Project Description
Bar-Way Farm, Inc. is a multi-generational dairy farm in Deerfield, Massachusetts, founded in 1919 and operated by Steven Melnik and his son, Peter. The farm encompasses 600 acres of cropland. More than 300 cows are milked each day producing an average of 2,000 gallons of milk daily. The farm is a member of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA).
The Vanguard Renewables Farm Powered Anaerobic Digester at Bar-Way Farm was constructed in 2016 and features a 660,000-gallon capacity anaerobic digester tank. The facility combines more than 9,000 tons of manure and 36,500 tons of food waste annually and converts it to renewable energy. This offsets more than 2 million pounds of CO2 emissions annually. The 7,700 MWh of renewable energy produced each year by the Deerfield AD system is enough to power 1,600 homes.
Manure from the dairy farm operation and organic food and beverage waste are combined in the anaerobic digester and microorganisms convert sugars, fats, and other compounds into biogas to produce renewable energy and low carbon fertilizer. The farm receives an annual lease payment for hosting the anaerobic digester, hot water, heat, and energy savings.
FARM FACTS
600-acre dairy farm
Founded in 1919
300 cows milked daily
Produces more than 2,000 gallons of milk daily
Located in Deerfield, Mass.
DIGESTER FACTS
Construction 2016
660,000-gallon capacity
DIGESTER FACTS
- Annual hosting lease payment
- Low carbon fertilizer to increase crop yields
- Reduced energy cost
- Odor reduction
- Reduction in chemical fertilizer use
- Enhanced nutrient management plan
- Heat and hot water
Annual Digester Input
Annual Digester Output
Receives organic waste from food manufacturers and provides renewable energy via net metering credits to businesses
Bar-Way Farm in the News
Farm-Based Food Waste Repurposing Provides a Pathway to a Healthier Planet
The pandemic has forced us, as a nation, to focus on the issues of environmental and personal health. How food is manufactured and how it is disposed of turns out to have direct and significant impact on both the personal health of the American Consumer as well as on our environment.
Farm-Based Food Waste Repurposing is Good for Vermont and for the Planet
The remarkable thing about food waste is that it can become either a dangerous greenhouse gas or an incredible ingredient to produce renewable energy and low carbon fertilizer. The deciding factor is based entirely on how we dispose of it.
Sustainable Brews Are More Than a Tasty Beverage
There’s nothing like a frosty glass of delicious beer. But, the process of making that refreshing libation generates a good amount of waste and wastewater. Craft brewers are increasingly turning toward sustainable solutions, including reducing their water and energy consumption, so they can do better by the environment.
Cutting Greenhouse Gases From Food Production Is Urgent, Scientists Say
Rising greenhouse gas emissions from worldwide food production will make it extremely difficult to limit global warming to the targets set in the Paris climate agreement, even if emissions from fossil-fuel burning were halted immediately, scientists reported Thursday.