Brubaker Farms Celebrates the Launch of ‘Cow Power’

Charlene M. Shupp
Espenshade
Special Sections Editor

MOUNT JOY, Pa. — The lights at Brubaker Farms “glow a little greener” these days according to Mike Brubaker.

Mike and his father Luke and brother Tony opened their Mount Joy farm to the public Wednesday to show the latest innovation on the farm, a manure digester.

The family has had the digester up and running since December, and things are going well with the innovation so far. Mike is quick to point out that they are all still on a learning curve with the technology, but early results show a resounding success.

The system generates more than 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per day, or enough to power over 150 homes. Its energy source is the manure from the farm’s 700 dairy cows. The return on the investment, thanks to recent regulations for net metering, has provided the farm with a new income source.
The farm only uses a small portion of the electricity generated on the system, selling the excess back to their electric company, PP&L.

“The digester doesn’t make the manure disappear, it just changes its form,” said Mike of the digestion process. The nitrogen is converted from an organic to an inorganic form. The manure at the end of the process is separated into liquids and solids. The liquids are utilized for fertilizer and the solids are used for bedding.

A benefit for the farm comes in the shape of odor reduction, which is a good public relations move with the farms neighbors. Studies show that odor could be reduced by 90 percent according to Mike.

To help finance the project, the farm received several state and federal renewable energy grants. Because of the grants, the financial payoff for the project will be reached in a few years. For a digester installed without assistance, Mike said it would take about 10 years to pay off the project.

Luke said he believes the state needs to have more dairies producing energy off of their cows, calling the opportunity “just fantastic” for both dairy producers and the community.

The Brubaker family was joined by Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-36), Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff, USDA Rural Development Regional Director George Klaus, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Dan Desmond and members of the General Assembly to celebrate the ribbon cutting on the system.

Sen. Brubaker said projects like this one are playing a vital role in reducing the country’s need for foreign energy and improving water quality.

According to Wolff, the project was made possible through partnerships.

“When we all come together, this is the type of project that can happen,” he said.

Desmond said the farm serves as a cornerstone of a sustainable global energy economy. As electric rate caps prepare to come off and coal prices continue to escalate, farms generating electricity will become more economically viable.