How Dairy Farmers Are Turning Manure Into Money....convert more than 9,000 tons of cow waste annually into electricity

Smithsonian magazine ^ | April/May 2023 | Rachael Moeller Gorman

[dennisw]

In front of the Barstows’ cow barn sits a 550,000-gallon underground tank into which about 9,000 tons of manure flow from the cow barn each year. There, it’s mixed in an oxygen-free environment heated to between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Micro-organisms break down the organic material in the manure, and the machinery captures the biogas produced in the process. Pipes move the methane into one of two engines on the farm that burns it to create heat and electricity. This provides all the farm’s heating needs.

The organic matter left over after digestion is used as fertilizer on the fields, which has increased crop yields considerably. With the volatility of fertilizer prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, free fertilizer is a welcome cost savings.

“When you talk about sustainability, you have to talk about soil health and water quality and all of that, but you also have to talk about being able to make a profit,” Barstow Manz says, pushing breeze-blown strands of hair back into her ponytail. A few cows lie on the field in front of the farm store chewing their cud. There’s a steady wind stirring on that cloudy June day, and the chimes on the farm store tinkle. Yet the air blowing across the farm smells like … nothing.

The digester had turned all the manure into money.

These New Englanders have found a way to help the planet and convert more than 9,000 tons of cow waste annually into electricity

Dairy farms like this one run by the Barstow family in Hadley, Massachusetts, make smart use of a substance cows produce in abundance.

The Connecticut River cuts between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire and rushes into the heart of Massachusetts,

[dennisw]

California has many huge dairy in the San Joaquin valley that this is especially well suited for. Zeee Germans are doing this, and have the best designs for these manure digesters. With the top/roof inflating upwards as the methane accumulates.

The biogas enthusiasts also claim that adding food waste from restaurants increases the bio-gas yield from cows manure.

For once the the global warmists come up with a good idea.

[Jonty30]

At the very least, burning manure results a good source of carbon.

[BBQToadRibs2]

I’m converting about 200 lbs of it into vegetables in my garden.

[dennisw]

“I’m converting about 200 lbs of it into vegetables in my garden.”

Grow some beets, parsnips, pole beans for me. Tomatoes too.

[1raider1]

There were articles concerning this process in Mechanix Illustrated in the 1950s and Mother Earth News in the 1970s.

[Libloather]

Bought a few bags of Black Kow. That crap makes things grow.

[BBQToadRibs2]

“Grow some beets, parsnips, pole beans for me. Tomatoes too.”

Got you covered. I’ll throw in potatoes anbd onions as well.

[weezel]

WWII. Mr Bates used a digester to turn chickenshit into methane to run his vehicles and tractors and things on. Google Bates chicken powered car.

Producing methane is easy, what I dont know how to do is contain it. It is a deadly poison and explosive!

[Libloather]

There, it’s mixed in an oxygen-free environment heated to between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Smells like roses in the springtime.

[Sacajaweau]

Go for the Heirloom Tomatoes....Krim and Black Cherry. They were both magnificent.

[MayflowerMadam]

“many measures for reducing methane have low operating costs or quickly pay for themselves”

I’d be interested to know the cost savings — cost of installing the system, and how much less they pay for electricity than before. At what point do they break even on this?

[sasquatch]

For once the the global warmists come up with a good idea.

Not so fast with credit, from Penn State:

In Europe, AD facilities generally have had a good record in treating the spectrum of suitable farm, industrial, and municipal wastes. The process was used quite extensively when energy supplies were reduced during and after World War II.

[FatherofFive]

“When you talk about sustainability, you have to talk about soil health and water quality and all of that, but you also have to talk about being able to make a profit,”

Exactly! “Green” energy makes sense only if it makes $cents!

[Pontiac]

Pig shit runs Bartertown

Not Shit, energy

[dennisw]

“For once the the global warmists come up with a good idea.”

I like these biogas projects, but if you read the actual Smithsonian article, you will see that it is 70% padded with global warming fluff & ideology.

[dennisw]

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mad_Max_Beyond_Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - Wikipedia
Bartertown’s energy comes from “Underworld,” a subterranean refinery that turns pig feces into methane. The refinery is run by Master, a dwarf who rides around on Blaster, his giant bodyguard. …

Global web icon
Helytimes
https://stevehely.com › who-run-bartertown
Who runs Bartertown? - Helytimes
Jul 18, 2022 · Max goes down to the underworld under the guise of a pig-shit shoveler. While there, he meets Master Blaster, who is determined to show him who really runs

[sasquatch]

I do as well, did, and agree with you.

[ptsal]

Good reminder...thanks.

[oldasrocks]

We also grow onions, Cilantro Loofah sponges, strawberries, corn, strawberries, pumpkins, squash, and a large variety of herbs in it.
Very productive chickens.