Source : Innovation Center For US Dairy - Innovation Center For US Dairy

“I believe in ‘earth-neutral’ farming” - Dennis Haubenschild

Practicing:

• Variable speed pumps
• Methane digester technology : Producing enough electricity for dairy and 70 area homes
• Water recycling
• Testing fuel cell technology

Earth-neutral farming

Dennis Haubenschild has long been a proponent of sustainability. If you ask him, he’ll tell you that he began striving for “Earth-neutral farming”, as he calls it, back in the 70’s.

He has a saying that “it only becomes waste if you waste it,” and he’s taken that philosophy to heart in the operation of Haubenschild Farms in Minnesota. The state-of-the-art methane digester at Haubenschild Farms produces enough energy to run the entire dairy and 70 additional homes. They are currently testing fuel cell technology that would allow the dairy to convert the energy to something storable, such as ammonia.

The digester isn’t the only sustainable practice in use at Haubenschild Farms: All water is used twice, and variable speed pumps are employed as well. Dennis believes a dairy of any size can put these practices into place– and that agriculture has the potential to supply up to 40% of U.S. energy.