| In many areas of the United States, dairy farmers are facing lawsuits due to a variety of externalities, such as odor and other forms of non-point source pollution. As a result, large producers are beginning to install anaerobic digestive (AD) systems, which is a process that extracts methane gas from cattle manure to create electricity.; Initial cost of installing an anaerobic digestive system can be within the range of {dollar}290,000 to {dollar}765,000 for the system. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine if AD technology will be economically beneficial for a dairy operation. The analysis considers incentives, such as cost share programs or electricity buy-back rates, to encourage adoption of this technology.; Results explain producers are required to have an excess electricity buyback rate of {dollar}0.05 per KwH or greater and a cost share to cover 80 percent of the investment for the technology to financially viable for a dairy operation. |
