Farmers need to be aware of changes to the gas oil fuel used in tractors, forklifts and some other mobile agricultural machinery.
Overarching EU directives designed to improve air quality will mean that, from 1 January 2011, all gas oil sold for use in off-road mobile machinery must be virtually sulphur free. This fuel will be essential for engines fitted to newer tractors, which are manufactured to meet the stringent new EU emission standards and may be damaged by using high sulphur fuel.
The new low sulphur fuel stock is likely to contain up to 7% biodiesel content, which will mean that housekeeping arrangements for fuel storage should be reviewed to avoid any potential problems. We've covered that - and recommended some servicing and maintenance checks ahead of the change - in a briefing for NFU members, which you can read by clicking on the related document link to the right of the page.
Find out more about our work on regulation, inputs, health and safety and transport here.
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