This Mark Matters
{{menuText}}

How cow manure and food waste power a 250-cow dairy farm

Fed by organic food waste and cow manure, a dairy farm in Massachusetts produces sustainable electricity that powers their own 250-cow dairy farm and home. An anaerobic digester installed right on the farm provides the power and sends additional energy back to the local community.
 
The dairy farm family has always tried new things, regardless of failure. This valuable trait is what encouraged the family to add the anerobic digester to their farm.
 

Innovative-thinking dairy farmers


Peter, an owner of the dairy, says the generations on the farm before him were forward thinkers.
 
“(They were) never afraid to do anything. And I think it was one of the things that enabled us to keep this farm alive for so long. (They) always had this optimism, ‘If we do something, we do it the best we can, and if it doesn’t work out, we try something else. If it works out, we do it again next year.’”
 
The family — Steve, Kathy and Peter — who own and operate the multi-generational dairy, have a long history of diversifying their operation to stay at the foreground of innovation — 100 years to be exact.
 
Now, nearly a quarter of the way into the 21st century, their latest endeavor includes a 660,000-gallon anaerobic digester tank right on their farm.
 
The family partnered with local renewable energy company to help with the funding, construction and supply of the anaerobic digester.
Anaerobic Digester Turning Cow Manure Into Renewable EnergyAnaerobic Digester Turning Cow Manure Into Renewable Energy
Read story

How cow manure and food waste power a 250-cow dairy farm

Fed by organic food waste and cow manure, a dairy farm in Massachusetts produces sustainable electricity that powers their own 250-cow dairy farm and home. An anaerobic digester installed right on the farm provides the power and sends additional energy back to the local community.
 
The dairy farm family has always tried new things, regardless of failure. This valuable trait is what encouraged the family to add the anerobic digester to their farm.
 

Innovative-thinking dairy farmers


Peter, an owner of the dairy, says the generations on the farm before him were forward thinkers.
 
“(They were) never afraid to do anything. And I think it was one of the things that enabled us to keep this farm alive for so long. (They) always had this optimism, ‘If we do something, we do it the best we can, and if it doesn’t work out, we try something else. If it works out, we do it again next year.’”
 
The family — Steve, Kathy and Peter — who own and operate the multi-generational dairy, have a long history of diversifying their operation to stay at the foreground of innovation — 100 years to be exact.
 
Now, nearly a quarter of the way into the 21st century, their latest endeavor includes a 660,000-gallon anaerobic digester tank right on their farm.
 
The family partnered with local renewable energy company to help with the funding, construction and supply of the anaerobic digester.
Read story
Anaerobic Digester Converts Food Waste Into Sustainable ElectricityAnaerobic Digester Converts Food Waste Into Sustainable Electricity

How an anaerobic digester works to prevent food waste

Food waste from local manufacturing plants owned by major food companies is brought to the anaerobic digester at the dairy farm.
 
Here, the anaerobic digester converts three to four truckloads — or 100 tons — of food waste every day to produce one megawatt of electricity an hour, or about $100,000 worth of electricity every month.
 
Microorganisms in the anaerobic digester break down the organic material, combined with waste from the farm, to produce the electricity, as well as an odor-free, organic fertilizer the family is able to use for their crops.
 
Truckloads of food waste, that otherwise would have made its way to the landfill where it would decompose and release greenhouse gases, now creates renewable energy. Food waste that the family’s digester devours includes anything from scraps from making orange and apple juice to breadcrumbs from cleaning bakery ovens.
 
Since the food waste didn’t go to the landfill, anaerobic digesters work to reduce greenhouse gases by over 85%, while also being part of the solution for food waste challenges.
 
Learn more about Dairy Farmers of America’s sustainability efforts from our Nerd Herd, a team of DFA farmer-owners, engineers, scientists and more working to cut greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable dairy farming practices.