Ryan Klimt

The first Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 as a way to demonstrate support for environment protection. Since then more than 192 countries honor the earth by holding events, celebrations and creating awareness.

And while another Earth Day has passed (Yesterday, April 22nd was Earth Day), Bio Town Ag is proud to celebrate Earth Day everyday. At the core of our existence we wanted to build a Sustainable Ag model. This is a model that begins and ends with the soil. Today, Bio Town Ag is a fully integrated organic waste recycler.

We create solutions that allow for reduced waste in landfills, allowing for clean renewable energy, all while returning nutrients to the soil. Our service brand Back2Earth, helps corporations be good stewards of the earth as well, taking their waste and keeping it out of the landfills.

Celebrating Earth Day is important, it gives people who are passionate about the environment around them a chance to spread the word about stewardship of our planet.We just hope that it continues for the other 364 days.

BioTown Biogas Activates Digester and Processing Facility, Becoming One of the Largest Renewable Natural Gas Producers in North America

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BioTown Biogas (“BTB”), a leading renewable energy producer in the waste-to-value energy market, is today activating its new digester and processing facility, one of the largest on-farm biodigesters in the world. The activation is being marked by an on-site commissioning ceremony and ribbon cutting, to be attended by Indiana Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch and other elected and business leaders.

BTB sources food waste, dairy manure, beef manure, and other agriculture waste to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable electric power. The new facility, located in Reynolds, Indiana, is expected to generate more than 42 million kilowatt-hours of renewable power per year, while also producing more than three million gallons of renewable fuel per year.

The facility’s commissioning represents a significant milestone for the North American renewable energy industry, as BTB charts the path toward circular agricultural practices and proves that farming and livestock operations can help to create renewable energy that powers the future.

“This day represents a tipping point for our region, for the energy industry, and for a more sustainable future,” said Indiana Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch, the state’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “With the commissioning of this renewable energy facility, BioTown Biogas and the State of Indiana are claiming our position on the leading edge of a new era in clean energy production. Indiana is eager to see and support more of this type of investment in the state.”

BTB’s energy assets were previously owned by BioTown Ag (“BTA”), a multi-generational family farm that has been a sustainability leader in the agricultural community for decades. BTA spun off the power business to BTB, in order to jointly partner with Green Rock Energy Partners, a sustainable infrastructure focused private equity firm which invests in renewable energy companies and projects, and to expand its RNG business.

“A major community and industry milestone like this does not happen overnight. BioTown Ag and Green Rock Energy Partners put in years of work to lay the foundation and to prepare for a lower carbon future in farming that, at first, probably sounded like a pipe dream,” said Chad Hoerr, General Manager of BioTown Biogas. “The State of Indiana’s leadership, in addition to support from Green Rock and BioTown Ag, have been critical in bringing our vision into reality.”

The BTB facility supports more than 50 full-time jobs in White County, Indiana and surrounding communities. Northern Indiana Public Service Company (“NIPSCO”) will provide the facility’s renewable electric power offtake, and United Energy Trading and others will provide the RNG offtake.

About BioTown Biogas

BioTown Biogas (“BTB”) is a leading renewable energy producer in the waste-to-value energy market. Based in Reynolds, Indiana, BTB operates one of the largest on-farm biodigesters in the world, transforming waste into valuable energy and other useable byproducts. BTB sources food waste, dairy manure, beef manure, and other agriculture waste to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable electric power. Focused on establishing replicable and sustainable models of circular agriculture, BTB’s work demonstrates how farming and livestock operations can help to create renewable energy that powers the future. For more information, please visit www.biotownbiogas.com.

What does it mean to be sustainable? Webster’s defines it as “ability to be used without being completely used up or destroyed; and able to last or continue for a long time.

But what is Sustainability for Ag-World wide?

Write this down…

Plain and simple it’s recycling nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, among others) an infinite amount of times.

Of course these are the nutrients plants need to grow. We hear about natural resources being depleted, but some nutrients can be recycled an infinite number of times.

As it stands now Nutrients go to 4 places:

– Down the river

– In the landfill

– In the graveyard

– Or they are recycled.

We need to get better at removing vital nutrients out of the rivers and landfills.

When we do that, and find more creative way to reuse our resources, then we are truly sustainable.

All things in the world begin with a single link. No, not a link to a website, but a link that exists between one organism to another, or one process to another. In sustainable farming, Bio Town Ag is developing links that build a sustainable community. The result is a closed-loop system that requires less natural resources, improves the farming process, and provides the platform whereby farming produces benefits to society that are beyond just food production. On the other end of the process, Bio Town Ag takes in waste from corporations and adds that to bio-waste from farms to produce sustainable benefits to business, society, and farmers.

Who is Involved?
When we talk about a community, we mean something that is bigger than just farming. It is the cycle of how what you grow makes its way to the table of consumers. In the case of community and Bio Town Ag, the members include farmers and corporations, cities and municipalities, and consumers like you.

Why Bio Town Ag is Different?
There are a few other bio recyclers nationally. Those facilities do not accept waste from outside systems. Bio Town Ag is the only waste recycler that takes organic bio-waste from corporations and turns it into renewable energy. In so doing, municipalities benefit because the waste, which Bio Town Ag takes in, does not find its way to landfills or sewer treatment plants. Instead, it becomes a contributing factor for renewable energy that powers farms and households throughout the community. Bio Town Ag creates 5 Megawatts of green energy each year.

Gains to Local Farmers
What Bio Town Ag is building are the links that turn waste into usable, green, sustainable products that help farmers lower costs, produce better products, and improve their land. In the current system, resources must keep being added to the beginning of the process for the system to work. Those products are green energy and organic fertilizer. The fertilizer is used by farmers to grow better feed crops. Better quality organic fertilizer means healthier plants that produce better feed. Better feed means that cattle and swine producers grow better stock in potentially less time. Faster time to market means higher ROI for both farmers and ranchers. A healthier end product is also a plus for consumers. What farms gain is all of the ingredients to make a better product. Organic fertilizers help replenish soil health and soil nutrients without using chemicals. We are what we eat, and the same is true for plants. Better soil health and better nutrients lead to better quality crops; which leads to better feed for cattle and swine. How can Bio Town Ag help improve your product cycle?

How does it work?
By collecting bio-waste from stock (manure) and organic waste from corporations, Bio Town Ag can produce 5 megawatts electricity that comes from methane. The key to the project is the Bio Town Ag digester that utilizes natural processes to produce methane with a result of rich organic fertilizer. The current system requires new resources for field regeneration so there is little recovery of end waste products from farms or municipalities, thus the ROI of the current system is limited. It costs farmers more to by non-organic fertilizers, and livestock producers pay more for higher quality feeds. Municipalities and corporations pay more to process waste from corporate production, and the costs passes to consumers like you and me. Bio Town Ag closes this system and recovers the waste, which is then recycled into green energy and better fertilizer. This new process boosts ROI on all fronts, making it a win-win for all those involved, including consumers. How can Bio Town Ag boost your company’s ROI?

REYNOLDS, INDIANA—Brian Furrer’s latest renewable energy project, Green Cow Power, has been named agricultural Biogas Project of the Year by the American Biogas Council. The award was presented at the 2015 Biogas Industry Awards Reception on October 20, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Brian Furrer, developer of Green Cow Power in Goshen, IN and Bio Town Ag located in Reynolds, IN, has been at the forefront of agricultural renewable energy projects for the last decade and is committed to finding innovative ways to use existing resources. The Green Cow Power project is a working example of sustainability that is both good for the planet and economically viable. As Brian has stated, “In the real world, sustainability in agriculture must contribute to producer profitability.”

The biogas system at Green Cow Power uses organic waste from five dairies and food waste from the surrounding community to generate more than 3MW of electricity. Furrer hopes that the success of the Green Cow Power project can be used as a model for renewable energy projects across the Midwest.

Green Cow Power uses anaerobic digester technology developed by DVO, Inc. The Green Cow Power digester system collects methane biogas from the concrete digester tanks filled with organic waste; then, the methane is utilized onsite by three 1.05 MW GE Jenbacher engines to create electricity. The digester tanks also creates hot water, digested liquids (used for fertilizer), and digested solids (used for cow bedding).

About the American Biogas Council

The American Biogas Council is a national trade association representing over 200 companies who are dedicated to maximizing the production and use of biogas from organic waste. According to the American Biogas Council website, “The Biogas Industry Awards not only recognize excellent projects and innovations, they recognize great industry achievements and creative solutions to commonly faced issues that can be held out as an example to others.”

About the Bio Town Ag Farm

Bio Town Ag is a 100-percent sustainable, zero-discharge, multigenerational livestock farming operation, featuring a 4.8 million gallon anaerobic digester.

Outputs from the digester include methane gas, water and a nutrient-rich fertilizer material. The gas is burned to power several on-site generators that directly put true “green” electricity on the grid, while the water, as irrigation, and natural fertilizer are applied to the row-crop fields of Bio Town Ag and other neighboring farm operations.

Bio Town Ag is an Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM)-permitted organic recycling facility. It maintains organic-recycling and renewable-energy certifications.

For more information or to schedule a visit and tour of the Bio Town Ag farm, contact Bio Town Ag, 332 West 100 North, Reynolds, Indiana 47980. Call (219) 863-5915 or BioTownAg.com.