PRO-DAIRY Releases Anaerobic Digester Fact Sheets for Farmers

May 10, 2023

By Lauren Ray

Considerations for central systems of dairy manure anaerobic digestion to renewable natural gas

A newly released fact sheet by Angela George, Jason Oliver, and Lauren Ray, PRO-DAIRY Dairy Environmental Systems, gives an overview of three configurations of centralized systems for anaerobic digestion to renewable natural gas (RNG) that involve multiple dairy farms to achieve economy of scale. Key considerations and questions for discussion among participating dairy farms and the project developer for these systems are included.

PRO-DAIRY Dairy Environmental Systems also released fact sheets on planning for a centralized AD system or central biogas upgrading system for multiple farms. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy manure to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) requires large-scale to be economically viable. Centralized manure AD-to-RNG systems can enable dairy farms of all sizes to collectively participate, including those who may not have the capital or land resources to build and operate their own AD system. One possible arrangement is to feed a single AD system with manure from multiple farms and upgrade biogas to RNG at the AD site. Another possible arrangement is to use a central biogas upgrading skid to upgrade biogas from multiple farms. This allows multiple farms with their own AD systems to convert biogas to RNG by sharing the cost of the upgrading equipment and pipeline insertion point.

Source : cornell.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.