Methane Digester
Using a methane digester, we are able to completely recycle our manure. The anaerobic digester separates the methane gas off of the manure and captures it, instead of leaking into the atmosphere. After the gas is captured, the manure is sent through a screw press, separating the solids from the liquids. The solids are then sent through a dryer where it is dried and heated to kill bacteria, before heading into the barns where we use it as bedding for the cows! A soft organic material similar to potting soil. Finally, the liquids are applied as fertilizer back onto the fields that grow our feed, roughly 35 million gallons annually!
Renewable Natural Gas
The methane gas that is captured from the manure is processed into renewable natural gas. Our RNG partner, LF Bioenergy, cleans, scrubs, and compresses the gas to then be injected into the natural gas pipeline that runs near the farm. The gas being sold is 99% methane. The other 1% is made up of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen. The digester generates enough gas to supply the daily needs of around 650 houses!
Cropping Practices
Norm-E-Lane crops are grown and diversified to provide high quality forage for the dairy cows. Our crops are highly managed using a variety of practices. Data driven decisions are implemented in every aspect to care for our crops and our land in the best way we know how. We continuously collect and use crop and soil data to learn what we don’t know, and learn from what we think we know. Soil samples, plant tissue samples, water samples, forage samples, weather tracking, cover crops, biological products, manure samples, herd health metrics, milk production tracking, ROI spreadsheets, double cropping, variable rate seeding, and fertility products, among others, are some tools we use to improve our practices. With more items always coming into the data trail, we do our best to never stop learning! Crops grown in 2024 were alfalfa, corn, triticale, winter wheat, soybeans, sorghum, grass, and canola. Our goal is to have a living crop in the soil year around!
Interested in all natural fertilizer? We sell our dried manure solids as excellent fertilizer for your garden!
Contact Emmett or Dawson
E: 715-797-0458
D: 715-660-6651
