Farms require energy in barns and other outbuildings, in the farmhouse, and out in the field. And in rural areas where access to electricity grids and natural gas mains are limited, propane is an ideal energy source. Farmers can utilize propane's versatility in a wide range of applications, as noted below:

* Heating:
o Space conditioning for farmhouses and outbuildings
o Farm household appliances such as water heaters, clothes dryers, and kitchen ranges
o Heating greenhouses, stock tanks, poultry and pig brooders
o Crop heating for frost protection in groves and orchards
* Power generation:
o Farm machinery (e.g., standby generators, processing equipment)
o Irrigation pumps
o Farm vehicles (cars, trucks, tractors, forklifts)
* Waste Treatment
* Crop Drying
o Grain drying
o Tobacco curing
o Fruit drying
* Chemical Replacement
o Crop flamers
o Weed and pest control
o Fruit drying

Many Federal, state, and industry incentives are available for farm use of propane and propane-fueled equipment. A local agricultural extension service or state department of agriculture is another source of information for available incentives.

FORKLIFTS

More than 500,000 forklifts are powered by propane in factories and warehouses. And it's no wonder. Propane-powered forklifts provide operational options and economic advantages that make them a clear choice for your material handling needs.

The reasons for choosing propane forklifts and for converting existing gasoline forklifts to operate on propane are plentiful.

* Environmentally Friendly: Propane is a non-toxic, clean-burning fuel that can be used to safely power forklifts both indoors and outdoors. With propane, there is no spillage loss or evaporation into the atmosphere.
* Safe: Propane forklift tanks, fuel lines and carburetion components meet or exceed strict specifications. Built-in safety devices automatically shut off the flow of fuel in case of an accident.
* Versatile: Propane forklifts can be used in indoor and outdoor applications. Propane is the most portable fuel - cylinders can be stored and moved virtually anywhere within a work site.
* Strong: Propane forklifts maintain consistent, 100-percent power throughout operation. They have the ability to push and pull heavy loads at full capacity, up and down inclines, for a longer amount of time, and with better ground speeds than electric forklifts.
* Easy Refueling: Propane forklifts require very little refueling time compared to natural gas-powered and electric forklifts.
* Economical: From an investment standpoint, propane forklifts offer an economical way to meet material handling needs. Propane forklifts have lower life-cycle costs than electric, diesel or gasoline-powered forklifts.
* Low Maintenance: Propane produces fewer engine deposits than gasoline and diesel fuel, resulting in lower maintenance costs. Propane engines can typically last up to twice as long as gasoline engines.

FLEET

Propane is an excellent fuel choice for fleet vehicles, which have characteristics that make them ideal candidates for propane operation. Typical characteristics include:

* High fuel usage
* Significant emissions
* Urban locations
* Centrally fueled
* Fixed and/or limited routes
* Susceptibility to government mandates
* Special vehicle orders
* High public visibility

Fleet operators do not have to sacrifice performance for environmental friendliness. The power, acceleration, payload, and cruise speed of propane-fueled vehicles are comparable to those obtained with equivalent internal-combustion engines. In addition to its superiority in environmental benefits, propane is safe, readily available, and makes good economic sense.

Environmentally Preferred

At the top of the federal government's environmental agenda is the need to reduce air pollution caused by engine emissions. The use of clean-burning fuels is critical to achieving this goal. Propane is on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of federally approved clean-burning fuels. Furthermore, propane is contained in a sealed, pressure-tight system at all times, and there are no evaporative emissions. This eliminates a significant source of secondary pollution.

Propane is clean burning. Tests conducted by the EPA show that propane engines produce 60 percent less ozone-forming emissions than reformulated gasoline. Recent tailpipe emissions tests performed on Orange County (California) Transit Authority's propane buses showed they emitted 87 percent less total hydrocarbons, 50 percent less nitrogen oxides, and 40 percent less particulate matter than gasoline-fueled buses.

Safe

Propane is nontoxic and nonpoisonous, and has a very small flammability range (the lowest among all the alternative fuels). Propane vehicle tanks are tested to four times the normal operating pressures, and the tanks are 20 times as puncture resistant as gasoline tanks.