Photo courtesy of the Capital Press

As fuel costs and transportation expenses continue to rise, Idaho’s agriculture community is on constant lookout for ways to keep those costs low.

Natural gas is part of a new solution, according to a recent story in the Capital Press. Canyon County farmers are building a gas-powered corn drier.

The drier will help farmers store their corn prior to sale and thus reduce transportation costs to and from driers outside the area.

Click here for the full story. Here’s an excerpt:

“There definitely is a need for more driers,” said farmer Sid Freeman, who grows corn and other crops in Canyon County. “I think the (Greenleaf drier) is a good thing.”

The Greenleaf facility will include a warehouse that can store corn that isn’t shipped immediately. The existing natural gas connection, used for a mint still owned by Provost, made the project economically feasible, Zeyer said.

“That natural gas connection is 90 percent of the reason we (can do this),” he said. “It allows us to do it at a price where we can be competitive.”