Dairy farmers’ sustainable practices are coming more into focus as consumers pay
more attention to a product’s carbon footprint.
Participants in a panel discussion at the 2024 Dairy Strong conference last month spoke about changes
in customer expectations and how that’s driving dairy supply chain stakeholders to work more closely
together along the route from the farm to the fridge.
Producers are part of a large supply chain that also includes processors and food manufacturers. As the
go-between farmers and manufacturers, dairy processors are doing what they can to help dairies be
more sustainable, said Holly Jones, director of global sustainability for Agropur.
“We hear from our customers (food manufacturers) that they want decreased greenhouse gases
throughout the process, starting with the producer,” she said. “The majority of farmers are open to
sustainability initiatives and many farms are already carbon neutral.”
Customers are asking processors for more information about a farm’s carbon footprint — how it is being
measured and what steps can be taken to lower it, Jones said.
“The major food manufacturers, such as Nestle or Mars, are looking at the entire process their products
go through and are concerned about the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere since
that’s a question their consumers are asking about,” she said.
The good news is that farmers are interested in sustainability, said Evan Grong, dairy ingredients sales
manager for Valley Queen Cheese Factory in Milbank, South Dakota. When customers reach out about
projects to improve sustainability, the overall dialog has been good, he said.
“Farmers care about their land and keeping the soil healthy and the water clean,” he said.
Valley Queen uses the Farm Environmental Management Systems (EMS) model to measure a dairy’s
carbon footprint, but it’s not exact, Grong said.
“They are looking at a new formula but the key is to find the right balance. You want to gather
meaningful data, but you don’t want to overwhelm the producers,” he said.
EMS metrics look at how much water a farm uses, what happens to animal waste and other farm
activities, such as the use of cover crops or no-till practices.
Large food manufacturers seek to benefit from farmers’ carbon credits
As large companies are mindful of their carbon footprint, many are interested in purchasing carbon
credits or offsetting their carbon output by supporting projects that reduce, avoid or remove emissions
elsewhere. In the food industry, manufacturers are turning to the producers in their supply chains.
Farmers using no-till farming methods, planting cover crops or adopting other sustainable farming
methods improve soil health and better trap the carbon dioxide that plants draw out of the air and trap
it in the soil. That’s called a carbon offset — an activity that prevents the emission of greenhouse gas
into the air that would otherwise be emitted. Carbon credits are created from carbon offsets.
Large food manufacturers seek to benefit from farmers’ carbon credits and turn to processors, like
Agropur and Valley Queen, for help. Jones said the companies have roadmaps of where they want to go
regarding their carbon footprint and ask Agropur to help farmers reach different carbon offset goals
through special projects.
“That’s not something we are used to. Many farmers don’t have projects lined up that they want to try
so we provide them with a menu of options they can pursue,” said Jones, adding that food
manufacturers often have grants available to fund projects.
Grong said Valley Queen, in collaboration with Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, conducted a pilot on two
dairy farms to measure a crop’s carbon footprint from when the seed is first put in the ground to when
milk arrives at its processing plant.
Jones said carbon markets are beginning to pop up in the dairy industry and that she is trying to learn as
much as she can. She said an eventual goal for some farmers would be to remove enough carbon from
the air that they can become another source of revenue for farms.
An example would be a farm that uses a biodigester to send biogas to a pipeline and then sell those
credits, Grong said.
“Carbon credits are a commodity that can be bought and sold. Change is coming fast. The goal for us is
to get a seat at the table for our producers,” he said.
This year’s Dairy Strong conference brought more than 400 attendees, representing over 280,000 cows,
and industry professionals to the KI Convention Center.
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