The Broadlands Lucerne Company was formed in the early seventies to process the Lucerne alfalfa crop grown in the Broadlands area. The growing season is from November until the end of April and is harvested by cutting with a rotary mower, windrowed in the field, then gathered by a conveyer for transport to the drying plant. It is important to dry the crop rapidly in order to retain the vitamin A and protein and produce a hard, heavy pellet of a bright green color, an important selling feature. The plant is located on the Broadlands Geothermal Field and uses steam from BR27, about a kilometer away, which is reticulated via a two-phase transmission line. The steam is separated from the water close to the plant and piped into finned tube heat exchangers. Air is forced through the heat exchangers by a centrifugal fan. Inside the drying chamber the heat is circulated through the freshly harvested crop; the separated water being reinjected down BR7, a dry bore