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Capitalizing on the green “gold rush” in California

An air quality specialist says methane is creating another “gold rush” for California farmers.  Frank Mitloehner with UC-Davis says reducing methane emissions is the goal. “Because they pose net energy losses,” he says. “Reducing methane equates to reductions in financial losses.”

He goes on to say roughly 10 percent of the energy cattle are fed gets lost as methane. “Nobody just wants to burn that money – so you don’t want to lose that methane,” he says.

Instead, Mitloehner says producers are better off trapping emissions.  “On the dairy side, a cow normally makes around $4,000 to $4,500 per year in milk sales,” he says.  “This additional sale of biogas, that’s then made into fuel will add another $1,500.”

He says more California producers are aggressively implementing these technologies because they’re seeing such a large return on investment.

Brownfield interviewed the extension specialist during the recent Missouri Livestock symposium. 

AUDIO: Frank Mitloehner, UC-Davis