Commercial Deployment
Commercial Dairy Farm Nutrient Recovery
Multi-year commercial farm deployment converting liquid dairy manure digestate into organic fertilizer and treated liquid outputs.
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Featured Projects
Project Deployments. Field Validation. Waste-to-Value Milestones.
Selected GSR work across dairy farms, digesters, utilities, agriscience, food and beverage residuals, and energy-linked resource-recovery pathways.
Deployed
Farm and waste-to-value project experience
Commercial
On-farm nutrient recovery to fertilizer deployment
99%+
N and P recovery potential under defined conditions
Project Portfolio
Selected project pathways
These projects show how GSR technology connects nutrient recovery, fertilizer production, water-quality goals, project economics, and broader resource-recovery opportunities.
Utility Partnership
Power Utility Digester Partnership
Utility-supported feasibility and follow-on implementation pathway connecting farm digesters with nutrient-management value.
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Early Farm Pilot
Dairy Farm Waste-to-Value Demonstration
USDA-supported feasibility-stage work that advanced into a farm pilot for fertilizer and alternative fuel co-product pathways.
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Agriscience
Fertilizer and Field Validation
USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant-supported work linking recovered nutrients with crop performance and nutrient stewardship.
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Energy-Linked Pathway
Farm-to-Fly
USDA-supported work connecting dairy waste, anaerobic digestion, renewable fuels, fertilizer value, and co-product opportunities.
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Food & Beverage
Brewery Wastewater Pilot
SBIR-supported brewery wastewater pilot evaluating nutrient recovery, fertilizer outputs, recycled water, and water-quality value.
View pilot →Commercial On-Farm Deployment
Commercial nutrient recovery from dairy digestate
Multi-year commercial farm deployment converting liquid dairy manure digestate into recovered fertilizer and treated liquid outputs.
At Green Mountain Dairy in Vermont, GSR’s nutrient recovery platform has operated under real farm and digester conditions since 2021. The project shows how dairy digestate can be converted into fertilizer value while supporting water-quality and farm-sustainability goals. The project also included ClearFlow™ water-polishing work alongside the longer-running AD BOLT™ and BOLT Harvest™ deployment.
The project also demonstrated flexibility beyond a single host site, including treatment of digestate from a second digester-based dairy operation.
Site type
Dairy farm with anaerobic digester
Waste stream
Liquid dairy manure digestate
GSR pathway
GSR AD BOLT™ / BOLT Harvest™ / ClearFlow™
Status
Multi-year commercial farm deployment since 2021
On converting farm digester effluent into market-ready organic fertilizer:
“GSR Solutions has developed innovative manure-to-fertilizer technology which removes nutrients from the farm's waste stream and turns the effluent into organic fertilizer. This technology would allow farmers to allocate these nutrients to more remote fields without transporting the entire volume of liquid. This increases the potential of improving water quality. GSR’s technology has been in operation on my farm since 2021, which has proven that the system works here. Now it is time to expand to a larger commercial scale to utilize a larger volume of our effluent to improve the product availability of organic fertilizer”
— Brian Rowell, owner of Green Mountain Dairy Farm | Source: Agriculture Industry Today, May 21, 2025
Commercial on-farm nutrient recovery deployment at Green Mountain Dairy Farm.
Project Significance
Commercial validation under real farm conditions
Green Mountain Dairy provided a real-world commercial setting for GSR’s nutrient recovery platform, with liquid dairy manure digestate treated under active farm and digester operating conditions.
The project demonstrated how captured nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic value can be routed into commercial-grade organic fertilizer products while reducing nutrients in the remaining liquid fraction.
The deployment also helped validate GSR’s broader farm and digester pathway, including treatment of digestate from a second digester-based dairy operation.
Green Mountain Dairy Farm, Vermont project site.
2021
Commercial on-farm operation began
95%+
Stage 1 nutrient capture reported under defined conditions
99%+
Stage 2 nutrient capture potential reported under defined conditions
Retail
Commercial-grade certified organic fertilizers sold in the retail market
Before-and-after water samples from the GSR AD BOLT™ system implemented at the farm’s digester site.
Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts with fertilizer products displayed from the project.
State perspective:
“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.”
— Anson Tebbetts, Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Food, and Markets; Source: VermontBiz, February 9, 2023On clean water and nutrient separation:
“It is understood that clean water is of importance to everyone. GSR Solutions has developed a process that separates phosphorus and nitrogen from the farm waste stream, thereby reducing the nutrients of the liquid effluent to a small fraction of its original content and converting them into marketable organic fertilizer.”
— Bill Rowell, Green Mountain Dairy Farm | Source: Agriculture Industry Today, February 11, 2026Public-Sector and Community Support
Farm, conservation, state, federal, and local support
The project drew support from farm, conservation, state, federal, and local economic-development stakeholders because it connected a practical dairy challenge with nutrient recovery, fertilizer value, and water-quality goals.
USDA Rural Development highlighted the project as a whole-systems approach to converting wastewater into agricultural fertilizer, while USDA-NRCS described nutrient recovery demonstrations as tools that can expand conservation planning options for farms.
Vermont agriculture and local development leaders also noted the project’s relevance for reducing phosphorus runoff, supporting rural community development, and converting nutrient waste into value-added products.
USDA officials and project stakeholders at the Green Mountain Dairy project site.
Utility-Supported Digester Pathway
Power utility partnership for digester nutrient recovery
Utility-supported feasibility and implementation pathway connecting farm digesters with nutrient recovery, water-quality value, and broader resource-recovery goals.
This project connected utility-backed digester infrastructure with nutrient management, phosphorus-reduction potential, and broader resource-recovery value. It helped establish a practical pathway for applying GSR technology to digester operations beyond energy generation alone.
Site type
Utility-supported anaerobic digester network project
Waste stream
Farm digester effluent
GSR pathway
GSR AD BOLT™ digester pathway
Status
Feasibility completed with follow-on farm implementation
On GSR’s technology for recovering value from manure digester streams:
“(It) Can kick the butt out of phosphorus”
— Mary Powell, President & CEO, Green Mountain Power | Source: Burlington Free Press, 2015“Green Mountain Power has an agreement with Burlington-based GSR Solutions to pursue ways to add small refineries of biodiesel and even jet fuel to manure digesters that generate power.” Powell said her company was offering GSR technical support, as well as a template for scaling up to larger production.
Utility-supported digester nutrient recovery project context.
Why This Project Matters
From feasibility to follow-on implementation
The partnership established feasibility for applying GSR technology across digester configurations, from single-farm digesters to larger community-scale systems where a central digester hub could receive manure from multiple dairy farms.
The project also showed that anaerobic digesters generating electricity could do more than produce renewable power alone. It positioned nutrient management as an integral part of digester infrastructure.
The project completed feasibility work in 2018 for implementing GSR technology to treat and manage digestate nutrients, then moved into follow-on implementation and collaboration with Cow Power farm partners.
Green Mountain Power, GSR Solutions leadership, farm representatives, and project participants at a Vermont press event.
Early Dairy Farm Demonstration
Dairy farm waste-to-value demonstration project
USDA-supported feasibility-stage work that advanced into a farm pilot focused on fertilizer and alternative fuel co-product pathways.
This USDA-supported feasibility-stage project advanced into a farm pilot focused on converting manure effluent into higher-value fuel and fertilizer pathways. It helped shape GSR’s later focus on manure-to-fertilizer production and commercial farm deployment.
Site type
Dairy farm with anaerobic digester
Waste stream
Dairy manure digestate
GSR pathway
GSR AD BOLT™ / fertilizer and fuel pathways
Status
Feasibility-stage project advanced to farm pilot
On converting dairy farm manure into fertilizer and fuel pathways:
“We've always known that Vermont farms and Vermont dairy farms make some of the best milk in the world. But did any of us ever know that these same cows can produce fuel oil (using GSR technology)?”
— Ted Brady, Vermont director for rural development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture | Source: Vermont Public News, July, 2014
Dairy farm waste-to-value demonstration project.
Project Significance
From proof of concept to scalable project vision
Vermont Public News coverage in 2014 described this as a USDA-supported feasibility-stage effort in Charlotte, Vermont, where farm waste was used in a demonstration tied to alternative fuel production and broader waste-to-value potential.
The project stood out because it showed how a dairy farm could become more than a manure-management site, linking digester resources with fuel, fertilizer, nutrient-management, and added revenue opportunities.
“We make a huge amount of manure in this state which goes along with our dense population of dairy cows. To efficiently use that resource for energy and fertilizer is a whole new income stream.”
— Clark Hinsdale, owner of Nordic Farms
Located near a highway and two sensitive watersheds, the dairy farm site offered a practical setting for early waste-to-value demonstration work.
Why It Drew Attention
Manure management, renewable fuel, fertilizer value, and farm economics
The project drew attention because it connected manure management, renewable fuel, fertilizer value, digester integration, and water-quality relevance.
“This is an important first step. And that’s what we’re interested in at USDA, is proving out the concept, taking small steps forward to optimizing systems.”
— Todd Campbell, USDA; Vermont Public NewsThe pilot showed promise, but before the project could move into its next phase, the farm was hit by difficult milk-market conditions. That outcome reinforced the importance of technologies that can help farms create additional value streams beyond milk alone.
USDA leadership, Vermont fuel-oil stakeholder leadership, and GSR Solutions leadership speak at a farm press conference.
Agriscience and Field Validation
Recovered nutrients connected to crop performance
USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant-supported work connecting recovered nutrients with field validation, fertilizer product development, and soil stewardship.
GSR’s agriscience conservation work grew from fertilizer-development efforts into repeated independent field validation and product development tied to farm economics, soil health, crop performance, and water stewardship.
This continuing project grew out of GSR’s fertilizer-development work, which began in 2017 and expanded into independent field trials supported by the USDA Conservation Innovation program and conducted in collaboration with a leading University Extension program in Vermont.
Site type
Agriscience and conservation validation project
Waste stream
Recovered farm-derived nutrient inputs
GSR pathway
GSR BOLT Harvest™ / Agriscience platform
Support
USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant-supported work
On GSR’s nutrient recovery technology for farm conservation and regenerative fertilizer pathways:
“In order to reach our conservation goals, we need new and innovative technology ideas such as GSR-AD-BOLT TM 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.”
— Travis Thomason, USDA Natural Resources Conservation State Conservationist for Vermont | Source: Vermont Business Magazine, Sep., 2023
Agriscience and conservation validation project field context.
What the Project Demonstrated
External field testing across commodity and specialty crops
What made this project important was its emphasis on moving beyond nutrient recovery alone and into real agronomic field testing with external partners, including University Extension-led trials in the Northeast.
Across multiple field evaluations, the project showed repeatable performance of GSR fertilizers across both commodity and specialty crops, along with lower nitrate-loss outcomes in selected comparisons.
Lead agronomist guides participants through the field-trial plots during the project field day, highlighting crop-performance comparisons and nutrient-management observations.
+14.2%
Corn yield improvement vs untreated control
+11.4 bu/ac
Corn gain vs leading organic fertilizer under equal-N conditions
~45%
Less nitrate release in corn comparisons
56-68%
Lower late-season residual soil nitrate in cabbage results
Selected Validation Highlights
Multiple crops, repeated field signals
Independent Extension-led field work helped connect recovered nutrient products with crop-performance and nutrient-stewardship outcomes across both commodity and specialty crops.
Corn
Yield and nitrate-release results
University Extension-led field trial results reported +14.2% yield vs untreated, +11.4 bu/ac vs a leading organic commercial fertilizer under equal-N conditions, and about 45% less nitrate release.
Tomato
Specialty crop performance
University Extension-led field trial results reported yield gains of +39% vs a commercial organic brand, +61% vs urea, and +93% vs hemp seed meal.
Cabbage
Yield and residual nitrate
University Extension-led field trial results reported about a 4% fresh-yield advantage and 56-68% lower late-season residual soil nitrate.
Follow-on validation also included beets, green beans, and lettuce, helping extend the agriscience effort beyond a single crop or season.
USDA-Supported Energy-Linked Work
Farm-to-Fly and fuel-linked pathways
GSR’s Vermont Farm-to-Fly project connected dairy farm waste, anaerobic digestion, renewable fuels, fertilizer value, and co-product opportunities.
GSR’s Vermont Farm-to-Fly project was an early Farm to Fly 2.0 state initiative focused on the potential to convert dairy farm waste into renewable fuels and higher-value co-products.
The project based on GSR waste-to-jet-fuel technology connected dairy and anaerobic digestion resources to a broader national effort aimed at building commercially viable sustainable aviation fuel supply chains while creating added value from agricultural waste streams.
GSR brings this experience to similar waste-to-value, biomass, and fuel-linked opportunities through project collaboration, technical support, and technology licensing.
Site type
Farm-to-fuel and co-product initiative
Waste stream
Dairy farm waste and digester-linked residuals
Status
Early Vermont Farm to Fly 2.0 state initiative
Value
Fuel relevance, farm value creation, and nutrient-management support
On GSR’s farm-waste pathway for alternative fuel and co-products:
“The impacts of this project could have regional and national significance (for) producing renewable, bio-based fuel on the farm from farm waste”
— Todd Campbell, Energy Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture | Source: NBC5 News, 2014On compatibility with existing infrastructure:
“We've established this product does work with existing infrastructure. The question now is: Can we drive down the costs? Are we there yet? No. Can we be there in 5-10 years? We hope so.”
— Matt Cota, executive director of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association | Source: NBC5 News, 2014
Farm-to-Fly and fuel-linked project pathway.
National Context
GSR leadership presented the Vermont Farm-to-Fly project at the national CAAFI General Meeting
GSR leadership presented the Vermont Farm-to-Fly project at the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) Bi-Annual Meeting during the 2014 CAAFI General Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Farm to Fly began in 2010 as a national collaboration launched by USDA, Airlines for America, and Boeing to help accelerate a commercially viable and sustainable U.S. aviation biofuel industry.
Within Farm to Fly 2.0, Vermont was identified as one of the early named state initiatives. The Vermont effort focused on integrating anaerobic digesters to process dairy farm waste into fuels and value-added outputs.
Photo Courtesy - CAAFI
Why This Project Matters
National sustainable aviation fuel relevance
This project’s significance was national in nature, not just statewide. GSR’s Vermont work was part of a broader U.S. Farm to Fly 2.0 effort designed to help build regional and national sustainable aviation fuel supply chains.
The Vermont project demonstrated how GSR technology made it possible for a dairy-based waste stream to be positioned within a national aviation-fuels initiative while also creating value through co-products and environmental benefits.
Farm to Fly 2.0 final report was published in September 2019. The project remains important as part of the early national groundwork for sustainable aviation fuel supply-chain development.
Photo Courtesy - GSR Solutions
Food and Beverage Wastewater
Brewery wastewater nutrient recovery pilot
SBIR-supported pilot work evaluating nutrient recovery, fertilizer outputs, recycled water, and resource-recovery value from brewery wastewater.
GSR’s food and beverage pilot began as a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)-supported pilot project focused on brewery wastewater, nutrient recovery, and value-added reuse.
The pilot included collaboration with the Vermont Brewers Association, local brewery partners Fiddlehead Brewing Co. and Magic Hat Brewing Co., a brewery located in a sensitive watershed near Lake Champlain.
Site type
Food and beverage wastewater pilot
Waste stream
Nutrient-rich brewery wastewater
GSR pathway
GSR BOLT FLO™ / resource recovery pathway
Reported result
97% to 99% BOD reduction in tested brewery wastewater
On GSR’s brewery and farm waste pathway for fertilizer, water, and resource recovery:
“The industry standard right now is about six to one. For every barrel of beer — 31 gallons — there are six barrels of waste. We have a lot of trouble getting rid of liquid waste. When we were approached about this project, we thought it was a great opportunity to turn our waste into something useful.”
— Matt Cohen, owner of Fiddlehead Brewing Co. | Source: Burlington Free Press, October 1, 2013
Brewery wastewater nutrient recovery pilot.
Pilot Context
From brewery wastewater to recovery and reuse
The pilot confirmed environmental and economic benefits for brewery wastewater treatment and reuse. GSR’s process captured nutrients from the brewery wastewater and converted recovered material into fertilizer.
Testing also demonstrated a 97% to 99% reduction in biochemical oxygen demand in the brewery wastewater tested, showing strong potential to reduce the treatment burden associated with high-strength food and beverage wastewater.
In addition to fertilizer recovery, the project evaluated crude oil as a potential liquid-fuel value-added pathway, expanding the project’s relevance beyond nutrient recovery alone.
GSR team collecting brewery wastewater from Magic Hat brewery partner site for pilot testing and nutrient recovery evaluation.
Bridge to Farm and Digester Work
Connecting food and beverage residuals with farm-based digestion
Magic Hat Brewing Co. routed its waste to a digester adjacent to the brewery. The brewery pilot helped establish a foundation for GSR’s follow-up work connecting food and beverage residuals with farm-based anaerobic digestion and nutrient recovery.
The brewery wastewater pilot was an early demonstration of GSR’s platform outside a traditional farm-only setting. It showed that food and beverage processors, breweries, digesters, and farms can be connected through a practical waste-to-value model.
Brewery waste used in the pilot project.
Start a Project Discussion
Have a farm, digester, processor, utility, or nutrient-rich waste stream?
Tell GSR about your site, waste stream, project goal, or partnership interest. The team can help evaluate nutrient recovery, fertilizer production, recycled water, agriscience, and waste-to-value pathways.