Reinford Farms in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, was one of the recipients of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy’s seventh annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards. (Learn more about the award winners.)
Today, Brett Reinford farms with his dad, mom, two brothers and sister. Together, they manage a 725-cow freestall dairy on 1,300 acres of corn, hay, triticale and rye. They raise all their 600-plus replacement animals and employ 20 workers.
Learn more about Reinford Farms.
Below, see more images of the operation and digester. Photos by Sherry Bunting. 
The Reinford family (left to right): Chad, Dove, Steve, Gina, Brett and Drew. To the right is the building where the Reinfords receive and depackage food waste for the digester.
The Reinfords have a permit ready to begin construction of a second digester to be located beside the building where they currently receive food waste for inclusion in the digester. Both digesters will run on the combination of dairy manure and food waste.
The heat from the methane-burning process is used for the milking parlor, offices and the main house, including all of the hot water.
While the food waste-receiving building was nearly empty, full-time driver Paul Garmen arrived by midmorning with a truck full of canned foods that did not meet the manufacturer’s food quality and safety controls. Garmen and full-time warehouse employee Dennis Walton promptly unloaded the cases
The depackaging machine allows the Reinfords to accept these other forms of food waste. They recycle everything they possibly can and take what small amount of true waste remains to a nearby landfill.
Steve and Gina Reinford are glad to see their dairy farm transition to the next generation through diversification. Daughter Dove takes care of the heifers and will be pursuing a master’s in anthropology this fall. Kneeling (left to right) are brothers Brett, Drew and Chad, who each have their responsibilities in the diversified operation.
The Reinfords grow corn for silage and combine and double-crop their corn acres with rye and triticale for the dairy ration. They also grow some hay and purchase a canola and soymeal protein source.
Brett Reinford says the key to separated manure solids as bedding is keeping stalls raked free of fresh manure and to deep bed stalls twice a week with an application of bedding lime before the layer of digested manure solids.
Reinford Farms is home to a 720-cow dairy herd and 1,300 acres of crops. Dairy manure is processed through a methane digester with a permit ready to build a second, and larger, digester to triple the methane and energy production.
The business has diversified to receive many types of organic waste from grocery store produce to batches of packaged food that has been recalled or does not meet quality control and must be destroyed.
Brett Reinford says that in his work on the food waste side of the business, he is convinced that the U.S. has the safest food supply in the world given the amount of testing and quality control he sees firsthand in the food industry. Learn more about Reinford Farms.
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Reinford Farms in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, was one of the recipients of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy’s seventh annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards. (Learn more about the award winners.)
Today, Brett Reinford farms with his dad, mom, two brothers and sister. Together, they manage a 725-cow freestall dairy on 1,300 acres of corn, hay, triticale and rye. They raise all their 600-plus replacement animals and employ 20 workers.
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Learn more about Reinford Farms.
Below, see more images of the operation and digester. Photos by Sherry Bunting.
The Reinford family (left to right): Chad, Dove, Steve, Gina, Brett and Drew. To the right is the building where the Reinfords receive and depackage food waste for the digester.
The Reinfords have a permit ready to begin construction of a second digester to be located beside the building where they currently receive food waste for inclusion in the digester. Both digesters will run on the combination of dairy manure and food waste.
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The heat from the methane-burning process is used for the milking parlor, offices and the main house, including all of the hot water.
While the food waste-receiving building was nearly empty, full-time driver Paul Garmen arrived by midmorning with a truck full of canned foods that did not meet the manufacturer’s food quality and safety controls. Garmen and full-time warehouse employee Dennis Walton promptly unloaded the cases
The depackaging machine allows the Reinfords to accept these other forms of food waste. They recycle everything they possibly can and take what small amount of true waste remains to a nearby landfill.
Steve and Gina Reinford are glad to see their dairy farm transition to the next generation through diversification. Daughter Dove takes care of the heifers and will be pursuing a master’s in anthropology this fall. Kneeling (left to right) are brothers Brett, Drew and Chad, who each have their responsibilities in the diversified operation.
The Reinfords grow corn for silage and combine and double-crop their corn acres with rye and triticale for the dairy ration. They also grow some hay and purchase a canola and soymeal protein source.
Brett Reinford says the key to separated manure solids as bedding is keeping stalls raked free of fresh manure and to deep bed stalls twice a week with an application of bedding lime before the layer of digested manure solids.
advertisement
Reinford Farms is home to a 720-cow dairy herd and 1,300 acres of crops. Dairy manure is processed through a methane digester with a permit ready to build a second, and larger, digester to triple the methane and energy production.
The business has diversified to receive many types of organic waste from grocery store produce to batches of packaged food that has been recalled or does not meet quality control and must be destroyed.
Brett Reinford says that in his work on the food waste side of the business, he is convinced that the U.S. has the safest food supply in the world given the amount of testing and quality control he sees firsthand in the food industry. Learn more about Reinford Farms.