A Recori FFA agricultural issues team presented a practice public hearing to the Stearns County Planning Commission on the pros and cons of on‑farm anaerobic digesters, drawing questions from commissioners and a mix of supportive and opposing public remarks.

An ABC Renewables representative (presented by student actors) explained anaerobic digestion and said a proposed project tied to Christiansen Dairy would combine manure from about 500 cows with food and beverage waste, producing renewable natural gas (RNG) to be injected to the CenterPoint pipeline. The presentation stated the system would generate about "270,000 BTU of Renewable Natural Gas or RNG annually," and that—according to the script—this could power "over 3,000 homes in the CenterPoint region." The presenters said the project went through an MPCA pre‑review and public comment period.

Kylie Christiansen, representing the farm, said digestate solids could be used for bedding and liquid digestate as fertilizer, helping to stabilize farm income. Crop farmer Sam Anderson said he welcomed a local source of nutrient‑rich digestate as an alternative to synthetic fertilizers. Neighbors including Brooke Loso and Lillian Ludwig expressed concerns about nutrient runoff and water quality, citing an example of a digestate spill elsewhere and asking how much additional nitrogen and phosphorus would be introduced; they also cited truck traffic (one speaker said up to 15 trucks daily in the skit), odor, noise and potential impacts to property values.

ABC Renewables (represented in the presentation) and Christiansen family speakers responded that properly permitted digesters include nutrient management plans overseen by feedlot officers, that many operations are well managed and that projects of this kind can create construction and permanent jobs and spur road upgrades. Presenters also discussed scale and feedstock sourcing, including co‑digestion arrangements that allow smaller farms to participate by accepting food waste or partnering with collection sites.

After closing public comment, commissioners asked technical questions about biogas quality, pipeline connection and who would maintain pipeline lines; an Agricultural Utilization Research Institute speaker noted that cleaning and upgrading biogas to pipeline quality can be expensive and scale‑dependent. The commission moved and approved a formal commendation for the Recori FFA team's presentation.