LISBON -- A Lisbon farm has received a $400,000 grant to help turn manure into electricity.

Woodcrest Dairy, which is co-owned by Peter R. Braun and Robert Cruikshank, will receive a $403,627 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase an anaerobic digester. The device will generate renewable electricity to run the farm using animal waste.

It is expected to generate enough electricity to power their more than 2,700 cow dairy farm and potentially add power back onto the grid.

“Rural farms often have difficulty accessing efficient sources of power, and that’s exactly the problem this grant will go towards solving,” U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, who helped secure the grant said. “The bio-gas digester that Woodcrest plans to purchase will not only power their whole farm, but it may generate enough electricity to add to the overall grid. It’s a win-win for the farm and the surrounding community who will have a new source of efficient and clean power generation.”

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was also supportive of the federal investment.

“This is an important investment for Woodcrest Dairy and St. Lawrence County,” she said. “These federal resources for a new biogas digester can help the farm generate clean, sustainable energy for itself and other local businesses, while helping to protect our environment, and strengthen our local economy.”

The grant stemmed from the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program, which assist farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses in developing renewable energy systems, and in making energy-efficiency improvements to their operations.