Reinford Farms in central Pennsylvania has been a pioneer in integrating codigestion of manure and food waste on a dairy farm. Steve and Gina Reinford purchased the farm in 1991, starting out with 57 dairy cows and 144 acres. Their 3 sons — Chad, Brett and Drew — are all involved in the family business. In 2008, Reinford Farms installed a 526,000-gallon complete-mix anaerobic digester supplied by RCM (now known as Martin Construction Resources (MCR)), sized to treat manure from 800 dairy cows. There were about 400 cows at the time. Capital costs for the digester and related equipment were about $1.1 million. Federal and state grants and/or tax credits covered about half of the cost. More >>
