Manure - More than fertilizer

"That's a shit job" people often say to Karl Crave, who developed his first digester project on his family farm and is a project manager for the company who finances the digesters. Animal manure and other organic materials, even whey leftover from cheese making, are put into digesters to stew, which then emanate methane and carbon dioxide, creating a biogas that could be used to power homes in the surrounding areas and the farms themselves. This system helps reduce the odor of the manure and is another way of taking waste and making it useful. The Chinese government has big plans for this system to be used on its farms, but it has quite a hefty price tag and takes several years to see a return for the investment. These setbacks are preventing the digester system from gaining traction in the US. Read more on how digesters make manure into electricity here.