A ground-breaking meeting was taking place in Arkansas, a meeting with the potential to change the dairy industry. Called the Sustainability Summit for U.S. Dairy, this innovative meeting-of-the-minds was sponsored by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), representing processors and manufacturers, and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) representing dairy cooperatives.
The Summit was held in conjunction with the University of Arkansas’ Applied Sustainability Center, and is the first major step in a comprehensive dairy industry-wide initiative bringing together producers, processors, and others to identify and address sustainability opportunities.
Over 250 dairy industry leaders representing a wide cross-section of the industry were invited to participate in forming an action plan to reduce fluid milk’s carbon footprint while increasing business value, from farm to consumer. Among the participants were Wal-Mart, Dean Foods, Land O Lakes, Monsanto, Waste Management, Organic Valley, Sustainable Conversation as well as many other industry leaders.
“Sustainability is a challenge that requires industry-wide solutions, and our efforts establish a new standard for industry collaboration,” said Thomas Gallagher, chief executive of Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), the nonprofit organization that manages the national dairy checkoff program on behalf of America’s dairy producers. “Decision makers from across the dairy value chain are working together to commit to concrete, innovative solutions. This will ensure an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable industry.”
“Sustainability practices have long been part of common practices on dairy farms, from recycling water and manure to crop technologies that improve soil and prevent erosion,” said Jerry Kozak, NMPF’s chief executive officer.
The innovative ideas and initiatives advanced by the Summit participants will be further refined for possible testing and evaluation. The goal, according to Gallagher, will be to field-test several prototype projects to determine their real-world viability as ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Summit attendees recommended a number of actions, including to:
- Reduce energy use in the milk supply chain by developing technologies for next generation milk processing on the farm and in the plant.
- Establish a mechanism to optimize returns to the dairy industry from a carbon credit trading system that encourages the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency for dairy farmers and processors through financially viable best management practices and tools that calculate individual farm energy and alternative energy opportunities.
- Supply green power to communities by expanding the use of methane digesters.
- Stimulate development of low-cost, low-carbon, consumer-acceptable packaging.
- Reduce cooling costs and emissions associated with refrigeration by expanding economically feasible, environmentally responsible and consumer-accepted dairy products.