Friends of Rural New York

Lagoon covers help fight global warming. TAXPAYERS MILKED AGAIN- FORCED INTO PAYING FOR A PROJECT THAT WOULD NOT EVEN BE NECESSARY IF CAFO CRIMINALS WERE ACTUALLY GOOD FARMERS.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080102/NEWS01/801020302/1002
Lagoon covers help fight global warming
Technology captures, uses emissions from liquid manure
By Bill Huttunen
Special to The Journal

KING FERRY — In an innovative move designed to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and provide revenue for cash-strapped dairy farmers who store

liquid manure for long periods of time, Environmental Credit
Corporation
has completed installation of one of two manure lagoon covers at
Fessenden Dairy, a 550-cow Dairy of Distinction farm owned by Tim
Fessenden, of King Ferry in southern Cayuga County.

The lagoon covers will capture methane and other air emissions with
high
global warming potential produced from the manure and convert them into

less harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) through a flaring process.

This capture-and-conversion process will greatly reduce the farms’
greenhouse gas emissions to a figure roughly equal to the emissions
produced in one year by nearly 700 cars.

The reduction in emissions will be registered as carbon credits and
monetized on the Chicago Climate exchange, giving each ton of
greenhouse
gas reduction a monetary value that can be sold as an additional source

of income for farmers. Methane is 21 times more potent than CO2 in
trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Fessenden’s farm, handling more than 16,000 gallons of manure per day,
is the first one in New York to be chosen for the program based on its
progressive manure management practices and opportunities for carbon
credits. The company hopes to install more than 200 covers for other
dairy and hog farms throughout the United States over the next several
years.

Environmental Credit Corporation will pay the entire cost for
installation and project operation expenses through a $1 million United

States Department of Agriculture grant to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, and once the system on a farm is in place, the corporation
will create and monetize the carbon credits to generate revenue.

In return, farmers such as Fessenden will be paid for their
participation in the program and simply observe and record the system
performance and do occasional maintenance. After a period of time, if
results are satisfactory, the system can be purchased outright.

“The lagoon covers will not only reduce harmful emissions, but they
will
also help in pest and odor control and improve air quality during
storage, which will please our neighbors,” Fessenden said.

Another plus will be a reduction of lagoon volume. “Last year,
rainfall
increased the lagoon volume by 30 percent. That created a problem
returning it back into the land, and it also carried over into the
croplands,” Fessenden said. “The covers will definitely help by
keeping
the rainfall out of the lagoon.”

EEC president Scott Subler believes the Lagoon Cover program is a
win-win situation for eligible farmers helping a stressed environment.

“The carbon credits are a great incentive for farmers who are
striving
to be environmentally conscious in their day-to-day work. “They’ll
receive a guaranteed payment for their work, with incentive bonuses
based on system performance.”

Environmental Credit Corporation plans to monitor farmer participation
in the program and provide onsite monitoring, documentation and carbon
credit registration up until 2020.

Fessenden anticipates having the second cover installed within the next

six months, weather permitting. “It’s very exciting to have our farm
selected to be the program’s pilot project for New York,” he said.