1,000 hours a year on average, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and consuming 4,200 to 8,600 gallons of propane per year.

These engines are capable of burning 15 to 20 million incremental gallons of propane over the next five years, says Mark Leitman, director of agriculture programs for PERC.

“We’re looking at a lot of throughput with one piece of technology,” Leitman adds. “We really want to turn that market around and get it working in our favor.”

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the number of propane-powered irrigation pumps declined from 17,786 in 2003 to 12,203 in 2008 even as farmers were irrigating more farmland and spending more money on propane. This decline could be attributed to the rising price of propane and advantages of electricity where it’s available, Leitman says. Recent developments are making larger single-phase electric motors available in what may have previously been an engine application.

“We need to demonstrate the reliability of the entire system to be successful,” says Leitman, noting that PERC is working to understand the reasons for this decline. “Farmers want reliability and a competitive price, and all system components – the engine, service provider and propane provider – need to commit to the best service for the farmer to make the change.”

Kumm adds, “One of the challenges has been price volatility in all energy markets, and that volatility has affected propane as well. Some of that volatility shied some people away. However, there is an alternative. Most suppliers offer fixed-price contracts to protect consumers against volatility.”

Positive for propane was industry research with the University of Nebraska showing how modern irrigation engines consume less propane (1.5 gallons) per gallon of diesel than originally thought. Propane also can produce the same amount of power as diesel engines with fewer emissions and potentially lower fuel and maintenance costs, research shows. These high-efficient engines are on the market now (GM 5.7 liter and Ford 6.8 liter) or in development (Ford 4.0 liter).

“When you look at the amount of irrigation engines out there running on electricity or diesel, that’s a pretty large market,” says Mike Faivre, general manager of Burkardt’s LP Gas in Polo, Ill., and member of PERC’s Agriculture Advisory Committee. “If we can grab a portion of that market, we can make some significant inroads.”

The real challenge, however, remains getting these propane irrigation engines into farmers’ hands. That’s where the second-year Propane FEED program plays a role. Its goal is to place 40 pieces of equipment on farms this year.

“Part of the issue is proving that they can work,” Leitman says of the propane equipment. “The FEED program is an excellent opportunity for us to prove that propane is capable of these heavy-duty tasks and that the propane industry is there to support it and save the farmer money.”

Propane lawn mowers don’t have the same high-volume output as irrigation engines, but farms have enough maintenance requirements to suit a large zero-turn radius mower, Leitman says. Plus, the industry has gained momentum on the engine-fuel side with 10 manufacturers now selling propane lawn mowers.

The lawn mowers will be on display at state demonstrations in Ohio, California, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, Texas and Virginia. These on-farm demos are designed to teach farmers, university extension agents and local equipment dealers about propane equipment. PERC offered $5,000 grants to state propane associations to help coordinate programs that showcase the lawn mowers and irrigation engines.

Building momentum
Minnesota expects about 40 people, including 25 farmers, at its on-farm demonstration this month in Cannon Falls, Minn., featuring irrigation engines and lawn mowers.

“I really think we’ll be able to gain momentum through this demonstration,” says CHS’ Kumm, account manager for Minnesota wholesale propane, who’s helping with the state demo.

“The technology is advancing in propane-powered engines to actually give farmers the power and efficiencies to compete with diesel and gasoline,” Kumm adds.

Lawn mowers are an untapped market for the propane industry as a whole, offering 100 to 200 million gallons of annual propane demand nationwide, Kumm says. With most farms already having propane on site, the farmer can conveniently refill a lawn mower and understand the benefits of propane.

But determining the demos’ success rate and having farmers routinely use propane irrigation pumps and lawn mowers won’t happen overnight.

“You have to look at the number of engines sold,” Kumm says. “You don’t have to put a number on exactly how many sold in the first year. You need to look at long term whether you are increasing sales of equipment and gaining market share in the propane industry. It’s a long-haul battle.”