Settje Agri-Services & Engineering Helps Bring First-of-Its-Kind Renewable Natural Gas Facility to Life at Adams Land & Cattle

Groundbreaking marks a major engineering milestone for renewable energy production at an open feedlot

BROKEN BOW, Neb. — August 26, 2026 — Settje Agri-Services & Engineering joined project partners Wednesday at Adams Land & Cattle in Broken Bow, Nebraska, to mark the groundbreaking of a first-of-its-kind agricultural renewable natural gas (RNG) facility designed to convert manure from an open cattle feedlot into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas using anaerobic digestion (AD).

Settje is serving as engineer of record and general contractor for the project, leading engineering and design from preliminary development through final Issued for Construction design while coordinating construction of the site. The firm’s multidisciplinary scope spans agricultural, site civil, process mechanical, electrical and controls, structural and utility engineering, along with agronomic mass-balance and process-flow confirmation and coordination among the project owner, engineering team and equipment vendors.

The project presents an engineering challenge long associated with open-lot cattle production: collecting manure in a form suitable for anaerobic digestion. Unlike dairy and deep-pit livestock systems, traditional open feedlots can introduce soil and other material into the manure stream during collection. At Adams Land & Cattle, the conversion of dirt pens to Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) creates a cleaner, more consistent manure stream and provides the foundation for integrating the feedlot’s manure collection practices with the new anaerobic digestion (AD) facility.

Working collaboratively with Neogenyx Fuels, a company forged by Ameresco (NYSE: AMRC) and HASI (NYSE: HASI), and Adams Land & Cattle, Settje developed a fit-for-purpose pretreatment system to receive incoming feedlot manure and designed a digestate management system that separates effluent into liquid and solid products. The team also developed operational plans for land application of digestate as fertilizer at agronomic rates.

“This project represents the kind of challenge that moves our industry forward. Bringing renewable natural gas production to an open feedlot requires far more than installing digesters — it requires rethinking how manure is collected, handled and integrated into the entire operation. The amount of engineering and collaboration required to bring this concept to life is a testament to every organization involved, and we are proud of the role Settje has played in helping make it possible.”
— Dean Settje, CEO, Settje Agri-Services & Engineering

The Neogenyx Fuels-owned facility is planned to utilize eight anaerobic digesters generating more than 4,400 standard cubic feet per minute of biogas. That biogas will be upgraded into approximately 1.2 million MMBtu per year of pipeline-quality RNG for injection into the local natural gas system.  RNG produced from cattle manure will be indistinguishable from RNG produced from traditional sources. Project partners expect the facility to avoid up to approximately 63,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Settje has also led development and submittal of state permit application packages for air quality and industrial wastewater, navigated local permitting requirements and facilitated local approval processes. The work reflects Settje’s integrated approach to livestock development, bringing engineering, construction, environmental compliance and emerging technologies together within a single project team.

“The AD system at Adams touches nearly every aspect of the operation, so designing it has required a true systems approach. Open-feedlot manure presents a different set of challenges than traditional dairy applications, from variations in the manure stream to contaminants introduced during collection. RCC pen surfaces play an important role in addressing those challenges and are a significant part of what makes this project possible.”
— Andrew Wedel, P.E., Director of Innovation and Sustainability, Settje Agri-Services & Engineering

For Settje, the project builds on nearly 30 years of work in livestock facility design, engineering, construction and environmental management while advancing a new application of those capabilities. The groundbreaking reflects the company’s continued focus on developing practical technologies that improve livestock operations and help define what is possible for the next generation of cattle production.

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About Settje Agri-Services & Engineering, Inc.

Settje Agri-Services & Engineering is a leading design-build partner for the livestock industry, providing integrated engineering, construction, environmental compliance, manure management and agricultural innovation services. By bringing technology, design, construction and regulatory expertise together under one team, Settje develops practical, forward-looking systems that help livestock producers improve performance, manage resources and prepare their operations for the future. For more information, visit Settje.com.