FarmSTAND’s Post

This is really disappointing to see coming out of my home state of Michigan. Opposing the collection, digestion, and beneficial use of the methane from farms regardless of size has incredible environmental benefits that include more than the destruction of methane (a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2). Advantages include significant water quality benefits, displaces the need for fossil derived methane, and provides good rural jobs and tax revenue, and the digestate can be reused for things like animal bedding (a circular economy benefit in action). I understand that many opponents do not like CAFOs, but opposing the biomethane from CAFOs damages the environment and does nothing to prevent the operations of a CAFO. It is the epitome of cutting off your nose to spite your face. I also take real issue with calling CAFO derived biomethane greenwashing. Calling this greenwashing devalues the term when it is actually warranted, and preventing a potent greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere and providing water quality and other environmental benefits is anything but greenwashing. American Biogas Council, Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, ERGaR European Renewable Gas Registry aisbl, Instituto Totum

For many DFA farmer-owners, every day is #StopFoodWasteDay! #DYK: Up to 40% of food in the United States ends up in landfills, where it releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere? Cow manure gets up to some methane mischief too, and DFA’s farmer-owners are on a mission to turn food waste and cows’ waste into renewable energy with help from anaerobic digesters. “We’re carbon neutral here at the farm with the amount of food waste and manure that are being turned into power,” says Randy Jordan of Jordan Dairy Farms in Massachusetts. The farms are home to two anaerobic digesters. One in Rutland, Mass., converts nearly 20,000 tons of food and beverage waste — enough to fill 10 NFL stadiums up to the goal posts — and more than 9,125 tons of manure from the farm — about 550 dump trucks full — into 4,200 MWh of renewable energy annually. The digester was the first in New England with a license to receive food waste and has been transforming everything from ice cream to meatballs into renewable energy for more than 15 years! Using digesters is just one of the many ways DFA farmer-owners are putting food waste to work. They also upcycle surplus or unsellable food into their herds’ feed, compost food waste for fertilizer and use things like spent grain for bedding. Ready to join #DFAInAction? Do your part starting in the kitchen >> https://bit.ly/44h7Db1. 📸: Vanguard Renewables

I totally agree with the Dairy Farmers of America and their post! We need to do more to educate the public about the #benefitsofbiogas from #dairy and other organic co-feeds such as #foodwaste. #StopFoodWasteDay #anaerobicdigestion #rng #renewablenaturalgas #farms #sustainableagriculture #climatesmartagriculture

A great report from Friends of the Earth and Socially Responsible Agriculture Project shining a light on the true costs of manure biogas. Manure biogas is a false solution to climate change, and we should instead invest in real clean energy such as wind and solar while supporting agroecology as a farmer and environment-first model.

Friends of the Earth U.S. and Socially Responsible Agriculture Project have a new report out: Biogas or Bull****? The Deceptive Promise of Manure Biogas as a Methane Solution. We offer new evidence that factory farm gas will further entrench unsustainable and unjust systems of #factoryfarming and #fossilfuels-based energy for decades to come – all for #methane reduction benefits that are overstated, inadequately tracked, and insufficient to meet climate targets. We found that megadairies with #methanedigesters grew their herd sizes at 24x the rate of average dairies and that gradually reducing dairy herd sizes would be a far more cost-effective and just #climatesolution. Thanks to Chris Hunt, Molly Armus, Lynn Henning, Juli Obudzinski, Kari Hamerschlag, and many others for your partnership on this research! https://lnkd.in/ekTJb_iv

Great read from Simon Vander Woude, a 3rd-generation dairy farmer in Merced, where he owns and operates Vander Woude Dairies with his wife and six kids. For Simon, “sustainability” means doing more with less and doing the right thing and to lower emissions for each pound of milk or beef produced. Investing their own funds, he and his wife have adopted a suite of clean technologies, from #solar energy, to state-assisted replacement of his farms' diesel engines. Moreover, they self-financed a digester to capture #methane waste and provide cleaner fuels for other large, hard-to-electrify vehicles. Now, all the #renewable gas from his dairy operation is sold to private fleets, who are incentivized to lower their #GHG emissions within the state by California Air Resources Board's most successful #ClimateAction program— #LowCarbonFuelStandard, which has already exceeded its carbon intensity (CI) target by four years! h/t Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas and CalMatters

interesting short video!

Ireland's Draft Biomethane Strategy has been published and it sets out a vision to replace 10 per cent of Irish gas supplies by biomethane generated from agricultural feedstocks and food waste through a network of up to 250 anaerobic digesters by 2030. This type of sustainable infrastructure is fairly commonplace across Europe, and in many instances biogas is used to drive CHP plants generating electricity and heat that can be used for district heating systems. Ireland is recognised by the European Commission as having one of the largest potentials for biomethane production in Europe on a per capita basis due to its substantial agriculture sector. The impact here on natural systems can be significant as the agri sector seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the digestate is a good quality alternative to chemical fertilisers too. #tudublin #planning #environment #technology #infrastructure

Clean transportation industry stakeholders are encouraged to stay updated on the new "farm bill" that mentions greenhouse gas emissions (#GHG). Learn how this bill effects critical support to GHG programs, including clean transportation initiatives: https://okt.to/2nRps0 #sustainability #RenewableEnergy #CleanAir #CleanTransportation