California dairy farmers across the state are adding new technologies and practices to their existing regimens to evolve and meet the sustainability goals of the next generation, and continue their tradition of managing the land for which their livelihood depends in responsible ways.

A great example of this innovation is Fiscalini Farms and Cheese Factory in Modesto, Calif. Through a series of best practices in land and water management, along with new methane technology, Fiscalini is drawing attention from researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy.

From generation to generation, the Fiscalini farm has evolved the ways it manages water and maintains the land. First, the fields are laser-leveled – to get maximum irrigation efficiency. They have also installed a tail water return system which re-distributes water that gathers at the ends of the fields. Instead of purchasing chemical fertilizer, now only cow manure is used to improve nutrients in the soil to better grow the crops. Finally, they triple-crop the land, and because they are returning the proper organic material to the soil, they continue to get higher yields each year.

One of the newer practices drawing much attention to this Modesto farm is a $3 million methane digester system that will help reduce the 530-acre farm’s carbon footprint by recycling manure, whey and feed waste into electricity.

The system will produce sufficient electricity to power the dairy barn, where they milk 54 cows at one time, plus the 88,000 square foot cheese plant. In addition to eliminating Fiscalini’s $150,000 a year electricity bill, there also will be extra electricity produced to sell back to the grid.

The digester consists of two 14-inch thick concrete tanks, each are 86 feet in diameter and 24 feet tall, with plastic tops. The tanks can take 860,000 gallons of manure and green waste. The tanks are heated to 100 degrees (F), same as a cow’s stomach, and over the course of 40 days, bacteria breaks down the manure, producing methane which is can then be burned to produce electricity.

The heat from the system is also used efficiently, including pre-warming the water for the plant's heat exchangers. The residue left after the 40-day long process is dried and used as bedding for the cows or sold as a nutrient-rich substitute for peat moss.

Fiscalini Farms and Cheese Factory is one of California’s many family dairies across the state which is adopting new practices and developing new technologies to reduce its environmental impact and responsibly manage the land.