Seacoast NRG

The Discovery Channel’s newest episode of Dirty Jobs showcased a dairy farm in Connecticut that has taken a creative twist on managing and maximizing the value of its most plentiful asset: cow manure.

The methane that outgasses from the manure is captured and used to heat the farm’s buildings (methane capture is becoming a more common means of providing an energy source while reducing greenhouse gases; see my post on UNH’s use of landfill methane here). The manure solids are separated and composted, and then molded to create organic, biodegradable (and no-smell) flower pots, which the farm then sells. The manure liquids are stored and used for fertilizer (the traditional use of manure). An excerpt from the episode describing the methane capture is shown here.