Agricultural News
Propane Offers Environmental-Friendly Options For Agriculture
Tue, 24 Nov 2020 12:38:48 CST
Extreme weather makes Oklahomans dependent on propane to power generators and Mike Newland, director of agriculture business development for the Propane Education and Research Council, says propane has many uses around the farm and home.
Newland was recently interviewed via Zoom by Radio Oklahoma Agriculture Network Associate Farm Director and Editor KC Sheperd.
I think we can run a lot of things around the farm and home, he said.
In agriculture we think about using propane for heating buildings and drying grain or maybe powering a forklift, he said.
However, he said there are some unique uses for propane that many people may not consider.
For example, propane weed flaming to eradicate weeds without chemicals.
Literally we have a toolbar (mounted on a tractor) and we are putting flame in between the crop rows, he said, to kill the weeds.
The trick is not to hurt the crop, so we have a hood around the flame, Newland said.
Most folks will need to do it a couple of times throughout the growing season, he noted.
Also, using propane for agronomic heat treatments to dry the crop to control molds and mildew. This is especially useful in vineyards, Newland said.
Propane is also a good fuel for powering irrigation engines.
Anything that uses diesel we can do with propane, Newland said.
Our fuel burns so much cleaner than diesel, he said.
We have a calculator on our web site to help you decide between diesel and propane for cost comparison.
You can click here to see how the calculator works and for more information about PERC.
https://propane.com/for-my-business/agriculture/
We've got a lot of vendors listed and the people who make the engines, I think they can give you a third-party opinion about the benefits of propane, Newland said.
Looking ahead to 2021, Newland said there are several new propane technologies they are working on.
We've got a new line of more efficient engines from a manufacturer in Nebraska and some new technology that we can't talk about now but excited to talk about that when it's ready to roll out, Newland said.
We are in the business of developing things that bring value to agriculture, Newland said.
You can click on the listen bar below to hear more of KC's interview with Mike Newland.
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