Gilmer Dairy Farm News
West Alabama Farm Going Green (original story written by Joey Barnes, published on WCBI.com, April 18, 2008; article & video no longer available)
Tucked away in northern Lamar County, Alabama the Gilmer Dairy Farm is going green, not the fields but with a waste storage tank.
"It's got a leak detection system. It's got a secondary system in case we had a failure of some sort, we'd be able to contain it and deal with it properly. So, it just gives us a little better piece of mind and our neighbors a better piece of mind," says Dairy Farmer Will Gilmer.
Will says the tank can hold about 300,000 gallons. It was their environmentally friendly way to invest in their farm. The Gilmers can now spread the waste on their land while helping the plants grow during a drought.
"If we have a summer like we've had the past couple of summers, that extra moisture will help a lot. Because it serves a dual purpose of irrigation and fertilizer," says Will.
Will and his father, David, take care of more than 400 cows and operate nearly 600 acres, and they say this green farm goes beyond farming.
"While the Gilmer's dairy farm is a one of a kind in the state of Alabama, they say using their waste treatment facility puts more green on their fields and in their pocketbooks.
The storage tank is a $160,000 investment they believe will eventually pay for itself.
"There's so many
advantages, not just protecting the environment but the way
you can use it more efficiently in applying it to your land
and how it returns value into crops I think is a big plus.
And I think others will go this direction," says Will.
The father and son duo is also using a no till method on
their land saving the nutrients in the soil, diesel fuel,
money and the environment.
For more information on the Gilmer Dairy Farm, check out their website at www.gilmerdairyfarm.com
