CNG Power: Spiking fuel costs create buzz for compressed natural gas

Aug 17, 2022

The surging price of diesel is sparking some renewed interest in cheaper “compressed natural gas” (CNG) to fuel the internal combustion engines of agriculture. Exhibit A: The buzz created by New Holland’s U.S. release of a new 100-hp tractor that runs on CNG.

Natural gas — also known as methane — is the cleaner-burning fossil fuel piped through many communities by companies like Enbridge. Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance Executive Director Bruce Winchester estimated that natural gas-powered farm equipment would offer a fuel savings of 30 to 40% over the conventional alternative.

For vehicle or tractor use, natural gas is compressed at 3,600 pounds per square inch and stored in a special onboard tank or canister feeding the engine with methane instead of (typically) gasoline.

The technology is nowhere near the radical departure represented by heavy, battery-powered, electric tractors and vehicles and instead retains the tried-and-true advantages of the familiar internal combustion engine.

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Border View Farms is a mid-sized family farm that sits on the Ohio-Michigan border. My name is Nathan. I make and edit all of the videos posted here. I farm with my dad, Mark and uncle, Phil. We also have a part-time employee, Brock. My dad started the farm in 1980. Since then we have grown the operation from just a couple hundred acres to over 3,000. Watch my 500th video for a history of our farm I filmed with my dad.

I started making these videos in the fall of 2019 as a way to help show what I do on a daily basis as a farmer. Agriculture is different from any other industry and I believe the more people that are showing their small piece of agriculture, helps to build our story. We face unique challenges and stressful situations but have some of the most rewarding payoffs in the end. I get to spend everyday doing what I love, raising my kids on the farm, and trying to push our farm to be better every year. I hope that I can address questions or concerns that you might have about farms and agriculture.