Wisconsin Farmers Find Money in Manure
Wisconsin Dairy farmers find money in manure
‘Digesters’ use methane to make, sell electricity and reduce pollution
Gary Boyke shows off a methane digester on his dairy farm near Fond du Lac, Wis. It takes cow manure and turns it into energy.
MILWAUKEE - When dairy farmer Gary Boyke looks out at the manure his herd produces, he sees the prospect of profits rather than waste, odors and water pollution.
Boyke is one of a growing number of farmers turning animal waste into energy, and he’s spreading the word to others. He will be among those giving presentations at a conference Tuesday in Madison on ways farmers can turn manure into money.
Boyke, who has 1,300 cows on his Vir-Clar Farm near Fond du Lac, said he gets two to three times the energy he needs with an anaerobic digester, which uses bacteria on manure to produce a gas containing methane to power generators.
He sells it to a Madison-based utility and then buys back what he needs. He said the device produces enough power for 330 homes.
“I think we’re just on the verge of something that is going to be big in the future,” he said.
This story is from MSNBC. CLICK HERE to read the whole article.
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Gary Boyke shows off a pile of the sterile byproduct from his methane digester on his dairy farm near Fond du Lac, Wis. The byproduct can be used for landscaping and cattle bedding. |
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