GSR and Franklin County dairy announce commercial operation of manure-to-value process 

Vermont Business Magazine GSR Solutions LLC (dba NutriHarvest) and Green Mountain Dairy Farm recently achieved commercial operation of GSR’s biotechnology for dairy farms to transform liquid manure wastewater into value-added fertilizers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided funding assistance for the project’s implementation along with project partners.

Since 2013, GSR has worked with dairy farms to commercialize a sustainable nutrient treatment solution for dairy manure and food waste that creates value. The result is a novel technology, GSR-AD-BOLT, that extracts most of the nutrient value from waste effluents from anaerobic digesters and creates valuable organic fertilizer. These products can either be sold or used on-site by the farm. The final water output is clean and can be applied for reuse at the farm.

This enhances the environmental performance of anaerobic digesters producing renewable energy that are currently challenged by nutrient management issues. The new technology captures ninety-five to over ninety-nine percent of both phosphorus and nitrogen from wet manure effluent. This solution can also be used with both new and existing digester operations.

Adding a new fertilizer supply will help with the current shortage. NutriHarvest® organic fertilizers are locally available as well as through regional retailers. 

Brian Rowell, the owner of Green Mountain Dairy Farm, said, “Based on current results from the year-round operation at our farm, the GSR technology has usable outputs that confirm its potential to make a significant contribution to farm sustainability, both environmentally and as good business. This technology will greatly help farms to enable them to meet water quality standards.” 

Anju D. Krivov, President of GSR Solutions (NutriHarvest), commented: “We appreciate the support of innovative farm partners like Green Mountain Dairy Farm to be able to bring this technology to deployable status. Covid-19 has greatly impacted agriculture and food businesses, and our technology will assist in deriving another source of profitability for agricultural farms in Vermont, other US states, and Canada.”  

Sarah Waring, USDA Rural Development State Director for Vermont and New Hampshire, was pleased to announce the project: “We are very proud to help GSR Solutions and Green Mountain Dairy collaborate on this important project,” she said. “Value-Added Producer Grants provide transformative funding to support small businesses and manage natural resources in our rural communities. This whole-systems approach to convert wastewater into high-quality agricultural fertilizer is a pioneering example of what these grants can achieve. Vermont’s small agricultural businesses need help to create, develop and promote their innovative products, and these investments leverage more marketing opportunities for them to succeed.” 

Travis Thomason, USDA Natural Resources Conservation State Conservationist for Vermont, said, “In order to reach our conservation goals, we need new and innovative technology ideas such as GSR-AD-BOLTTM to solve difficult resource concerns for farms. Conservation Innovation Grants give innovators the opportunity to test solutions for the myriad of issues facing farmers today. We are excited to see the early results and progress.”

Dr. Heather Darby, UVM Extension Agronomist & Soil Specialist said, "UVM Extension team conducted field trials of GSR's new organic fertilizer material to evaluate its potential nitrogen value in our local agricultural system. We compared it to other commercially available organic and non-organic products used by producers and tested it on warm and cold season crops, including sweet corn and cabbage. All treatments showed no statistical differences between yield, plant height, and harvest population between the treatments, however, GSR’s organic product resulted in a relatively higher yield of sweet corn and cabbage per acre compared to the commercial organic product treatment. We are now testing it on beets and beans".

Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts said: “This significant project demonstrates the importance of rural community development and natural resource management. Utilizing a collaborative approach for reducing phosphorus runoff and converting excess ground phosphorus into a valuable agricultural fertilizer is a win-win for us all.”


Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts at GSR’s fertilizer products display. Photo courtesy: GSR Solutions

Tim Smith, Mayor of the City of St. Albans and Executive Director, Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation said, “This technology comes at a crucial time. Conversion of nutrient waste into value added is a critical need, and we are pleased to see that it is happening in our county.”

About GSR Solutions LLC (dba NutriHarvest) 
GSR Solutions has developed revolutionary biotechnologies that convert agricultural livestock manure, food industry waste, and municipal waste into valuable products such as organic fertilizers, feed, and renewable fuel. These technologies effectively recover phosphorus and nitrogen, addressing critical needs in the food, water, and energy markets. GSR offers a suite of waste management solutions, including nutrient management for converting waste into organic fertilizers, on-farm energy production for renewable fuel, farm cash flow improvement with value-added products, soil fertility support through organic fertilizer supply, online marketing assistance, and water purification by extracting nutrients. Our technologies are able to recover up to ninety-five percent of all nutrients from agriculture, food, and municipal waste and remove over ninety-nine percent of nitrogen and phosphorus from liquid waste. More at: www.gsrsoln.com 

About Green Mountain Dairy Farm 
Green Mountain Dairy of Sheldon, Vermont is a large farm operating under a large farm operation permit administered by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. The dairy currently has 900 lactating Holsteins and 150 dry cows on site. Three state-of-the-art barns, built in 1999, house the milking herd. A heifer barn was completed during 2008 to accommodate 500 heifers and calves ranging in age from 3 months to 22 months. The cows produce award winning milk, year after year, for the St Albans Cooperative Creamery, which supplies the Boston fluid milk market, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Stonyfield Yogurt, as well as several cheese makers. Cropland consists of approximately 1500 tillable acres in 3 towns, Sheldon, Highgate, and Swanton. The farm has an ongoing biodigester project. On a continuous basis of operation, the volume of manure at Green Mountain Dairy produces enough biogas to consistently generate a minimum of 300 kWh per hour of electricity. No seasonal variations are experienced in the system. The anaerobic digester and resulting electricity, classed as renewable energy or green power, provides multiple benefits to the environment, the farm and society. During the past 12 months of operation, the farm produced 1.8 million kWh of electricity to the grid, enough to power 400 average sized homes. 

About new fertilizers: For details about the new fertilizers, visit: https://www.nutriharvest.com/

2.9.2023. GSR Solutions LLC, Burlington VT www.gsrsoln.com