The cost and availability of propane didn’t take the spotlight this year with such a warm fall. Not to mention, the warm, dry weather helped with grain drying. This is making propane prices favorable, according to Michael Newland, the director of agriculture business development at the Propane Education Research Council.
“Supply is good… we are actually in a better place than we were in 2021,” Newland says. “We love talking about pricing right now. As the other energies have gone considerably up, propane has not really followed them. We’re at a very big discount right now to those fuels.”
He says that’s great if you locked in a price over the summer. But if you didn’t, there’s still an opportunity for good pricing throughout the heating season. The cold weather we’re experiencing now will start to raise demand, but there are no current issues with supply, he says.
Newland encourages folks to still be attentive to what’s going on in your tank, because the energy sector as a whole is volatile due to geopolitical issues happening overseas.
About 60 percent of propane is exported — mostly to Asia. He explains that the mission of PERC is to find ways additional uses for propane to keep more of it here in the U.S. This incudes the transportation sector.
There’s a lot of conversations focused on electric vehicles, in fact some states are essentially mandating electric transportation in the future. Electric vehicles, however, may not be feasible for some high horsepower industries, such as agriculture, especially during freezing temperatures. Propane-fueled midsize trucks and buses will be coming to market in the next few years.
Looking for incentives to bring more propane to your farm? Check out propane.com/farmincentive
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