Eco-friendly digesters turn manure into power

I've always loved cows. I guess that's something I inherited from the two generations of Boykes that preceded me on our family farm in Eastern Wisconsin. Dairy farming has been in my blood and it’s been fun for my wife, Rose, and I to raise our own four children on the same farm where I first learned to walk. Farming has really changed since the days of my father and grandfather. Today we're milking 1,350 cows just outside a city of 45,000 people.

Taking care of our cows, our family, our employees and our land and water resources are time-honored traditions at Vir-Clar Farm. We've added two other priorities over the past few years. One is being a good community citizen, and the other is helping to provide electricity to our neighbors.

At Vir-Clar Farm, we recently installed a bio-energy digester.  This device generates "green energy" from our manure in abundance of two to three times the energy we can use on our farm. By generating our own electricity, we're able to power our entire milking operation and keep our cows comfortable all year long, with enough energy left over to supply over 300 homes! We use the by-products produced by the digester as a natural fertilizer, compost and as a source of clean bedding for our animals.

Producing renewable energy from our manure is just one way we're helping to protect our natural resources. Another way we take care of our land and water is by following a comprehensive conservation plan. The fields on our farm are mapped out and we have a plan for exactly what crops will be planted on each field each year. This helps ensure we maintain a high-quality soil, resulting in healthy waterways and healthy crops.

Our farm is adjacent to a beautiful lake that is home to nearly 100 families. We also have a number of creeks that run through our farm. Our family enjoys the recreation that these waterways offer and we want our neighbors to be able to do the same for generations to come.

In order to do that, we attend the local Lake Association annual meeting and provide an update and a future outlook for our farm. We also practice an open door policy with our neighbors, so they can see a cow being milked, a calf being fed, crops being harvested or renewable energy being made. All of these activities are part of our farm's mission statement, which is "producing milk and power for America."

Two of our four children have returned home to be part of our farming operation. They represent the fourth generation of dairy farmers in our family and we're confident that they too will carry on the strong commitment we have to our cows, our land and our community.