After milk prices collapsed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Chase Goodrich knew his family’s Vermont dairy farm needed to diversify its revenue.
More than a decade later, construction is finally underway on the Goodrich Family Farm on an anaerobic digester that will turn cow manure and food waste into a renewable natural fuel for use by a local college and gas utility.
The project comes as dairy farmers are again struggling through a crisis in the form of the coronavirus pandemic. Goodrich is hopeful the digester will provide a small financial boost, reduce the farm’s environmental impact, and maybe offer lessons for other farmers seeking revenue from renewable gas.
By Energy News