USDA releases report on use of manure for energy
By Lisa Gibson

Posted July 9, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. CST

Manure can be used to produce energy on commercial and on-farm scales without competing with the supply needed for fertilizer, but the economics might not be beneficial to all farmers, according to a report that the USDA produced for Congress titled ‘Manure Use for Fertilizer and for Energy.’

Interest is growing in manure-to-energy systems, but implementation remains scarce in the United States. Anaerobic digestion and combustion are the most common processes used to obtain carbon dioxide and methane for electricity generation, the report says. Most digesters are on-farm systems at dairy and hog farms and combustion can be beneficial to fuel large power plants with poultry litter and fed cattle manure, which have higher energy and lower moisture content. Only one combustion plant operates in the U.S., using litter from 6.6 percent of turkey production. Digestion systems cover less than 3 percent of dairy cows and less than 1 percent of hogs, according to the report.

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