WASHINGTON -- Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has paid $23,066 to two local dairies to support and ensure the production of advanced biofuels under the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels.
Joseph Gallo Farms and Fiscalini Farms received $14,290.70 and $8,775.30, respectively, for the methane digesters used to produce power on site.
At Joseph Gallo Farms in Atwater, the methane digester is used to pump manure to a 7-acre covered lagoon where natural microbial action converts the nutrients in the manure into methane. The biogas is transported to the company's cheese plant, where it fuels a 700-kilowatt generator, soon to be upgraded to a 1,500-kilowatt generator. The heat from the generator engine and exhaust is captured and used to produce steam, which saves about 145,000 gallons of propane a year.
