Partnering with a biomethane producer presents farmers with an opportunity to make their operations more financially sustainable—while also contributing to decarbonisation and environmental goals.
EU farmers are responsible for providing 450 million people with safe, healthy and affordable food, while being the backbone for sustainable rural economies.
Farmers face significant challenges like more frequent extreme weather, competitive global markets and vulnerability to global events like the pandemic, an energy crisis and high inflation.
Seven reasons why partnering with a biomethane producer is good for a farm’s bottom line:
Cut waste disposal costs
The challenge of what to do with excess animal slurry is particularly significant for small farms with limited land and resources.
It’s expensive to build and maintain slurry storage facilities, and if a farmer doesn’t have enough land to spread slurry under their nitrate banding allocation, they must rent land to meet regulatory requirements.
Supplying slurry to a biomethane plant can reduce on-farm slurry storage requirements.
Instead of spending money on expensive storage infrastructure or paying to lease additional land, farmers can simply transport their slurry to a nearby biomethane plant.
Simplify nitrate banding compliance
Digestate, the by-product of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process used to produce biogas and biomethane, contains nitrogen that’s easier for plants to absorb compared to synthetic fertilisers and raw manure.
When applied to crops at appropriate times and in suitable quantities, digestate can match plant nutrient uptake more efficiently, reducing the risk of excess nitrates entering nearby bodies of water.
Ammoniacal nitrogen stripping is an optional component in the biomethane upgrading process that removes nitrogen from digestate to generate sustainable fertiliser.
Farmers can apply it to crops independently of digestate to ensure maximum uptake and productivity.
Reduce spending on costly synthetic fertilisers
Fluctuations in global energy markets and supply chain disruptions caused synthetic fertilisers prices to peak in 2022.
Though they’ve nearly halved since then, the price spike has significantly increased the cost of doing business for farmers and raised food prices worldwide.
Because it’s locally produced using readily available agricultural by-products, digestate offers a stable (in terms of price and availability) and cost-effective alternative to chemical fertilisers.
Increase farm productivity
Synthetic fertilisers enhance crop productivity and soil fertility in the short term. But using them continuously can cause soil organic matter to decline and decrease soil quality in the long term. Overusing chemical fertilisers hardens soil, reduces fertility, causes pollution, and weakens microbial activity in the cropping system.
Digestate, on the other hand, provides a balanced nutrient profile that supports healthy crop growth more effectively than synthetics.
The exact nutrient profile of digestate varies based on the feedstock used, but all digestate contains organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen and other macro, micro and trace nutrients.
As experienced farmers know, having the correct soil nutrient profile is critical to healthy crops and increased yields.
Access subsidies, sustainability certifications & consumer support
Demonstrating compliance through sustainable farming practices like using digestate can not only help farmers avoid penalties for nitrate pollution but make them more likely to qualify for incentives or programmes to support sustainable agriculture.
Using sustainable farm practices can also enhance a farm’s image among consumers who are increasingly demanding more environmentally friendly and sustainably produced food.
A commitment to using sustainable inputs like digestate can give farmers a competitive edge through increased consumer support and access to markets requiring sustainability certifications or eco-friendly labels.
Earn additional revenue
With biomethane plants and AD, come opportunities for farmers to add additional revenue streams.
Slurry is a valuable source of feedstock for AD and many biomethane producers will offer farmers long-term supply agreements for providing slurry to their plants.
Where farmers can grow energy crops in rotation with food production, it not only improves soil quality but can add another revenue stream as feedstock for biomethane production.
Also, in some cases, farmers can partner with a biomethane producer to build a plant on their land and generate additional revenue from long-term lease agreements.
Make your farm viable for future generations
Family-run farms are still the dominant business model in the the EU, but this model is in crisis.
Farming involves putting in long hours and often doesn’t pay that well, leading young family members—even those who are enthusiastic about farming—unable or unwilling to take over the family business.
Diversifying farming activities to include anaerobic digestion and biomethane production can make farming more sustainable into the future and add a diversity of employment opportunities for family members who want to be involved.
