The smell of manure may soon be a thing of the past after the town of Lincoln approved plans for gas compression plant at Kinnard Farms in Casco earlier this week. The town’s plan commission and the board met several times over the last few weeks with members of the public and the Kinnard family to straighten out the details involved with the facility. The farm is partnering with Kewaunee Renewables to run the manure from its 8,000-plus cow dairy through digesters so methane gas can be captured. Its success could mean big money for the two entities because of the lucrative markets for natural gas already established in California. Owner Lee Kinnard says there are benefits to the project local residents will be able to smell.

The four digesters and gas compression plant will also open the door to new technology down the road that would remove most of the water from the manure to be recycled. Kinnard hopes to be able to break ground on the project after the holiday weekend with hopes it will be operational by the beginning of 2020.