Introducing Innovative Alternate Fuel Technology at the Farm

The Propane Education & Research Council has partnered with the Western Placer Unified School District’s Lincoln High School, which operates a 280-acre farm and a 179-acre outdoor learning environment facility. The school’s farming operation is critical to implementing the school’s curriculum, and is used by several hundred students each year. The purpose of this project is to provide Lincoln High School’s farming operation with a lower-emitting propane irrigation engine, an organic propane-fueled steam weed control device, and an intelligent remotely-accessible moisture measurement and telemetry system to allow for real-time adjustments to irrigation pump operation. Air quality benefits will be realized with the use of a lower-emitting pump engine; soil benefits will be realized by the routine operation of the thermal weed control system; and both water and Energy conservation will be realized through the use of a “smart” ALV irrigation system.