“We started out as a dairy. We will always be a dairy,” said Kies Orr, 27, who co-owns and operates Fort Hill Farms in Thompson where she has 210 milking cows and just under 500 cows total. For Orr, what’s next is the installation of an anaerobic digester on the farm (thanks in part to ABC members Ag-Grid Energy and Live Oak Bank), which will fulfill a dream of her father, Peter Orr, who passed away in 2018. If all goes as planned, the digester will send electricity onto the grid by the end of the year. “My father was all about energy. That digester will take in food waste and we’ll add our cow manure. We’ll make electricity and send it off to several surrounding towns,” she said. “Who would have thought food waste and cow manure would make electricity? We love our cows, there’s no doubt about that. It’s not just about the milk anymore.” More >>
