Sons Mike and Tony, join with their father Luke Brubaker (L-R), as together they unveil their operational manure digester, online since late 2007.

MOUNT JOY, PA - Brubaker Farms joined the growing number of Pennsylvania dairy farms that have implemented the evolving technology of anaerobic digestion as a way of dealing with several issues that face producers in coming years. At a formal ribbon cutting ceremony held in April, the Brubakers welcomed government officials and community leaders to their 700-cow dairy and poultry operation, where they commissioned their new RCM International Manure Digester. PA State Senator Mike Brubaker, who is not related to the Brubaker family, served as host of the morning event.

Luke Brubaker, who is in partnership with his sons Tony and Mike, thanked everyone for attending the gathering. He emphasized the need for more dairy operations around the state to consider incorporating similar technology on their farms because of the benefits that digesters afford. He said that being able to manufacture the electrical power generated from their cows is, “absolutely fantastic.” 

Electric Power Generation

Leading a group of visitors on a tour of the digester and power generator, family member Mike Brubaker said that the system has been up and running since December, 2007. “We broke ground last May,” he said. “It has worked much better than we had anticipated.”

Mike said that the digester is “fed” four times per day with discharges from the two freestall barns that house the farm’s 700 milking cows. The solids and liquid are mixed and then pumped into the digester where the slurry is heated to 100 degrees. This simulates the conditions found naturally within a cow’s rumen. At that point, methane gas is created, captured, and sent to a GUASCOR power plant that generates 170 to 190 KW/hr. of electrical power. 

“The methane gas is chilled and filtered to remove any moisture before it goes to the engine that powers our generator,” said Mike. “From there, we sell the electrical power to the power grid. Our ‘parasitic’ load on the system (the amount of energy needed to run the digester) is about 10KW per hour, and the farm uses about 40KW per hour as well. That leaves around 130 to 140KW per hour to put onto the grid.” Mike noted that recent changes in Pennsylvania regulations makes it easier for farmers to sell their power to Pennsylvania utilities than in the past.

Bedding for Cattle

Mike said that the addition of the digester has created several revenue streams that benefit the overall operation of the farm. In addition to the income from electrical power sold to the grid, the farm saves on bedding costs by not having to purchase bedding materials from outside sources. In fact, the digester supplies enough dried bedding material to not only provide for the Brubaker’s cattle, but they are able to sell an equal amount to another dairy producer who also has a 700 cow herd. “With sawdust running around $1000 per load, the savings adds up very quickly,” said Mike. 

Fertilizer for the Crops

Once the digestion process has produced the methane gas, the manure solids are removed and dried for cattle bedding material. The liquid that flows from the digester is stored for use on Brubaker’s crop fields as fertilizer. Mike said that because of the way that digestion process works, the chemistry of the liquid changes in ways that are beneficial in helping the farm adhere to new federal guidelines for nitrogen and phosphorous levels on the fields. He said that the nitrogen is changed from an organic to an inorganic form, which is what growers are seeking for crop application. In like fashion, the phosphorous levels are reduced as well.

Odor Reduction 

Mike said that another major benefit to operating the digester is odor control. With the Brubaker farm in close proximity to the Mount Joy community, the benefits of odor control are obvious. As an effort to continue the “good neighbor” policy that the Brubakers have always held, the addition of the digester serves to benefit the community as well. “The digester reduces the manure odor by about ninety percent,” he said. 

A Joint Effort

Joining the Brubakers for the day’s festivities, PA Secretary of Agriculture, Dennis C Wolff, USDA Rural Development Area Director, George H. Klaus, PADEP Deputy Secretary Dan Desmond, and Bank of Lancaster County Representative, Bob Shoemaker, showed their appreciation for the Brubaker’s commitment to the environment, the community, and the dairy industry of Pennsylvania. “As the saying goes, this isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile,” said Wolff. “This is not your father’s farm. This is modern agriculture in action.”

Working with various agencies and funding resources, the Brubakers relied on several state and federal renewable energy grants to help them fund this project. Working with USDA, the Bank of Lancaster County, and the PA Departments of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, the payback on the digester will be realized much sooner than in the past. Mike said that they are expecting the project to be paid off within the next ten years.

USDA Area Director Klaus added that the Brubakers are embarking on a new way of operating in the future. “I’d like to say thank you to the Brubaker Family,” he said. “You have done a wonderful job, and we are pleased to be working with you on this project.”