The vision for Aligned Digesters was born in the heart of Brent Verwey as he searched for a way to help support the dairy business of his father, Mr. Philip Verwey. As the son of a dairy owner, Brent, is personally familiar with the struggles that dairy owners face while attempting to run a dairy and maintain a consistent revenue stream.
After learning about the benefits and opportunities available with anaerobic digesters, Brent constructed anaerobic digesters on his father’s farm and added an additional source of revenue to his father’s existing dairy operation. Buoyed by the success of the anaerobic digesters on his father’s dairy farms, Brent studied and travelled to anaerobic digesters all over the world so he could perfect the anaerobic digester’s design. Once Brent had perfected his design for anaerobic digesters, he started Aligned Digesters.
Philip Verwey Farms consists of about 4,600 acres, 10,000 milking cows and 7,000 young cows not yet in the milking herd. And, with that many animals, there is bound to be some major manure. Instead of letting all this waste simply go to waste, the Verwey family turns it into electricity. And bedding for their cows. And fertilizer for the fields. Oh, and at full capacity, their anaerobic digester can create enough energy to power the farm and allow the Verweys to sell two-thirds of the total energy back to their local utility cooperative. For the family, being good stewards of the land also means emissions reduction and water conservation are top priorities for themselves and their employees.
“We take care of each of these individual areas and will ensure the longevity of animals and the dairy industry.” — Frank Cardoza, Aligned Digesters
Aligned Digesters collaborates with dairy owners to convert the biogas currently being generated by their dairies into renewable natural gas that is used by organizations and companies to implement sustainable practices in their companies and fleets. The sale of biogas generates revenue for dairy farmers, helps companies and organizations incorporate environmentally-responsible practices, and a “greener” future for us all.