Released November 3, 2008

ST. PAUL, Minn. --— Adopting new farming practices generally requires more expertise than simply brainstorming for ideas. A farmer who really wants to adopt new farming practices needs the ability to work with others.

That's the message of Chuck Schwartau, an educator with University of Minnesota Extension, who recently traveled to Wisconsin to visit several innovative dairy farms. He saw dairy farmers using methane digesters to create biogas to run on-farm electrical generators. Farms are also further processing the biogas to sell to a natural gas company. One farm used a byproduct of processing biogas to grow algae. The algae are processed to make biodiesel.

One farm operation is also looking at processing the products of the methane digester to make potable water for hydroponic lettuce operations and fish farming. "Within very few years, they fully expect milk will be the byproduct of this farm," said Schwartau. "All the extra value added items that essentially come from the manure system should have more value than the milk they sell."

Generating new income from a dairy farm has traditionally focused on increasing milk production or making the operation more efficient. Today, generating new income may include "big" thinking.

"It involves farmers who are willing to take some risks, and farmers who network with people outside farming who also have ideas and capital to invest," he said. Developing new farm income often requires working with others—sharing ideas with others on the farm and from the broader community. Schwartau says it's important to "look for ways to work with others to make things happen and to help make others successful as well."

"Consider who else on your farm and in your community might have ideas that could be implemented on a farm like yours," he said. "It wouldn't have to cost you more than a roll and a cup of coffee to get them around a table and just dream." More information on innovative farming methods is found on Schwartau's blog located at http://minnesotafarmguide.com/blog/.

AgBuzz is a cooperative blogging effort of University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota Farm Guide.

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http://www.extension.umn.edu/extensionnews/2008/predict-nitrogen.html

Contact: Andrea Johnson, (320) 289-2256