2013 EPA Tier 4 Impacts on The Ford Plantation

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created a  “tiered” series of emission regulations governing the production of new off-road diesel equipment engines in the mid 1990’s. The purpose of the regulations was to reduce the level of harmful emissions such as particulate matter (PM) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) that enter the air via diesel engine exhaust.                                                   

The "final" and most technologically challenging implementation stage is called Tier 4. Basically, engine and turf equipment manufacturers producing diesel engines greater then 25 horsepower will be required to produce products that comply with these most stringent emission reductions. The Tier 4 emission standard will reduce already reduced emissions of PM by 90%. To give you a sense for how stringent the Tier 4 standard is, consider the fact that in many parts of the United States, the air leaving Tier 4 compliant machines will actually be cleaner than the incoming air!

What does this mean for the future equipment here at The Ford Plantation? Environmentally, our equipment will be cleaner and "greener" improving the long term health of our environment and community. However, economically these machines will have a higher cost. Other industries that have been previously effective by the new regulations have experienced upwards of a 20% increase in cost of machines.

Currently, our equipment fleet consists of eleven machines that will fall into the new tier 4 emission standards category starting in 2015. 

The fleet includes:

(3) Toro RM 5510 Fairway mowers 
(2) Toro GM 3500 Rotary Mowers
(2) Toro GM 4500 Rotary Mowers
(1) Toro GM 360 Rotary Mower
(1) Toro GM 4000 Rotary Mower
(2) Toro MP 5800 Sprayers

This Blog article was written by Mr. Alan Bussey, The Ford Plantation Equipment Manager