Montana rancher describes plan to expand Shepherd feedlot with digesters to produce renewable natural gas

Turk Stovall, a fifth-generation Montana rancher representing Stovall Ranches and the new company Yellowstone Eco Solutions, told the Senate Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Committee on Jan. 14 that he and partners plan to expand the Shepherd feedlot and install confined-barn feeding, anaerobic digesters and ammonia-recovery systems to capture methane and other byproducts for sale.

Stovall said Yellowstone Eco Solutions intends to collect manure and process it through digesters to produce renewable natural gas (RNG), a renewable CO2 product and a digestate that could be converted into organic fertilizer through ammonia-recovery systems. "We're going to expand our feedlot operations in Shepherd," Stovall told the committee, describing the project as a model that could be replicated elsewhere in the state.

The proposal the presenter described: Shepherd’s existing feedlot holds about 21,000 head; Stovall said the site is permitted for 25,000 head and the immediate plan is to add roughly 40,000 head at Shepherd in a confined-barn design. He said he and partners are also considering two additional Montana locations to replicate the system. Stovall estimated the development would be a large capital project,…