“Agriculture is the farmland of innovation”

CKPC News – 92.1 fm - Biogas stories from Delft Blue Veal

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BioGas Project

Delft Blue Veal, the farm division of Grober is undertaking a ground breaking project for the calf producing agri-industry.
Imagine taking very liquid calf manure (1.8% solids) and using it as the base material for producing methane gas to drive an engine (Genset) that will produce enough electricity to run five farms feeding 15,000 calves daily. Then taking the used material and making a truly organic fast acting fertilizer.To gain the full impact of this plan, fats, oils and greases from restaurants and grocery stores will delivered to the operation.

They will be  added to the mixture in the biogas digester to produce even greater quantities of methane.Once producing power, the BioGas Suite will reduce electricity costs to the point where meters are going backwards and the utilities are paying the farm operation.The environmental “footprint” will be further improved by using the heat from the Genset to keep the microbes in digester warm, heat the barns, eliminating the need for oil or propane. This extra heat will suffice the need for hot water to mix warm milk replacer to feed the calves at the farm.

LATEST NEWS -

• Check out what Duncan the Virtual Veal Calf has to say!
  

• ORMI Announces Fifth Exclusive Feedstock Supply Agreement with Anaerobic Digester
• Hamilton Spectator Article on Powering the farm

Adding Digestate to straw or hay Bales to create a growing medium

By adding the Digestate ( the liquid end product produced by the Bio-Digester)  to straw or hay bales we are experimenting with creating the “perfect  medium” for growing vegetables.

Hay or Straw Bale Gardening is a method of gardening in which plants are grown in straw bales, usually wheat or oat straw, rather than in soil. It is suitable for many types of annuals, and is especially used for vegetable gardening.

Advantages of Straw Bale Gardening

• Poor or difficult soil is no problem as you plant in the bale.
• A straw bale requires no tilling or mixing of soils to allow for drainage.
• Because the plants are a couple of feet off of the ground, it also makes gardening much easier for the disabled, older gardeners, or just for those who want to avoid back pain.
• Bales are far, far less prone to weeds, and Bale Gardening devotees report fewer pest problems. This means that straw bale gardening makes organic or low-chemical gardening all the easier.

At the Grober Groupof Companies we create an environment of Agricultural innovation” ~ Jerry Bartelse Founder