Exeter Agri-Energy (EAE) brings innovative technology to the rich traditions of the New England dairy farm. We are a renewable energy company that converts animal and food waste into heat and electricity, as well as other environmentally responsible products. Our business model uses collaborative techniques to meet the challenges of organic waste disposal, energy production, and enhanced nutrient management practice.

In late 2011, EAE finished building an anaerobic digestion system at Stonyvale Farm in Exeter, Maine, the most advanced and versatile of its kind in northern New England. The facility uses cow manure and off-farm organic waste from a variety of sources to produce biogas, a combination of methane and carbon dioxide. The combustion of the biogas is how we generate electricity and heat. Meanwhile, related systems integral to the combustion process also produce organic fertilizer, organic soil additives, and healthy, comfortable animal bedding.

Exeter Agri-Energy (EAE) is a subsidiary of Stonyvale Farm, a 5th generation family farm in Exeter, Maine. In 1999, family members made a deliberate decision to expand the farm and upgrade technology.

Today, the farm has about 1,000 milking cows, and the quality of milk that the herd produces is excellent. The herd averages 3.6% fat and 3.1% protein milk daily, with a somatic cell count of less than 200,000. Herd production is outstanding, with a 29% pregnancy rate and a 12.7-month calving interval. Stonyvale Farm ships its milk to Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), and from there it arrives in the kitchens of New England families as wholesome Hood and Garelik Farms dairy products.

This success is no accident. Family members who manage the farm have an impressive commitment to educational excellence, and nearly all have practical science degrees. Higher learning and astute implementation strategies are the keys to the success of Stonyvale Farm, and EAE’s anaerobic digestion system.