Cow manure contains methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Farmers who collect and burn methane keep it out of the atmosphere while generating clean electricity.

Step 1: Collect the poop

Collect the cow poop. Large confinement dairies and feedlots have the most concentrated manure piles.

Step 2: Put the poop in a tank

With a special scraper, put the fresh poop down a drain leading to a digester tank.

Step 3: Make poop soup

Heat the poop to about 98 degrees.

Step 4: Let it stew

Let the manure’s natural juices digest the organic matter for one to three weeks.

Step 5: Separate gas from solids

Use a machine to separate the methane gas from the liquids and solids in the tank.

Step 6: Burn the gas

Burn the methane in a generator, creating clean electricity for use on the farm. Or sell it to the electric company.

Step 7: Sell fiber as mulch

The leftover fiber from the digesting process does not smell! It can be dried out and used or sold as mulch.

Step 8: Recycle the water

The remaining liquid is full of nutrients; water can be separated out and recycled. The rest can be spread on fields or sold as fertilizer.