5 Big Meat Companies Produce A Combined 162 Million Tons Of Manure Each Year

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13. There are other uses, such as using it as a renewable energy.

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08/11/2015 10:22 am ET | Updated Aug 11, 2015

Who knew cow manure could turn out to be so valuable?

According to an Agence France-Presse story published this month, a family-run dairy farm in northern Indiana is finding a revenue-generating and earth-friendly use for the 70,000 gallons of manure and urine produced daily by its 3,400 cows. Thanks to a biogas recovery system, the farm is transforming that waste into electricity it supplies to a local utility company.

The converted waste supplies enough energy to power 1,000 homes but that’s just one of the perks of using the system — it also cuts down on the farm’s distinct odor while reducing its methane and carbon dioxide emissions and reducing water pollution, as well. In addition, the system’s anaerobic digester helps convert the manure into nutrient-rich fertilizer that can also be sold.

It’s a win for all parties involved.

“There’s so many [good] things, you forget them all,” Ryan Rogers, who works on the Indiana farm, told AFP.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cow-manure-renewable-energy-anaerobic-digesters_us_55c8f450e4b0f1cbf1e5d38c