Share this on social media
California has provided incentives for methane capture at dairies, but the program may have ‘unintended consequences’
(Inside Climate News, 19 Sep 2022) Scientists and environmentalists appeal for more data, noting that research on the ammonia emissions from processed manure raises troubling questions about a vital element of California’s climate change strategy.
The first of a three-part series on California’s program to reduce carbon emissions on dairy farms by subsidizing the construction of digesters to capture methane.
On summer afternoons, thousands of dairy cows at Bar 20 dairy in Kerman, California, seek shelter from the blazing sun under the shade of open-walled barns. After a frenzy of morning activity, the farm is quiet except for an occasional moo, a deep rumble from a tomato truck passing on nearby Highway 180 or the wind whistling through the barn, carrying the acrid manure scent that permeates the air on the farm. The scene is typical in the San Joaquin Valley, an agricultural region that produces more milk than any other part of the country.
Less typical, though, is the 25 million-gallon pond at the southeast corner of the dairy, covered in a large dusty gray tarp that balloons and shrinks with the day’s fluctuating temperature. Beneath the gray covering, reminiscent of a large inflatable slide and larger than two Olympic swimming pools, sits an enormous amount of manure collected from more than 7,000 dairy cows on the farm.
Inside Climate News, 19 Sep 2022: California has provided incentives for methane capture at dairies, but the program may have ‘unintended consequences’
