Reducing Odors and Creating Electricity

Methane digesters, systems that capture methane gas from manure and convert it to electricity, can be a win/win for neighbors and CAFOs says Joe Francis, Associate Director, Field Services & Assistance at the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) in a Radio Iowa news story. The digesters reduce odors by as much as 90%, he says, and can power livestock operations to boot. However, critics of CAFO methane digesters argue that because methane digesters are designed for CAFO systems, and the digesters require subsidies to make them economically feasible, methane digesters turn out to be another subsidy for CAFO expansion.