The State of Washington has teamed up with local dairy farmers to help improve the quality of our water. They're turning cow manure into clean water in Whatcom County.
“Dairy farming is very hard (and) farmers have a passion for what they do,” said Kirk Robinson of the Washington State Commission.
For proof of that look no further than a Whatcom County dairy farm about two hours north of Seattle where the day is dedicated to cow manure. Specifically, how to make the most of what they can and without polluting lakes and streams.
“Dairy farms have always been the ultimate recycler,” said Galen Smith of Coldstream Farm.
On Smith’s dairy farm they’re taking philosophy a step further thanks to technology that uses reverse osmosis to purify waster into water. That water can then be put back into streams or lakes. The manure that remains is re-purposed as a supercharged fertilizer.
“We don’t see this as a Coldstream’s project. We see this as a project for Washington State in the ability to develop new technologies to create clean water to help make dairies more sustainable in the near future,” Smith said.
This project is drawing attention from farmers here in the US and in Canada. It’s also one that wouldn’t have been possible without a $4 million grant from the state toward projects like this one aimed at protecting our water sources.
“The technologies that we’re investing in as an industry will help dairies be more sustainable in the future and can help maintain a safe food source,” Smith said.
Depending on how this summer goes, you could see this technology, developed right here in Washington, spread to dairy farms across the US.