Episode 350: Mid-Scale Biodigester with Matt Steiman of Dickinson College
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About Voices from the Field
From cover crops to regenerative grazing and organic production to marketing, ATTRA - Voices from the Field is your sustainable agriculture podcast. Voices from the Field is produced by NCAT. Since 1976, NCAT has provided trusted information, individualized technical assistance, and in-depth resources to support sustainable agriculture and accessible energy solutions.
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In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Northeast Coordinator and Agriculture Specialist Chris Lent talks to Matt Steiman, the Farm Energy and Livestock Manager at Dickinson College Organic Farm in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, about the farm’s new biodigester.
A farm-based biodigester can turn cow manure and food waste into natural gas to produce electricity for the farm to use and to sell to the utility grid.
Matt and Chris discuss Matt’s research over the past 14 years on turning waste streams into biofuels and how that research led to the new biodigester’s design and its installation at the farm.
The discussion covers the unusual scale of the project, which was designed to manage the manure from 150 dairy cows and up to three tons of food waste daily. The project is meant to demonstrate to mid-sized farms across Pennsylvania and elsewhere that it is possible to manage waste streams in an environmentally sound way by transforming them into a source of carbon-neutral energy.
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Other Resources:
Biogas – Dickinson College Organic Farm
Dickinson College YouTube Channel
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) On-Farm Energy Initiative
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