Creating Value from Residues: Agrofirma Tērvete’s Closed-Loop Biogas and Farming System
Entity: Agrofirma Tērvete
Country: LV
Website: https://www.tervete.lv
Agrofirma Tērvete, one of Latvia’s most diversified agricultural companies, demonstrates how industrial symbiosis can be successfully applied in agriculture by integrating livestock farming, crop cultivation, and biogas energy production. By closing both nutrient and energy loops, the company transforms manure and agricultural residues into renewable energy and organic fertilisers, creating a circular system that improves environmental performance while strengthening operational efficiency and resilience.
Agrofirma Tērvete operates across several sectors, including dairy farming, crop production, and beverage manufacturing. This wide range of activities generates large volumes of manure and biomass residues, which traditionally present logistical, environmental, and regulatory challenges. The company needed sustainable solutions for managing and valorising these materials, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, improving energy self-sufficiency, and enhancing soil fertility without relying heavily on synthetic fertilisers. At the same time, compliance with EU environmental and climate regulations was an important driver for change.
The company’s solution is built around an integrated biogas system. Manure from dairy operations and biomass residues from crop production are collected and fed into a biogas plant, where anaerobic digestion produces biogas. This biogas is then used to generate electricity and heat, creating renewable energy directly from agricultural byproducts that would otherwise require costly management.
Energy integration is a central element of this closed-loop model. The electricity and heat produced from biogas are used to power Agrofirma Tērvete’s farm operations and to supply local district heating systems. This significantly reduces reliance on fossil fuels, stabilises energy costs, and increases the farm’s overall energy security.
Another key component of the system is the use of digestate, the nutrient-rich byproduct of the biogas process. Instead of being treated as waste, digestate is applied back onto agricultural fields as an organic fertiliser. This practice closes the nutrient loop, improves soil structure and fertility, supports biodiversity, and reduces the need for synthetic fertilisers, which are energy-intensive to produce and can negatively impact ecosystems.
The impacts of Agrofirma Tērvete’s circular approach are environmental, economic, and social. Environmentally, the system lowers greenhouse gas emissions, reduces synthetic fertiliser use, and improves soil health. In terms of energy security, the company achieves self-sufficiency in electricity and thermal energy for its operations while contributing renewable energy to local heating networks. Operationally, closed-loop resource use reduces input costs, waste management expenses, and increases overall productivity. From a regulatory perspective, the model supports compliance with EU environmental standards and enables access to renewable energy incentives. At the community level, the system strengthens local energy infrastructure and serves as a practical example of sustainable rural development.
Key lessons from the Agrofirma Tērvete case highlight the resilience benefits of circular agriculture. Integrated biogas systems can stabilise farm economics while reducing environmental pressures. Closing nutrient loops through the use of organic digestate improves soil health and lowers dependence on chemical fertilisers. The case also shows that symbiotic systems are scalable and adaptable to different farm sizes with appropriate investment. Finally, connecting energy, waste, and food production systems can drive innovation and deliver high-impact sustainability outcomes.
Agrofirma Tērvete operates across several sectors, including dairy farming, crop production, and beverage manufacturing. This wide range of activities generates large volumes of manure and biomass residues, which traditionally present logistical, environmental, and regulatory challenges. The company needed sustainable solutions for managing and valorising these materials, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, improving energy self-sufficiency, and enhancing soil fertility without relying heavily on synthetic fertilisers. At the same time, compliance with EU environmental and climate regulations was an important driver for change.
The company’s solution is built around an integrated biogas system. Manure from dairy operations and biomass residues from crop production are collected and fed into a biogas plant, where anaerobic digestion produces biogas. This biogas is then used to generate electricity and heat, creating renewable energy directly from agricultural byproducts that would otherwise require costly management.
Energy integration is a central element of this closed-loop model. The electricity and heat produced from biogas are used to power Agrofirma Tērvete’s farm operations and to supply local district heating systems. This significantly reduces reliance on fossil fuels, stabilises energy costs, and increases the farm’s overall energy security.
Another key component of the system is the use of digestate, the nutrient-rich byproduct of the biogas process. Instead of being treated as waste, digestate is applied back onto agricultural fields as an organic fertiliser. This practice closes the nutrient loop, improves soil structure and fertility, supports biodiversity, and reduces the need for synthetic fertilisers, which are energy-intensive to produce and can negatively impact ecosystems.
The impacts of Agrofirma Tērvete’s circular approach are environmental, economic, and social. Environmentally, the system lowers greenhouse gas emissions, reduces synthetic fertiliser use, and improves soil health. In terms of energy security, the company achieves self-sufficiency in electricity and thermal energy for its operations while contributing renewable energy to local heating networks. Operationally, closed-loop resource use reduces input costs, waste management expenses, and increases overall productivity. From a regulatory perspective, the model supports compliance with EU environmental standards and enables access to renewable energy incentives. At the community level, the system strengthens local energy infrastructure and serves as a practical example of sustainable rural development.
Key lessons from the Agrofirma Tērvete case highlight the resilience benefits of circular agriculture. Integrated biogas systems can stabilise farm economics while reducing environmental pressures. Closing nutrient loops through the use of organic digestate improves soil health and lowers dependence on chemical fertilisers. The case also shows that symbiotic systems are scalable and adaptable to different farm sizes with appropriate investment. Finally, connecting energy, waste, and food production systems can drive innovation and deliver high-impact sustainability outcomes.
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