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What You Can Do
America is shifting to a "green culture," where each embraces the fact that environmental responsibility is everyone's responsibility. Use this page to find out what you can do to reduce emissions from existing diesel farm equipment.
- Properly Maintain Equipment
- Switch to Cleaner Fuels
- Use EPA or California Air Resources Board (CARB) Verified Technologies
- Use Operational Strategies
- Learn about State and Local Opportunities
Properly Maintain Equipment
Engines that are properly maintained perform better and typically emit less pollution by burning fuel more efficiently. This reduces operational costs, and extends engine life. Rebuilding an engine is a cost-effective strategy that can significantly lower emissions and help the engine run more efficiently.
Switch to Cleaner Fuels
Switching to fuels that contain lower levels of sulfur reduces particulate matter (PM). Lower sulfur diesel fuel enhances the effectiveness of retrofit technologies and can have a cleansing effect on the engine. This in turn reduces maintenance costs and extends the time between oil changes. Using ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel does not require equipment changes or modification.
Biodiesel is another fuel that is a domestically produced, renewable fuel that can be manufactured from new and used vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel reduces air pollutants such as PM, carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and air toxics. A 2002 EPA summary analysis of existing data and a more recent analysis for the Renewable Fuels Standard Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (published September 22, 2006) both suggest vehicles using biodiesel may emit slightly more nitrogen oxide (NOx) (about two percent for B20 and ten percent for B100). Subsequent studies have yielded mixed results, with some showing small increases and others showing small decreases. EPA is aware of more recent additional data and is in the process of evaluating it.
The use of alternative fuels, such as natural gas and propane, is another option for fueling equipment such as irrigation pumps, forklifts and loaders. To find out what states have tax incentives for using alternative fuels, go to www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/incen_laws.html.
Use EPA or CARB verified technologies
EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have technology verification programs that quantify the emissions performance of a retrofit technology through appropriate testing protocols and rigorous statistical analysis. For more information on verified technologies, go to the Technology Options and Strategies page.
Learn about State and Local Opportunities
State and local agencies, such as California’s Carl Moyer Program and the Texas Emission Reduction Program (TERP) offer grants for activities that reduce diesel emissions. Check to see if your state or local agency might have financial assistance for clean diesel projects. You can also check EPA’s Grants and Funding page.
Use Operational Strategies
Practice conservation tilling techniques or efficient irrigation management to minimize the use of diesel equipment, such as:
- Idling-Reduction: Reducing engine idling is an effective way to reduce emissions while saving fuel and lowering maintenance costs. Unnecessary idling of diesel engines contributes to increased emissions.
- Multi-Tillage: Multi-tillage tools can handle multiple types of tillage simultaneously. For example, nutrients and pesticides can be applied at the same time, thereby reducing the number of hours a single machine operates. Combining tillage tools and reducing in-use machine hours result in reduced emissions and fuel use.