The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is encouraging producers to upgrade their grain dryers with a $5,000 incentive through the Propane Farm Incentive Program. Producers who purchase a new qualifying propane-fueled dryer from GSI Group or Mathews Co. now through the end of 2013 can apply for the incentive through PERC’s nationwide research program. In exchange, producers report post-harvest performance data to PERC.

For many farmers this spring, planting has been a challenge with cool, wet and rainy conditions. This has led to planting delays that may lead to more grain drying in the fall, and today, nearly nine of of 10 farmers dry grain using propane-fueled equipment. New models can offer energy efficient designs that produce even, consistent drying and can save producers money.

New and improved grain drying equipment is a profitable investment for producers, according to Mark Leitman, director of marketing and business development at PERC. “Mew propane-fueled grain dryers can be 30 to 50 percent more efficient than older models. These machines can produce huge energy savings for farmers, and we offer a $5,000 incentive on select, new models.”

The eligible models for the incentive include the GSI X-Stream series and Mathews Trilogy series dryers. PERC co-supported the development and testing of these machines because they’ve been proven to offer increased capacity, improved grain quality, and they can dry up to twice as many bushels per gallon of propane as previous models.