12/26/08 Getting Energy Efficiency from Your Tractor

Getting Energy Efficiency from Your Tractor. I'm Greg Martin as Line On Agriculture presents the Harvest Clean Energy Report. Today's buzz word is efficiency. Especially when it is included in with the word, energy. We are all looking for energy efficiency and those folks down on the farm are no exception. Farmers may drive a gas sipping auto but when it comes time to fire up the tractor, fuel efficiency can go right out the window. That is where Roger Hoy comes in. Roger is the Director of the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory at the University of Nebraska. HOY: Since the very beginning we have looked at of course the power tractors deliver but we have also looked at what fuel consumption they have. And the tests have changed of the years of course. We do some other things for ergonomics such as what the sound levels are in the cab and for bystanders but one of the fundamental measure we've always made here has been fuel usage. When a tractor comes in for testing Hoy says they use a separate fuel tank and premium fuel. HOY: We buy a premium grade of diesel oil here and we use that for all tests and we monitor  really today instantaneously how much the tractor is using whether it's on our dynamometer measuring PTO power or whether we're out on the test track measuring drawbar horsepower. It used to be many tractor owners were completely dedicated to the brand name like Ford and Chevy owners but according to Hoy, it's now more about the efficiency. HOY: I think that's actually a major buying decision now for farmers. We publish all this information that we collect in test reports that are, at least for the last 10 years or so, that are freely available on our website. But I just know from fielding phone calls from people calling in asking questions that that is something far more on their minds than it used to be. The manufacturers support the program as well according to Hoy. HOY: We have a very strong relationship with the U.S. tractor manufacturers like John Deere and Case-New Holland and Agco, it's very strong. We meet with the manufacturers three times a year formally and they have a lot to say about what we're doing and what's needed. The manufacturers of course are all highly sensitive to fuel economy as well and that's really becoming a method of selling tractors. You can find test results on their website at tractortestlab.unl.edu For additional information on clean energy, visit harvestcleanenergy.org. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network. www.harvestcleanenergy.org http://tractortestlab.unl.edu/