Methane makeover: As California dairies race to cut emissions, the solutions face pushback

DAIRY FARMER JERRY DA SILVA had a manure problem. The 500 cows on his family’s farm produced a lot of waste. He collected it in large lagoons and piped it out and used it as fertilizer on the land where he grows crops like oats, corn and walnuts every summer. But in winter, when the rains came, the lagoons were at risk of overflowing. 

“The main challenge is getting through the wintertime. I need to be able to stockpile  manure on my place until springtime, when I can put it to use,” said Da Silva, who farms near Modesto.