soybean south, may 2014

A Supplement to Cotton Farming and Rice Farming Magazines

MAY 2014 ONE GROWERPUBLISHING, LLC

FARM BY FARM,FIELD BY FIELD

CONSULTING COMPANYAIMS TO INCREASEGROWER PROFITS

FARM BY FARM,FIELD BY FIELD

CONSULTING COMPANYAIMS TO INCREASEGROWER PROFITS

May 2014 SS Cover_CF 11/13 template 4/23/14 8:06 AM

This month, Dr. Kurt Guidry, LSU AgCenter

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, shares

his thoughts about the soybean market. Following

are Guidry’s comments from the “Market Situation

and Update” April 1 report:

Dr. Kurt Guidry:

As with the corn market, strong demand to this

point in the 2013/14 marketing year continues to

improve the supply and demand outlook.

While soybean stocks on March 1 were

slightly higher than most trade guesses,

implied use suggests that USDA’s cur-

rent projections for total use for the

2013/14 marketing year may be too low.

Using implied use statistics from the

quarterly grain stocks report suggests

that total soybean use for the 2013/14

marketing year could be significantly

higher than USDA’s current projections.

While soybean demand is expected to

weaken over the last few months of the

marketing year as more of the record South

American crop becomes available, there have been

no signs of a significant rationing of tight supplies

here in the United States. Export shipments of soy-

beans are currently running nearly 23 percent ahead

of last year’s pace.

As of March 20, 2014, total soybean commit-

ments (accumulated shipments plus outstanding

sales) were at 106 percent of the total exports

expected for the entire 2013/14 marketing year.

With five months still remaining in the marketing

year, there is good potential that the USDA will be

forced to increase its expectations for exports and

could continue to whittle away at an already low

stocks levels.

And while domestic crush expectations have been

tempered slightly as crush margins tighten, margins

are still significant enough to keep crush demand at

favorable levels.

While the remainder of the 2013/14 marketing

year continues to look favorable, the real concerns

for this market are for the 2014 crop and 2014 mar-

keting year. Expectations for soybean acres to climb

to over 81 million acres in 2014 along with the full

impact of a record South American crop being felt

by the market are two issues that cre-

ate uncertainty regarding prices mov-

ing forward.

Earlier in the year, I projected a

price range for the 2014 crop at $11.00

to $12.50 per bushel. With new crop

futures prices currently around the

$12.00 level, it would appear the

short-term optimism of strong demand

has outweighed the long-term con-

cerns of growing domestic and world

supplies. New crop futures over the

next month or so would seem to have

enough momentum to challenge the mid $12.00-

per-bushel range. Any move to that level or above

would be considered strong pricing opportunities.

With the potential of a record U.S. crop with nor-

mal yields in 2014 following a record South

American crop, it is difficult to project prices being

able to sustain a move much higher than the upper

end of my original price projection. We only have to

look back at the end of 2013 to see the type of pres-

sure that a large U.S. crop can place on prices.

Before the latest price improvement, new crop

futures were struggling to remain above $11.00

per bushel.

Soybean South would like to thank Dr. Guidry forcontributing this soybean market update.

Contents3 Plant-Parasitic

NematodesRotating crops and planting

resistant varieties may help

farmers manage nematodes.

4 Farm ByFarm, FieldBy FieldConsulting company brings

its ‘A’ game to help Mid-South

growers increase profitability.

6 InsecticideTargets WormComplexTwo MOAs, faster knockdown

and extended residual make

up powerful new tool.

7 ControllingNutsedgeSTS soybeans and Permit Plus

offer growers another

approach to promote

nutsedge control.

8 ServicePropaneEquipmentMaintain propane-powered

equipment to ensure best

performance.

Carroll Smith, Editor

Pictured from left are Brian“Bozo” Ward, Alan Blaine,Mitt Wardlaw and BrianMontgomery.

Cover photo by Jesse Phillips

Watch for strongpricing opportunities

2 SOYBEAN SOUTH MAY 2014

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Check outIndustry News by clicking onthe Soybean South tab atwww.ricefarming.com andwww.cottonfarming.com.

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SOYBEAN SOUTH MAY 2014 3

L ike most of the crops that are grown in

Louisiana, soybean has problems with

plant-parasitic nematodes. The dam-

age is often difficult to recognize and

usually blamed on something else. There are

three nematodes attributed to causing losses

to soybean in Louisiana, including the soy-

bean cyst nematode (SCN), Southern root-

knot nematode and reniform nematode.

SCN, Southern root-knot, reniformIn Louisiana, SCN, which was once very

common has virtually disappeared. In a

recent survey of 165 soybean fields, SCN

was detected in only very low levels in 1.2

percent of these fields. SCN is more likely to

be better adapted to a more northern climate

and cannot survive well under our growing

conditions. It is very likely that parasites and

predators of this nematode are active in our

soils almost the entire year.

Southern root-knot is still a big problem in

our sandy soils in Louisiana. This nematode

is usually found in patchy patterns in coarse

textured soils. One of the most common

symptoms is stunting of plants in early sum-

mer, alerting producers that something may

be wrong. Late-season damage may still be

stunting, but there may be premature death

of plants, which greatly reduces yield in

these areas. This nematode does produce dis-

tinctive galls on the root system and can eas-

ily be identified in the fields.

The third major nematode is the reniform.

Reniform nematode has often been associat-

ed with cotton or sweet potato. Both of these

plants are excellent hosts for this pest.

However, soybean is also considered an

excellent host, and populations can build up

very rapidly on this plant. Reniform tends to

spread rapidly throughout a field and has a

more uniform distribution than most other

nematodes. Although it seems to reach the

highest populations in fields that are more

fine-textured, the highest

populations seem to occur

when clay content is

between 10 to 20 percent in

Louisiana.

This nematode is often

difficult to recognize in the

field because its uniform

spread may impact the

entire field. The nematode

can cause stunting, but

often plants appear normal.

Yield losses of up to 40 percent have been

reported from this nematode. Areas in a field

with very high levels of reniform nematode

tend to show drought stress earlier.

Crop rotationMost of our producers are doing a good

job of rotating crops and avoiding planting

soybeans in the same area each year.

Although corn is one of our most important

rotation crops for cotton and soybeans, it

does only provide fair management of the

root-knot nematode.

However, corn is an excellent rotation

crop against reniform nematode, and one to

two years of crop rotation can drastically

reduce reniform. Unfortunately, reniform

nematode increases rapidly on a susceptible

crop and returns to high levels in a single

growing season.

Resistant varietiesResistance to nematode is still one of the

best management options. Table 1 lists a

number of varieties with at least moderate

resistance against either the Southern root-

knot or reniform nematode.

Although there are a great number of vari-

eties with SCN resistance, these varieties are

not included due to the absence recognized

problems in Louisiana. Unfortunately, there

are only a small number of varieties with

resistance against the major nematodes that

we have in our state.

Many of the fields that will be planted this

year are on ground where cotton was grown

in the past. If reniform nematode is thought

to be present or has been identified in the

past, you might want to try planting a resis-

tant variety. However, it is still not clear

exactly how damaging reniform nematode is

to soybean since there are many varieties that

vary considerably in susceptibility to this

particular nematode.

This article appeared in LSU AgCenter’sMarch 2014 “Louisiana Crops Newsletter.”

P R O D U C T I O N

Plant-Parasitic NematodesRotating crops and plantingresistant varieties are twooptions that may help farmers manage nematodesfound in Southern soybeans.

By Charles OverstreetNematologistLSU AgCenter

Severely galled soy-

bean roots from the

Southern root-knot

nematode. The

nematode built up

to very high levels

and caused severe

late-season damage

to the soybean crop.

Table 1: Varieties of soybeans that have at least moderate levelsof resistance against either the Southern root-knot or reniformnematode for 2014.Reniform resistance Root-knot resistanceArmor X1410 Armor 55R 22Leland Armor X1406*MPG-S-5214NRR Armor X1410Rev 55R83 Halo 5:45

Dyna Gro 39RY57*All varieties are Group 5s except Armor X1406, which is a Group 4.

3nematodeSS0514v3_CF 11/13 template 4/22/14 3:28 PM

In 2008, a consulting group was estab-

lished in the Mid-South whose primary

goal was to create a model to help grow-

ers be more profitable. Since that time,

Southern Ag Consulting Inc. (SAC) has

added several members to its consulting

team and provided services that include pre-

cision ag technology and financial risk man-

agement. Although the group mainly concen-

trates on soybeans, corn and peanuts, they

also consult on other commodities, such as

grain sorghum, wheat, rice and cotton.

Alan Blaine was part of the initial devel-

opment of a verification program modeled

after Arkansas’ verification program that

Mississippi coined the SMART program

(Soybean Management through Application

Research and Technology) during his tenure

at Mississippi State University (MSU). Mitt

Wardlaw and Brian “Bozo” Ward, who

worked under Blaine as graduate students,

incorporated many of the SMART program

concepts into the consulting business in

which they are partners today. The SMART

program based its soybean production phi-

losophy on elements like variety selection,

earlier planting dates relative to the 1970s

and ’80s, earlier maturing varieties and

irrigation scheduling.

“By planting about 30 days earlier than

many farmers are used to, to some extent we

can avoid late-season drought and insect

pressure,” Blaine explains. “Also, 20 years

ago, we were planting 5, 6 and 7 maturity

groups, and maturity group 5s and 6s repre-

sented 90 percent of that portfolio. Today,

we are planting 4s and 5s, and 90 percent of

those that are planted are 4s, which repre-

sents a significant shift in soybean maturity

groups in the Mid-South.”

Cradle-to-grave approach“We are in constant contact with our

growers year round – cradle to grave from a

production standpoint,” Wardlaw says.

“We’re in on all of the agronomic decisions

related to the farm. After harvest, we sit

down as a group to go over variety trial data

we have collected from several sources,

including on-farm data. We discuss what

varieties did well, what varieties did not do

so good on specific soil types. We take all of

that under consideration. By late fall, we will

have variety selection taken care of.”

Blaine adds, “In the end, we go to our

clients with a good variety selection portfo-

lio, and we think it pays off. We spend a lot

of time in this area.”

Also at those initial meetings, Southern

Ag consultants make fall tillage or burndown

recommendations. Moving into the first of

the year, they start looking at burndown

applications going out in January and

February, and then begin thinking about

planting dates and variety placement on

specific fields.

“From there, we move into the in-season

consulting protocol: weed, disease, insect

management; irrigation scheduling and crop

growth and development,” Wardlaw says.

“Later in the season, we concentrate on har-

vest aids, crop termination and harvest tim-

ing, which is very critical on peanuts. Once

harvest is complete, we address fertility

needs and start the process all over again.”

Blaine notes that earlier planting dates and

earlier maturing varieties have become

P R O D U C T I O N

Farm By Farm,Field By FieldConsulting groupbrings its ‘A’ game tosoybeans, corn,peanuts, grainsorghum, wheat, riceand cotton to helpMid-South growersincrease profitability.

By Carroll SmithEditor


Bernie White, left, confers with other SAC team members Brian “Bozo” Ward, Mitt Wardlaw, Alan Blaine and Brian Montgomery.

PHO

TOS

BY JE

SSE

PHIL

LIPS

May SS 4 5 6v4.qxp_CF 11/13 template 4/23/14 2:45 PM


more popular with many Mid-South soybean

producers.

“We are planting more of our soybean

acres on higher fertility and better-drained

ground and utilizing

more crop rotation,”

Blaine says. “Mainly

growers have begun to

‘farm’ beans like we

have traditionally farm-

ed cotton. We have had

the opportunity to ob-

serve several situations

that have exceeded 100

bu/A over the last cou-

ple of years. We’ve con-

sistently produced 80 to

90 bu/A on lighter soils

for the last four to five

years, so land capability

is a big part of this suc-

cessful equation.”

Brian “Bozo” Ward notes that each of

SAC’s consultants/partners has his own

acres that he tends to. In addition, SAC

works closely with MSU and has indepen-

dent “specialists” on staff in different areas,

such as fertility, plant pathology and irriga-

tion. These resource personnel are available

as needed.

“If a question comes up, and we need a

‘go-to’ person for an answer, we have access

to them,” he says. “We arrange meetings in

the winter with the various chemical/seed

companies in an effort to keep up with new

products and technologies that will help

make our clients more profitable. These

meetings allow us to glean more in-depth

knowledge of products and varieties. Being

in the field every week during the season

allows us to be on top of things and know

exactly what is going on. We don’t make

frivolous decisions and don’t overspend. We

do what we need to do to make money for

our growers.”

Service is key to successAnother service that SAC provides

involved expanding its equipment efforts.

“We have a precision ag equipment and

service division in which Justin Prather and

Phillip Hays service the needs of our clien-

tele,” Wardlaw says. “A lot of our growers

expressed an interest in using tools like

autosteer, yield monitors, variable rate and

other equipment/precision ag technology but

didn’t quite know how to get into it. Our

goal is to help guide them in that direction.

Plus, it helps us be better consultants if we

have access to data gathered with these tools,

such as a yield monitor, for example.

“Now we can sell the equipment, provide

installation and service, calibrate when need-

ed and analyze the data,” he adds. “We want

to increase our growers’ comfort level in

using this type of equipment, which increas-

es our decision-making tools, and, in turn,

increases producer

profits.”

After harvesting is

complete, data is

imported into South-

ern Ag Consulting’s

data management

program to be ana-

lyzed and compared

to many in-field vari-

ables, including vari-

ety/hybrid, soil type,

soil fertility, etc.

“We also assist

farmers with variable-

rate fertilizer applica-

tions,” Wardlaw adds.

“With fertilizer, for

instance, we pull soil samples and design

rates to make sure we are putting the right

amount of fertilizer in the right spot. Your

fertilizer bill may not necessarily go down

with a variable-rate application, but it does

ensure that the money is being spent in the

right place.”

Another service that Southern Ag

Consulting offers its clients is topo mapping

and design. The benefits include:

• Agronomic knowledge of proper field

design

• One-on-one consultation with their

design specialist and SAC’s crop consultant

• Expert knowledge of the software that is

required to design the project

• Quick turnaround for short notice or

time-sensitive projects.

Research and development Another area in which Southern Ag

Consulting is growing is its Research and

Development (R&D) program. According to

Blaine, SAC has in-house R&D that evalu-

ates as many new products as possible to get

an idea of product placement potential when

it hits the market.

“We want to look at these products to try

to determine where they will work and

where they won’t work,” he explains. “Our

R&D program for different companies

includes seed treatment trials, in-furrow and

foliar fungicide trials and herbicide and

insecticide trials, to name a few.”

“Companies oftentimes are looking for a

very narrow scenario to test a product,”

Wardlaw adds. “Our R&D equipment is

mobile, and we can generally find multiple

locations with a specific criteria for evalua-

tion within the acres that we have access to.

We go to the problem, put out a test and

SAC also offers growers precision ag services.

As Southern Ag Consulting Inc.(SAC) developed its plans to helpgrowers manage production risks, theycame to realize the importance of pro-viding a way for growers to managetheir financial risk successfully. To facili-tate this goal, SAC partnered withAlliance Ag Risk Management in 2009to provide their growers an opportuni-ty to take advantage of Alliance’sresources if they are so inclined.

According to Brian Montgomery,Alliance CEO and president/risk man-agement specialist, “We want to workwith growers to figure out where theyare the most vulnerable financially,then put together a plan to help man-age that risk. We are a completely sep-arate business from SAC although weare considered a ‘sister company’under the same roof. There is no pres-sure for SAC clients to do business withAlliance, but we do let them know thatwe are available if they need us and arededicated to servicing their account.

“We are more than just a ‘cropinsurance’ company,” Montgomeryadds. “We have designed proprietarysoftware that is not tied to any particu-lar company or organization. Usingthis software, we can look at a grow-er’s marketing plan, plug in his cropinsurance, plug in budgets and look atthe crop mix he intends to farm in thecoming year. Then we can determinethe best way for the producer to havethe least amount of risk and the mostupside potential in his operation.”

Montgomery points out that pro-ducers also are looking to him as theirrisk manager to help make upcomingFarm Bill decisions.

“We have to decide whether to pickup Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) orPrice Loss Coverage (PLC) and deter-mine how to use changes in the insur-ance program in the following year tomaximize opportunities,” he explains.“We are working with the companiesthat we do business with as well as theuniversity to implement some of thedecision models into our software. Bydoing this, we can make that verycomplex decision easier. This one-timedecision, once made, cannot bechanged during the life of the 2014Farm Bill.”

To learn more, visit cropshelter.com.

Managing Financial Risk


gather the data. This segment of our compa-

ny is growing every year.”

In taking a step back and looking at the

big picture that is Southern Ag, Wardlaw

points out that the “whole premise behind

everything that we do is to try to increase

profits for growers. Our goal is to pool all

available resources to help our clients make

more money.”


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As Alan Blaine noted in the “ResearchAnd Development” section, Southern AgConsulting Inc. (SAC) likes to look at asmany new products as possible beforethey hit the market. Last year, Blaine hadan opportunity to conduct a field trial withIntrepid Edge – a new insecticide manu-factured by Dow AgroSciences. Accordingto Jennifer Long, Intrepid Edge productmanager, the insecticide has two uniqueMOAs, whereas Intrepid only had one.

“We believe strongly in the fit thatIntrepid Edge has in the Southern soybeanmarket,” Long says. “It targets the wormcomplex, more specifically cotton boll-worm and soybean loopers. We recom-mend that it be applied at the economicthreshold, so scouting is very important.

“Intrepid Edge is made up of spine-toram and methoxyfenozide chemistries,which provides faster knockdown overIntrepid, residual control and broaderspectrum control of the worm complex,which is beneficial when bollworms andloopers are both present. It contains twounique classes of chemistry that makeIntrepid Edge a good rotation partner.”

“Although last year really wasn’t a boll-worm year, I just happened to have somebeans planted behind freshly land-formedground, and the pest showed up there,”Blaine says. “In my trial, I comparedIntrepid Edge to a pyrethroid, Belt andPrevathon. Intrepid Edge performed aswell as these other materials. It knockedthe worms out, and I saw no pressurebuild back up for the rest of the year. Itwas hard to judge the length of the resid-ual because we applied Intrepid Edge laterin the season. In the future, if we get boll-worms earlier, we will be able to tell howlong Intrepid Edge will last.

“We evaluated Intrepid years ago as anumbered compound and found that itwas extremely effective on loopers,” Blaineadds. “Now that we have Intrepid Edge, Iexpect to get that same efficacy on loop-ers. Plus, Intrepid Edge has two modes ofaction so it’s a broader spectrum materialtoday, allowing us to pick up other lepi-dopteran pests. Intrepid Edge is a goodproduct. I think it’s going to be a player.”

Intrepid Edge also is registered for useon peanuts and pecans.

New Insecticide Targets Worm Complex

Meet The Team

Alan Blaine – Starkville, Miss.

Mitt Wardlaw – Starkville, Miss.

Brian “Bozo” Ward – Leland, Miss.

Jason Fratesi – Leland, Miss.

Patrick Garrard – Starkville, Miss.

Ben Spinks – Cleveland, Miss.

Corley Moses – Tchula, Miss.

Jordan Collins – New Albany, Miss.

Wes McPherson – Inverness, Miss.

Keith King – Leland, Miss.

Bernie White – Starkville, Miss.

Brian Montgomery – Starkville, Miss.

Justin Prather – Cleveland, Miss.

Phillip Hays – Eupora, Miss.

Jesse Phillips – Starkville, Miss.

Pam Brock – Starkville, Miss.

Elizabeth Caldwell – Columbus, Miss.

Joanie Gable – Birmingham, Ala.



While glyphosate-resistant pig-

weed (Palmer amaranth) has

captured most of the headlines

in recent years, yellow nut-

sedge (Cyperus esculentus) continues to

plague soybean growers in Arkansas and

neighboring states. Fortunately, new sulfony-

lurea-tolerant soybean (STS) soybean vari-

eties, combined with evolving weed control

strategies, offer producers new hope in deal-

ing with this stubborn problem.

One of the toughest weeds aroundYellow nutsedge has been described as a

“super weed” by weed scientists and farmers

alike. This hardy perennial is difficult to

manage due to its tolerance to heat, drought,

flooding and cold temperatures. In addition,

it spreads and propagates through an under-

ground network of rhizomes, bulbs and

small, starchy tubers called “nutlets.” If all

that wasn’t bad enough, yellow nutsedge is

naturally resistant to most herbicides labeled

for soybeans and rice, including glyphosate.

“Several consultants commented about

2013 being a ‘nutsedge year,’ and we

received a number of calls about nutsedge

control in soybeans,” says Dr. Ford Baldwin,

president of Practical Weed Consultants,

LLC in Lonoke, Ark., and former University

of Arkansas weed scientist. “We’re doing a

good job on almost everything else, but

nutsedge still poses a significant problem for

rice and soybean growers in Arkansas. Tra-

ditional Roundup Ready and LibertyLink

herbicide programs do a fine job on most of

our weed problems, they’re weak on nut-

sedge, dayflower and a few other species.”

A programmed approach“To manage the threat of herbicide resis-

tance, we recommend a programmed ap-

proach for nutsedge and other weeds,” adds

Baldwin. “The best program for nutsedge

control in soybeans, before planting or in-

crop, is to plant STS soybeans and use

Permit Plus.”

Baldwin cautioned growers to make sure

the soybeans they plant are STS tolerant

before applying Permit Plus, since the prod-

uct will kill soybeans without STS tolerance.

“I remember a call early one morning a

few years ago,” he recalls. “The farmer

asked what would happen if he sprayed

Permit on his non-STS soybeans, to which I

responded that it would kill them graveyard

dead. After a short pause,

he said, ‘Well, I guess I

know what’s wrong with

mine then. But it sure did a

good job on my nutgrass.’”

According to Dr. Bob

Scott, professor, Extension

Weed Science at the

University of Arkansas,

Permit Plus adds another

mode of action to Roundup

Ready and LibertyLink pro-

grams. “The main strength

of Permit Plus is definitely

nutsedge control, but it does

help control dayflower,

northern jointvetch, morn-

ingglory, hemp sesbania,

smartweed and some other

weeds found in Arkansas.

“Having said that, it’s not

really going to help with resistant pigweed,

as many of those populations are resistant to

ALS herbicides as well,” Scott says.

Crop safety concernsTo see how the product rates in terms of

crop safety and year-end yields, Gowan

hired Dr. Ronnie Helms of G&H Associates

in Stuttgart, Ark., to conduct a series of small

plot studies with Permit Plus on several STS

soybean varieties.

“We conducted studies on five different

Roundup Ready/STS varieties in the 4.7 to

5.3 maturity range during the 2013 growing

season: Asgrow 4832, Pioneer 95Y31,

Pioneer 49T24SR and Syngenta S48-P4 and

Stine 5200-4. We also evaluated Stine 47L-

008 – a Liberty Link/STS variety.

“Our goal was to evaluate the response of

these varieties to Permit Plus based on genet-

ic diversity, application timing and applica-

tion rates,” Helms continues. “While all

these varieties showed good tolerance to

Permit Plus applications during the early V2-

V3 growth stage, even at twice the labeled

0.75 ounce-per-acre rate, there was some

yellowing at the higher rate when the beans

were sprayed at the early reproductive

growth stage (V6-R1).”

Helms noted that yields in his test plots

ranged from 55-69 bushels per acre. “Over-

all, the STS varieties appear to be pretty tol-

erant to Permit Plus, especially when spray-

ed during the early growth stages. The prod-

uct worked really well in the Stine 47L-008

plot, as LibertyLink programs are notorious-

ly weak when it comes to nutsedge control.”

Added peace of mindSince Permit Plus is labeled for rice as

well as STS soybeans, it offers growers and

aerial applicators an added margin of safety

compared to some other herbicides. “When

you have rice grown next to soybeans, plant-

ing STS beans gives you the option of using

Permit Plus without fear of damaging either

crop,” Helms adds. “That’s an important

consideration, given all the liability issues

that arise from herbicide drift issues.”

Baldwin echoed Helms statement and

added, “The flexibility to use Permit Plus in

both rice and soybeans is often an over-

looked advantage. By using Permit Plus, you

avoid drift issues and still get good control of

yellow nutsedge and other key weeds.”

Information provided by Gowan Company.

W E E D C O N T R O L

Controlling NutsedgeScientists and farmers havedescribed yellow nutsedge asa ‘super weed’ that is naturallyresistant to most herbicideslabeled for soybeans and rice.Today, STS soybeans andPermit Plus offer growersanother approach to helpcontrol nutsedge.

In Dr. Helms’ 2013 trials, this LibertyLink STS soybean plot that was

treated with Ignite and various rates of Permit Plus shows minimal

leaf yellowing.

7nutsedgeSS0514v5final.qxp_CF 11/13 template 4/22/14 3:29 PM


As farmers gear up for planting sea-

son, now is the best time to ready

equipment following a harsh win-

ter. Maintenance early in the sea-

son lowers overall upkeep costs and keeps

systems operating smoothly and efficiently.

More than 865,000 farms in the United

States use propane to run pumps and

engines, heat buildings and dry and process

crops. Spring equipment maintenance is sim-

ilar to systems powered by other fuels, but

there are key advantages of propane-pow-

ered equipment. Together with leading irri-

gation engine, generator and work truck

manufacturers, the Propane Education &

Research Council (PERC) compiled a list of

spring preparation tips.

Irrigation enginesAfter a long winter, rodents, debris and

exposure to the elements are the most com-

mon source of engine issues, says Pete Stout,

product manager for Origin Engines. Stout

encourages farmers to refer to their product

manuals for maintenance needs specific to

engine models and offers these tips for pre-

paring irrigation engines for spring planting:

• Disconnect the engine battery and check

battery voltage.

• Clear away any dirt and debris that have

collected on and around the engine. Pay spe-

cial attention to clutch bellhousings, radiator

shrouds and wire harnesses.

• Inspect wire harnesses for cracked or

exposed wires and make repairs if necessary.

• Check front drive belts for proper ten-

sion and wear.

“I also urge farmers to place engines

inside of structures, such as a simple carport

style shelter, for the summer growing sea-

son,” Stout says. “UV sunlight and general

exposure to extreme weather can be tough on

engine power units.”

GeneratorsPropane-powered standby and portable

generators can keep homes

and farming operations

protected when the grid

goes down. Propane is

often easier to access dur-

ing outages and doesn’t

degrade over time, in the

same way as diesel, gaso-

line or ethanol-based fuels.

Art Aiello, public rela-

tions manager for Generac

Power Systems, recom-

mends the following tips to

ready a propane generator

for spring:

• Perform regular main-

tenance tasks, such as oil

changes, on both standby

and portable generators to

ensure long-term reliability.

• Follow the specific instructions outlined

in your owner’s manual for maintenance spe-

cific to your generator.

• For new generator installations, choose a

qualified, experienced propane installer in

your area.

“Propane is a safe, environmentally

friendly and convenient fuel that many farm-

ers are already using,” Aiello said. “A

propane generator can be your best protec-

tion against spring weather-related outages.”

Pickup trucksPropane-autogas-powered trucks require

similar maintenance procedures as gas-pow-

ered trucks, and spring is the perfect time to

assess needs for oil and filter changes, said

Todd Mouw, vice president of sales and

marketing at Roush CleanTech, a Ford

Qualified Vehicle Modifier.

Mouw recommends the following tips for

prepping trucks for spring:

• Check all air filter and fluid levels,

including oil, antifreeze and washer fluid.

Make certain the air conditioner and both

windshield wipers are in good condition.

• Examine tires for tread wear and proper

inflation. Remove snow tires and install all-

season radials or summer tires.

Additionally, farmers already using

propane equipment on the farm or in the

home can increase overall energy efficiency

with the addition of a propane autogas truck,

Mouw said.

“Producers will be using propane year

round, rather than just during peak use sea-

sons, and can leverage better prices from

their propane dealer,” he explains. “The total

lifecycle costs of fuel and equipment use are

in favor of using propane.”

ForkliftsMany farmers are using compact propane-

powered forklifts for a wide range of materi-

al handling needs. Because propane produces

fewer emissions, propane forklifts are safe

for both indoor and outdoor operations.

Jeremy Wishart, senior programs manager

at PERC, offered the following maintenance

and safety tips for propane forklifts:

• Perform a lube and filter service at least

every 1,000 hours or every four months,

whichever comes first. Always follow spe-

cific service intervals as recommended by

your equipment manufacturer.

• Inspect the fuel system on a regular basis

for wear or damage and replace components

as needed.

• Do not modify or repair valves, regula-

tors or other cylinder or appliance parts. Call

your propane retailer or a qualified techni-

cian for repair assistance.

Propane Farm Incentive ProgramPurchase incentives of up to $5,000 are

available to farmers who upgrade to eligible

propane-powered farm equipment, including

irrigation engines, grain dryers, generators

and other eligible equipment through the

PERC Propane Farm Incentive program.

Find out about PERC’s incentive pro-

grams by visiting agpropane.com and

buildwithpropane.com.

Information provided by the PropaneEducation and Research Council (PERC).

E Q U I P M E N T

Service Propane EquipmentMaintain propane-powered equipmentsuch as irrigation engines,generators, pickup trucks and forklifts to ensurebest performance.

Early in the season, take care of the maintenance needs specific to

irrigation engine models.

8propaneSS0514v4.qxp_CF 11/13 template 4/22/14 3:31 PM

soybean south, may 2014

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