practices needed for

Mark Crave

“Climate-smart agriculture” is more than the next buzzword. It’s a necessary commitment that makes sense for farmers from economic, environmental and social standpoints. According to data from Information Resources Inc., 77 percent of consumers believe sustainability is important when selecting products to purchase. That means we need to ensure our Wisconsin sustainability stories are told.

A collective voice is essential.

As a Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin board member, I believe connecting with consumers opens the door for dairy farmers to tell their stories in multiple ways. It also opens the doors to important constituents including consumers, media, buyers, exports and more. Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is working with local media to help dairy farmers share their environmental-sustainability stories with consumers, meeting them where they are and making connections. One example occurs during National Dairy Month when Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin helps dairy farmers share their stories and bring consumers to farms where they can see what’s happening. Last year more than 45 Wisconsin farm families were featured on news stations telling their dairy-forward stories, reaching more than 8 million people in the state and beyond.

As my fellow presenters at the Wisconsin Agricultural Outlook Forum on “Climate Smart Dairy in Wisconsin” recently shared, our industry must work to understand the science behind our changing climate. We need to explore practical adaptations and mitigations. Consumers are expecting it and our planet depends upon it.

In many ways climate-smart dairy is already aligned with best management practices. Farmers are always looking to increase productivity and farm returns, and to improve efficiencies. Climate-smart processes are aimed at creating more-resilient systems that result in reduced emissions as well as benefit water and soil health. And there’s a financial upside. Sustainably marketed products grew 2.7 times faster in their categories from 2015 to 2021, according to research from the New York University-Stern Center for Sustainable Business.

As a conference presenter and participant I had the privilege of sharing our family’s experience putting climate-smart dairy practices in place. I learned a great deal about why and how our industry can prepare for the future.

On our second-generation family farm and at our cheese plant we began adopting climate-smart practices long before we’d heard that terminology. We’re a multifaceted operation constantly exploring synergies across our lines of work. It made sense to consider how we can tighten the loop that connects our crops, cows, cheese and consumers. It’s a more-responsible approach to production and consumption plus it often creates cost-savings and inspires brand loyalty.

Listed are a few of the ways we have integrated sustainability into our approach and some of the advances dairy-industry innovators see on the horizon.

One of the best stories in animal agriculture right now is the use of byproducts and co-products as feedstuffs. We’re diverting 10,000 tons per year of leftover brewer’s grain, corn-gluten feed, whole cottonseed and malt sprouts from the landfill to feed our livestock a nutritious diet. Who doesn’t love a win-win collaboration with our friends in Wisconsin’s beer industry? At the plant the cream and whey protein that remain after we produce our award-winning cheese are sold for further processing into butter and high-protein drinks.

We invested in an anaerobic-digestion system – technology that converts manure into a renewable source of electrical energy that we use to heat our buildings. If we were forced to purchase diesel fuel to run our system we would need 1,000 gallons of fuel every day. Our digester also produces dry organic bedding and material that can be used as plantfriendly fertilizer. That eliminates the expense of purchasing and trucking in alternative bedding.

Herd genetics is another important facet to consider in climate-smart agriculture. We use genomic data to help us make breeding decisions –decisions that benefit the environment by having cows that produce the most milk while using fewer resources. When we combine genetic advancement with everything we know about diet, ventilation and animal comfort, our herd consistently outperforms.

We’re also paying attention to forage shrink. We’re beating industry standards by using inoculants, harvesting at the correct moisture and designing our bunkers to reduce feed loss during storage. When converting improvements of even a few percentage points of the harvest back into the acres it took to produce that feed, the return on investment is clear. Other longstanding conservation practices such as cover crops, minimal tillage and land application of wastewater with a dribble bar are also climate-smart.

Our climate-smart story is woven into our branding. Consumers are increasingly conscious of how their consumption affects the planet. We use a renewable-energy logo on our products and dedicate a section of our website to highlighting sustainability practices. According to market research, products that can claim “local” and “environmentally friendly” halos are among the features worth paying more for.

Climate-smart dairy investments are also tied to emerging agricultural carbon-credit markets. In response to growing consumer demand, global companies are developing new sustainability goals for their supply chains. They’re creating systems to pay farmers to voluntarily integrate practices that reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint.

As much as we work to tighten our production loop and create synergies across our own operations, opportunities remain. For example the plastics currently involved in packaging our products are created using fossil fuels. That’s one area where we’re looking to industry scientists to develop sustainable solutions.

Experts at the University of Wisconsin-Center for Dairy Research, supported by our dairy-checkoff dollars, are advancing projects that re-cast waste streams as organic feedstocks. They are working to recapture chemicals and use

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circular approach is key to a climate-smart dairy future.

But climate-smart dairy can’t solve our challenges if it’s only an academic theory. Those initiatives must become integrated into Wisconsin farmers’ management and production practices. Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin supports farmer-led conservation programs such as UW-Discovery Farms, Farmers for Sustainable Food and others working to solve environmental challenges and connect farmers with resources that support a climate-smart approach.

biodigesters to convert them into valuable products, including packaging materials. The

Our work in America’s Dairyland contributes to global sustainability goals beyond food security, with global consequences. Climate-smart dairy goes beyond a buzzword and will prove more than a trend. Be sure to share your dairy’s sustainability story at every opportunity you have. It’s the way of the future for farmers, proving modern dairy is a solution to climate change.