Brubaker Farms is both a diary and green energy producer in Mount Joy, PA on March 19, 2011. The family farm owned by Luke, Mike and Tony Brubaker has approximately 850 cows and 700 young stock, producing 20,200,000 pounds of milk last year. It has 13 full-time employees and more than 1,500 acres of farmland. The digester can handle more than 41,859 metric tons of organic waste, to capture methane that powers a low emission generator producing 225 kW that powers the digester and farm operations. Excess power is sold to the local power grid, allowing the community to benefit from a green energy source. After producing methane, effluent from the digester is pressed to separate liquid and solid materials. The farm uses the liquids in fertilizer; and solids become the cows’ bedding for Brubaker and other local farms, that is cleaner than sawdust. The bedding saves the farm approximately $30,000 per year. Mount Joy residents can enjoy the fact that the process removes 90% of the odor from the cow manure. The methane itself is odorless and colorless. The system can accept an additional 2,600 gallons of food waste per day from local sources that would otherwise dispose of it in a local landfill. Additionally, their nutrient credits can be sold to the local municipality to help it to meet federal requirements and to keep sewer bills from rising. This provides additional revenue for the farm, and creates environmentally friendly community partnerships. USDA Multimedia by Lance Cheung.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces it is investing $7.85 million in a locally driven, public-private partnership to address climate change and protect agricultural land. The Farmland Preservation and Climate Change Mitigation Project is a partnership between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Clearwater Conservancy, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and the Rodale Institute.
The project has been awarded through the NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and will help implement climate-smart conservation practices on preserved farms and acquire farmland and forest easements across the state of Pennsylvania.
“The RCPP demonstrates public-private partnerships working at their best,†said Denise Coleman, NRCS State Conservationist in Pennsylvania. “This new project will harness the power of partnerships to help bring about solutions to natural resource concerns across Pennsylvania while supporting our efforts to combat the climate crisis.â€
