A NEW APPROACH TO EFFICIENT

A New Approach To Efficient Tractor Engines

Experts say new tractor engine technologies can keep emissions in check while also delivering outstanding performance and fuel efficiency.

According to Dennis Bartz, a corn and soybean farmer from Grafton, Iowa, he had concerns regarding fuel efficiency when investigating the purchase of a new tractor for his north-central Iowa farm.

“Buying a tractor that is fuel efficient makes good business sense. It’s like buying a car that offers better gas mileage. It’s going to put more money in your pocket at the end of the year. I was concerned that many of the newer tractors with engines that comply with these emission standards might lose fuel efficiency.”

Instead, Bartz is just one of an increasing number of growers who have found that new engine technologies can keep emissions in check while also delivering outstanding performance and fuel efficiency.

One example of this trend is the AGCO SISU Power 8.4 L engine with e3 selective catalytic reduction (SCR) clean-air technology, which is found in both Challenger and Massey Ferguson high-horsepower row-crop tractors. SCR is a post-combustion process that doesn’t interfere with the engine’s ability to provide power. More efficient engine function leads to better fuel economy, which can mean lower operating costs.

“Right now, I can tell you that for the horsepower my [Challenger] MT645C is putting out, it’s running much cheaper than the previous tractors we’ve owned. When it comes to horsepower and fuel consumption, it’s better-by far,” says Bartz. “AGCO has looked at all of the angles. They have the emissions compliance down cold, and there’s no question about the fuel efficiency. All the way around, it’s an ideal tractor for agriculture.”

Test results released by the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory support Bartz’s assertion. The Challenger MT600C and Massey Ferguson 8600 Series of 205- to 275-PTO horsepower row-crop tractors delivered from 4 percent to 20 percent better fuel efficiency than competitive tractors in this category. For farmers looking to keep input costs down, this kind of fuel efficiency can be significant to their operation-and to their bottom line.

To learn more, visit www.righttractor.com/challenger.

MANAGING YOUR MONEY

Is It The Right Time To Buy A Home?

As those conditions aren’t expected to last, smart homebuyers need to consider their options, especially if they are making low down payments.

There are two main options for first-time buyers and others putting less than 20 percent down: loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and loans insured by private mortgage insurance (PMI). Premiums are tax deductible, and the insurance may be cancelable when equity in the home reaches 20 percent. Both programs have changed in the past year, and more changes may be ahead.

While FHA pricing has often been more favorable compared to PMI, rates are going up.

Earlier this year, the up-front premium required on FHA loans jumped from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent of the base loan amount, adding $1,000 to a $200,000 mortgage. Now the FHA wants to raise its maximum mortgage insurance premium, a change that could take the monthly premium on a $200,000 mortgage from $92 to $125.

PMI offers many premium plan structures that now make pricing very competitive. In general, PMI pricing is more affordable than FHA’s for borrowers putting down 10?15 percent and can match FHA on loans with 5 percent down.

The minimum required FHA down payment is 3.5 percent, but new credit guidelines require a credit score of 580 to qualify for the 3.5 percent program. Borrowers with less than a 580 credit score must put at least 10 percent down.

PMI mortgages with 5 percent down are available nationwide, with 3 percent down for some loans that meet Affordable Housing Guidelines.

PMI can also offer extra benefits at no extra cost to the borrower. Genworth Financial, for example, purchases job loss protection that helps make a borrower’s mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) in the event of involuntary unemployment up to $2,000 a month for up to six months during the benefit period, with a maximum of three monthly payments per job loss occurrence.

Genworth also provides free homeowner assistance to borrowers in financial difficulty as long as they have mortgage insurance with the company. In 2009, it completed nearly 20,000 mortgage workouts, saving over $2.6 billion of mortgages from foreclosure.

More information is available at www.SmarterMI.com/MI-vs-FHA.aspx.

Understanding your mortgage financing options can save you money and could even save your home.

DIETING HINTS

Why Adding Carbs Can Help You Lose Weight

“Health The CarbLovers Diet” takes the very natural love of carbohydrates and uses it to your advantage.

Instead of feeling guilty about loving pasta and bread, the diet shows you how to eat carbs and get thin.

Recent studies have shown that eating the right carbs is the best way to get and stay slim. The multicenter study concluded that the slimmest people ate the most carbs in the form of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and the chubbiest people ate the fewest whole grain carbs.

The diet plan in this book works by increasing your total intake of carbs and upping the percentage of a type of carb called resistant starch (RS). Research shows that this starch can help shrink fat cells, making you feel fuller and stoking your metabolism.

As the recipes in the book demonstrate, this can be a very tasty and satisfying diet.

The black beans in the following dish should be every dieter’s best friend. They provide plenty of resistant starch with plenty of appetite-suppressing protein. To save time, use prewashed lettuce and preshredded carrots.

BLACK BEAN TACOS

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Makes: 2 servings

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

6 (6-inch) corn tortillas

6 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup salsa

1. Microwave beans on high for 2 minutes or until heated through.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tortillas, one at a time; cook 1 minute on each side.

3. Divide beans evenly among tortillas. Top with even amounts of cheese, lettuce, carrots and salsa.

Calories 380; Fat 8 g (sat 5 g, mono 0.5 g, poly 1 g); Cholesterol 25 mg; Protein 18 g; Carbohydrate 67 g; Sugars 6 g; Fiber 17 g; RS (Resistant Starch) 4.7 g; Sodium 780 mg

This book is published by Oxmoor House and is available where books are sold.

For more information, visit CarbLovers.com.

The right recipes can make dieting tastier.

BUSINESS NEWS

How To Get Help Growing Your Business

The minority business community has a great advantage in the global market-due in large part to language capabilities, cultural compatibility, ancestral ties and business agility.

President Obama’s National Export Initiative (or NEI) calls for doubling U.S. exports within five years. Under the NEI, there will be more credit available for exporters, more government trade promotion and a sharper focus on knocking down the barriers that prevent U.S. companies from getting free and open access to foreign markets.

The goal of the NEI is to increase the number of small, medium-sized and minority-owned firms exporting to more than one market by 50 percent over the next five years. The initiative also hopes to focus attention on exporting to emerging markets, and identifying market opportunities in fast-growing sectors such as environmental goods and services, renewable energy, health care and biotechnology.

More than 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S. and one of the easiest ways to grow American minority-owned businesses is to sell products and services to people outside the border of the United States. To assist minority-owned firms in breaking into global markets, MBDA Business Centers work with a variety of partners to help create strategies for growth.

To help grow your export business, MBDA recommends you:

• Look at industry trends and know your position within the domestic market prior to establishing an international business strategy.

• Research the global market for your products and services.

• Determine the effects of exporting on your current operations.

• Outline what resources you will need to successfully execute your export strategy.

• Familiarize yourself with various global distribution channels.

• Contact an MBDA Business Center to assist you. There are more than 45 Centers nationwide. Visit www.mbda.gov to locate a Center near you.

One of the easiest ways to grow American minority-owned businesses is to sell products and services to people outside the U.S.