Food21 is in the early stages of developing a food value chain that serves dairy farmers in southwestern Pennsylvania, with a concentration in Westmoreland County. In 2020, Food21 was approached by our partner, Peoples Gas, to assist in locating and supporting the launching of a new commercial renewable energy complex in the Pittsburgh region. The facility will be an anaerobic digester and rely on organic waste derived from area dairy farms.

The state of our area’s dairy industry is well documented. There are more than 550 operating dairy farms in the SW PA region with many bordering on financial insolvency due to the fluctuations in the commodity price of fluid milk and a lack of alternative markets for their product.

Reliable sources of new revenue directly related to their current operations would be a substantial benefit. There are approximately 41,000 dairy cows on these regional dairy farms. These farms produce literally tons of organic waste that can be used to fuel a renewable energy complex based on anaerobic digester technology.