We've all heard about how some dairy farms generate their own power by extracting methane from cow manure. Now, researchers are studying ways to generate energy from a bit farther down the dairy chain.

A researcher in Syracuse, N.Y., has won a $400,000 grant to find out if ethanol can be made out of whey, according to a report in the Times-Picayune out of New Orleans. The year-long experiment is a joint effort of Corning Inc., the Hilliard Corp. and various departments of New York's state university system. The financing is coming from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the whey will be provided by Kraft's Lowville, N.Y., cream cheese operation.

While this is a first in the United States, apparently ethanol is already being made from cheese Down Under. New Zealand's Gull Petroleum recently started selling a blend of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent whey-based ethanol, according to the T-P report.

The potential for this technology is huge. Not only does it create yet another revenue stream for a former waste product that has become a widely lucrative global industry, but it puts dairy on the right side of the "green" wave that's sweeping the nation. Maybe cheese processors could even start fueling their truck fleets with whey-based ethanol they produce on site.

After being told that flatulent dairy cows are helping to destroy the environment, perhaps this is exactly the kind of "carbon offset" that our industry needs.

- J.D.