Last week, the USDA announced that it would be renewing its efforts to help dairy farms reduce green house gas emissions and to increase sustainability of dairy production.
One specific focus of the federal effort is to get more farms to install anaerobic digesters. In Vermont, 12 dairy farms have installed these kinds of power generation operations as part of a program instituted by CVPS in 2004. These farms generate enough power converted from methane-producing manure to power 2,200 average Vermont homes annually.
One of the farms getting power from manure is Green Mountain Dairy in Sheldon. Bill Rowell is a co-owner of the farm. He spoke with Vermont Edition about the operation.
Listen to the report here: http://digital.vpr.net/post/usda-pushes-anaerobic-digesters