General manager Marty Myers said the dairy relies on a “closed-loop” system that continuously recycles products, byproducts and resources on the farm for cost savings and efficiency. Myers explained that it “all starts with the cow.” Threemile grows 60% of the feed they need for their herd on nearly half of their acreage. Myers said then they process manure from their own cows through digesters that create methane as a form of renewable natural gas they then use for power, saving money on electricity. Through this process, the manure is also separated into liquids and solids, where the liquids are used for extra crop fertilizer, removing the need for traditional fertilizers, and the solids are used for cow bedding. Threemile is saving $4-5 million a year, Myers said, because of their fertilizer process. More >>
