Brent Verwey - Carmel Valley, CA
Brent Verwey is the third generation of Carmel Valley farmers. He took over the family farm, Verwey Farms, in 2003. The farm is located in Carmel Valley, CA and grows a variety of crops including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and corn.
Brent is passionate about sustainable farming practices and is always looking for ways to reduce the farm's impact on the environment. He has implemented a number of practices that have helped the farm reduce its water usage, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to running the farm, Brent is also involved in Carmel Valley community activities. He is a member of the Carmel Valley Chamber of Commerce and Carmel Valley Rotary Club. He also volunteers his time to Carmel Valley schools and youth sports programs.
Brent is committed to Carmel Valley and its agricultural heritage. He is always looking for ways to improve the Carmel Valley community and make it a better place to live, work, and play.
Brent Verwey is a Carmel Valley, CA based farmer and the owner of Verwey Farms. Brent has been farming for over 10 years and has developed a strong passion for it.
Brent's farm is located in the heart of Carmel Valley and specializes in growing organic fruits and vegetables. The farm is committed to sustainable practices and is always exploring new ways to reduce its impact on the environment.
In addition to running his farm, Brent is also heavily involved in the Carmel Valley community. He is a member of the Carmel Valley Chamber of Commerce and Carmel Valley Rotary Club. He also serves on the Carmel Valley Planning Commission.
Brent's goal is to continue to grow Verwey Farms into a thriving business while also giving back to the Carmel Valley community.
The vision for Aligned Digesters was born in the heart of Brent Verwey as he searched for a way to help support the dairy business of his father, Mr. Philip Verwey. As the son of a dairy owner, Brent, is personally familiar with the struggles that dairy owners face while attempting to run a dairy and maintain a consistent revenue stream.
After learning about the benefits and opportunities available with anaerobic digesters, Brent constructed anaerobic digesters on his father’s farm and added an additional source of revenue to his father’s existing dairy operation. Buoyed by the success of the anaerobic digesters on his father’s dairy farms, Brent studied and travelled to anaerobic digesters all over the world so he could perfect the anaerobic digester’s design. Once Brent had perfected his design for anaerobic digesters, he started Aligned Digesters.
Philip Verwey Farms’ diesel-to-electric conversion was one of 56 funding applications—and the only dairy-related project—to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s Technology Advancement Program. His idea: Rather than blending feed ingredients for his cows in a mixing wagon powered by a diesel tractor, he would blend using an electric stationary mixer. This change significantly reduced the amount of run time by his diesel engines, lowering diesel consumption by 71 percent per month. “In addition to being good for the environment, the change provided other positive benefits,” Verwey said. “The texture and composition of the feed improved, which is good for our cows.” Verwey’s idea reduced oxides of nitrogen emissions by 90 percent, providing the inspiration and model for other dairy farmers to take similar action to improve air quality. “The air district saw the success of our project,” Verwey said. “That led to an expanded program that will fund up to 75 percent of the cost of future conversions to electric mixers for dairy feed.” To date, 15 California dairy farms have submitted applications to the program and four are under contract to begin converting their feed mixers to electricity.