Powerful, yet non-smelly manure?

What in the world am I referring to? Well, with the farms in America facing more and more struggles to stay out of debt, some farmers in Vermont have found what could be the way to save their farms and power America at the same time.

In Vermont, 1,500 cows now not only provide milk, but electricity! Yes, the methane gas from their manure is being routed to a generator, and then injected straight into the power grid of a nearby city. The 1,500 cows provide electricity to over 300+ residents already. Now the farmer has income from the cows' milk and manure, more income for the same amount of capital. The residents pay 4 cents more for this 'special' electricity than they would normally, but it's cleaner than coal, and most definitely renewable. And, a final plus is that after the methane gas is removed, the manure has virtually no smell left and can still fertilize, just without the threat to your nose.

Is this the new electricity generator? It very well could be. I'm wondering how fast other farmers will try to do this same thing and capture more income. Will rural America be revitalized? What will the coal burning companies do? Granted coal is used for more than just electricity, but it is the leading electric production input. Will places like West Virginia face more layoffs in the residual mining towns? With the pressure for environmentally safe inputs, could coal see a decrease in demand, with companies either being forced to lower price or to buy into the manure market? Only time will tell!

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