California Bioenergy and Land O'Lakes Partner to Advance RNG in California

Land O’Lakes and California Bioenergy (CalBio) have launched a first-of-its-kind collaboration to support the financing, installation and management of on-farm methane digesters to generate renewable natural gas fuel in California. The partnership will create what the companies say will be an innovative farmer-led model for “barn to biogas” that can shape nationwide solutions to agricultural methane emissions reduction and unlock new revenue streams for dairy farmers.

As one of the nation’s largest agricultural cooperatives, Land O’Lakes is uniquely positioned to tap into the potential power of California dairy farmers to generate renewable energy from farm waste. CalBio provides the expertise needed to develop, execute and manage on-farm methane digesters, as well as market renewable CNG credits in California.

This partnership with CalBio will also help Land O’Lakes dairy member-owners in California to meet new state standards that call for a 40 percent reduction in dairy and livestock manure-related methane emissions from 2013 levels by 2030.

“Land O’Lakes and CalBio are creating the end-to-end sustainability infrastructure that farmers need to make ‘barn-to-biogas’ a reality,” said Matt Carstens, senior vice president, Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN. “This is impact investing at its best – eliminating barriers to the adoption of new sustainability technology, unlocking new revenue streams for farmers, cutting emissions and creating a public good.”

To further its commitment to supporting member-owners around environmental sustainability, Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN recently launched Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN Innovation Financing, which offers eligible member-owners up to $3 million in financing for large-scale sustainability projects, including methane digesters. This financing is available specifically to help Land O’Lakes dairy member-owners implement new technologies or management systems.