If you’ve been thinking about switching to propane, now is the time, says Cinch Munson, director of agriculture business development at the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC).  The Propane Farm Incentive program has been newly revised, taking it from a two-step process to one-step where farmers receive their application packet from the dealer when they purchase a piece of qualifying equipment.  “We wanted to make things easier,” Munson said.

The purpose of the program is to offset the costs of purchasing propane-powered equipment and to gather valuable information about increasing efficiency and the development of new equipment.  Currently propane equipment in the ag space includes irrigation engines, prime power generators, heating systems for greenhouses and animals, and a few grain dryers.  To find a list of qualifying purchases, visit www.propane.com/farmincentive.

Two new offerings have also been brought to market by Origins Engines.  The new 5.7 L and 6.2 L engines provide higher horsepower that was previously lacking.  “We’re pretty excited to see that come to market because more choices are always a benefit for the consumer,” Munson told Cindy.

As with all good things, this offer will come to an end.  Currently it’s set to continue through 2017, but if you’re thinking about it, do it now, Munson advised.  There are lots of positives and very few negatives.

“It’s a good size incentive on an engine that, in most every case, costs considerably less than the latest Tier 4 engines.  So by choosing propane you save money on the cost up front.  Participating in the Farm Incentive Program you save even more money, and then the operating costs on those engines- we’ve seen over the last five years- by using propane instead of diesel, an operation can save 30 to 50 percent on their operating costs.”

Listen to Cindy’s full interview with Munson here: Interview with Cinch Munson, PERC