U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (Photo courtesy of USDA)
A utility company in northwest Kansas is building a facility that turns cow manure, grain dust and other waste products into energy -- and today (MON), the U-S Department of Agriculture contributed $5 million to the project. During a stop in Kansas, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the grant for Western Plains Energy in Oakley.
The USDA grant will help Western Plains Energy construct a biogas digester in Oakley. The digester is expected to produce enough biogas to replace 89-percent of the fossil fuel the company currently uses to make ethanol. Ag Secretary Vilsack will be in Manhattan Tuesday to talk about biofuels and agriculture as part of the Landon Lecture series at Kansas State University.