Episode Details

Join host Kimmi Devaney and dairyman George Dick from Dicklands Farm and Dicklands Biogas in Chilliwack, British Columbia, for a conversation about building and managing a digester, their genetics strategy and the evolution of their facilities over the last four decades. 

Learn more about their digester by visiting their website. 

Episode breakdown:

• [~0:40] History of Dicklands Farm and what inspired the family to start dairying again in 1988
• [~1:35] Evolution of facilities from 1988 until now
• [~2:00] How robots have changed their farm
• [~4:50] How data from the robots and other technology is utilized in management decisions
• [~7:00] What they would change if they built new facilities today
• [~8:40] Genetics strategy
• [~12:05] Other genetic traits they are prioritizing
• [~13:50] When and why they added the digester
• [~16:10] The process of building a digester
• [~18:55] Where they get the food waste for the digester
• [~21:15] Receiving frozen products
• [~23:00] The most rewarding part of owning a digester
• [~24:35] Digester tours
• [~26:50] Tour FAQs
• [~28:30] Questions dairy producers should be asking when considering adding a digester to their operation
• [~31:15] Running a digester as a separate business with different employees
• [~32:00] Fertilizer pellet as a byproduct of the digester
• [~35:30] Rapid-fire questions