Potential for Renewable Biomethane Production from Dairy Manure-Based Biogas in Pennsylvania.

摘要

The dependency on fossil fuels continues to enslave agricultural operations not only for economic reasons, but also for environmental consequences. Having a better understanding of Pennsylvania dairy farmers' perceptions regarding biomethane production, sustainability, environmental protection, and their link to producing healthy food in Pennsylvania for the long-term will help to find common and new meanings for those business owners and policy makers who support building a sustainable dairy farming industry in Pennsylvania. The theoretical framework built upon natural resource-based view (NRBV). The data-collection study participants were Pennsylvania based full-time dairy farmers. The quantitative data-analysis process used the two-way factor ANOVA. Survey data show that biomethane production is a viable energy production option for Pennsylvania dairy farmers. It became evident that educated women farming small acreages were more enthusiastic in taking the survey than large-scale dairy farmers even if all classes of Pennsylvania dairy farmers were invited either directly or through dairy organizations and had access to the survey.