The 2013 U.S. Dairy Sustainability Report has been released by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. The report outlines the Center’s progress to measure, communicate and improve the social, environmental and economic performance of the diary industry. A key element of this has been the role the Center has played in aiding the diary industry in improving its sustainability programs as well as dairy’s role in a sustainable food system.

“Together, we can meet the challenge to provide nourishing dairy foods and beverages to a growing population while facing a changing climate and finite natural resources,” said Tom Gallagher, CEO of the Innovation Center and Dairy Management Inc., the nonprofit organization that manages the dairy checkoff. “We are building partnerships, sharing knowledge and taking collective action to develop innovative, sustainable solutions that will help us meet this challenge efficiently and responsibly.”

Since the Innovation Center’s inception in 2007, the industry has taken several steps including:

• Completing a series of comprehensive life cycle assessments to understand the environmental impacts of dairy products from farm to table
• Piloting a set of science-based Smart Tools to help the industry measure, manage and improve on those impacts
• Developing the Stewardship and Sustainability Guide for U.S. Dairy to provide a voluntary framework for tracking and communicating the industry’s continuous improvement
• Highlights from the 2013 U.S. Dairy Sustainability Report
• A focus on food waste

In addition, the U.S. dairy industry is focused on developing partnerships that enable a cycle of feeding people first, then feeding animals and finally returning the nutrients to the land that grows our food. Dairy farmers are also involved through their work animal nutritionists to combine ingredients that meet the nutritional requirements of their cows. Thirty-five percent of a cow’s feed is grown on the dairy farm, and the rest is usually sourced from local farmers and businesses. In addition, after producing food and beverages (such as orange juice) and material (such as cotton) for people, many companies pass along to dairy farmers the leftover, unused plant parts for use as nutritious feed for cows.