Category: Farm Equipment Efficiency

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Energy-Efficient Hot Water for Farms

 

Photo: eXtension Ag Energy.

Agricultural producers use heated water for a variety of jobs, including general cleaning of structures, equipment, livestock, poultry, fruit, and vegetables and to sterilize equipment. Dairy farms use especially large quantities of hot water daily for both cleaning structures and equipment and for processing milk products.

Although electrical water heating is not uncommon, most agricultural producers use propane (LP) or natural gas because of their higher efficiency. In addition to gas and electric water heaters, agricultural …

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Grain Drying Energy Efficiency Checklist and Tips

Grain Drying is part of a series of Efficiency Checklists and Topics that can help you to assess all areas of your farming operation for energy efficiency and find ideas to save energy and reduce costs. For links to other articles in the Efficiency Checklists and Topics series, see Additional Resources at the end of this article.

 

Drying Bin

 

Grain Drying Energy

A grain drying system may be the most energy-intensive operation in your cropping system. For some crops, more energy is …

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Tractor and Field Operations Energy Efficiency Checklist and Tips

 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Tractor and Field Operations is part of a series of Efficiency Checklists and Topics that can help you to assess all areas of your farming operation for energy efficiency and find ideas to save energy and reduce costs. For links to other articles in the Efficiency Checklists and Topics series, see Additional Resources at the end of …

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Introduction to Energy-Efficient Tractor and Field Operations


Table of Contents

Photo: Vern Grubinger.
 

Introduction

Tractors and related field equipment can use a lot of energy on the farm, so it makes sense to take practical steps to optimize their efficiency. These include:

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Energy-Efficient Refrigeration for Farms

Agricultural producers use a variety of refrigeration systems to extend the shelf life of perishable materials. Cooling not only reduces the potential for spoiling due to bacterial growth but also reduces humidity levels for some products. Refrigeration may also be used during sorting, processing, packaging, and storage.

Fruit and vegetable farmers must cool many of their products quickly after harvest; removal of field heat is important to maintaining produce quality and shelf life.

This large refrigerated room is used to
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Ballasting Tractors for Optimal Fuel Efficiency

Tractor ballasting influences the efficiency and energy use of tractor operation. Ballasting determines the amount of slip in any given field condition, affecting fuel consumption, field operation time, and tire wear. Total tractor weight also has serious effects on compaction, transmission life, tire life, and tractor safety and stability.

In addition to the overall weight of the tractor, the way that the weight is distributed between the axles has a huge impact on tractor performance. Over-ballasting a tractor wastes fuel …

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Optimize Wheel Slip to Save Fuel

Tractors and tires should be maintained to optimize tractor wheel slippage at 10% to 15%. Photo: Robert Grisso.

 

Introduction

Tire slip occurs when the tires are turning faster than the ground speed of the tractor. As a result, less than 60% to 70% of the power that a tractor engine develops is used to pull an implement through the soil. It could even drop to 50% on soft and sandy soils.

Some of the power developed by a tractor engine …

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Reducing Tillage to Save Fuel

Introduction

Tillage operations are generally conducted to prepare a seedbed, incorporate fertilizers, and cultivate for weed control. The number of trips required to perform these operations depends on soil type and condition, the crop, weather conditions, and the type of tillage system utilized. Excessive tillage operations increase fuel consumption, operating costs, machinery wear, and time and labor requirements. Too much tillage also increases soil compaction and releases carbon into the atmosphere.

Reducing the number of field operations

Farmers can reduce …

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Gear Up and Throttle Back to Save Fuel


Table of Contents

“Gear up and throttle back” is a fuel-saving practice suitable for light drawbar loads (less than 65% of full power) when reduced PTO speed is not a problem. For the most efficient operation, a tractor’s engine should be operated near its rated capacity. However, many field …

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Optimizing Field Efficiency to Save Fuel

Introduction

Field efficiency means completing a particular field operation while wasting the least amount of time, fuel, and farm resources. The term refers to the time the operation should take vs. turning and other nonproductive time. For example, spending an inordinate amount of time turning around at the ends of short, wide fields or overlapping tillage operations within a field can result in higher fuel consumption per acre.

Machine maintenance and repair also affect field efficiency – equipment that is …

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