MAIN FEATURE When designing his anaerobic digester system, Korb Whale decided to build two digesters. Both are used in processing to ensure a thorough digestion of material. The two facilities also ensure the system is never down. “Unless we can produce more gas and justify having both streams at the same time, we’ll probably stick with our electricity contract.” In Indiana, Fair Oaks Farms, a 12,000-cow dairy operation, exempli- fies the type of farm operation that has found success putting biology to work to make transport fuel. Big. Fifteen years ago, the farm built a 7.5 million gallon (28,390 metric tonnes) digester that covers two acres. It can take 1,675 metric tonnes of manure a day. By way of contrast, each of Whale’s two tanks holds 1,000 tonnes. Annually he receives 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of off-farm waste to supplement what’s produced by his operation that milks 160 cows and crops 450 acres. Larry Kristoff is manager of fleet and facilities operations at ampCNG, the company that leases the digester built by Fair Oaks. He says that ampCNG was initially a part of Fair Oaks but became a separate compa- ny when the renewable natural gas initiative branched out. (One farm owner remains as a partner.) AmpCNG supplies its fleet of 40 trucks that deliver milk to processing plants and any other vehicles pow- ered by natural gas through a net- work of 19 compressed natural gas stations throughout the United States. Only one of these stations (it’s located three miles from Fair Oaks) offers renewable natural gas generated by the dairy operation’s digester. The ampCNG operators pull raw gas off the digester, clean it on-site and pump it underground to the fuelling station. If it’s not needed at the station, it is injected into the local utility’s pipe- line. The local utility acts as a backup for the station. “If my renewable gas plant is down for maintenance, then the valves at the station would do what they’re pro- grammed to do, and utility gas would go to the trucks,” Kristoff explains. What makes the interchangeability possible is that the methane gas produced by an anaerobic digester has the exact same molecule as carbon-based methane. The digester- produced gas is mixed with other gases, though, such as carbon dioxide. Cleaning removes them. agriculture.newholland.com/us Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Campbellford • 705-653-3700 Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Lindsay • 705-324-2221 Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Sunderland • 705-357-3121 Delta Power Equipment Mitchell • 519-348-8467 Delta Power Equipment St. Marys • 519-349-2180 Delta Power Equipment St. Thomas • 519-631-5280 Delta Power Equipment Tavistock • 519-655-2441 Delta Power Equipment Tilbury • 519-682-9090 Delta Power Equipment Watford • 519-849-2744 Ebert Welding Ltd. New Liskeard • 705-647-6896 ESM Farm Equipment Ltd. Wallenstein • 519-669-5176 Gateview Equipment Ltd. Kingston • 613-544-6363 Halnor Farm Equipment Ltd. Waterford • 519-443-8622 Maxville Farm Machinery Ltd. Maxville • 613-527-2834 McCauley Equipment Sales Orillia • 705-325-4424 McGavin Farm Supply Ltd. Walton • 519-887-6365 Oneida New Holland Caledonia • 905-765-5011 Regional Tractor Sales Ltd. Freelton • 905-659-1094 Richards Equipment Inc. Barrie • 705-721-5530 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Chesley • 519-363-3192 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Lucknow • 519-529-7995 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Mount Forest • 519-323-2755 Smiths Farm Equipment (Jasper) Ltd. Jasper • 613-283-1758 St. Catharines New Holland Ltd. St. Catharines • 905-688-5160 Stewart’s Equipment Erin • 519-833-9616 Weagant Farm Supplies Ltd. Winchester • 613-774-2887 WORK FASTER, WORK SMARTER 200 SERIES SKID STEER LOADERS EQUIPPED FOR A NEW WORLD ™