At Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), we recognize there is no single pathway to a climate-smart future, but we know dairy can be a part of the solution to the climate issues we are all facing. Through U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity, DFA is implementing a pilot project that focuses on maximizing opportunities for dairy farmers to deliver climate-smart solutions from farm to table.
 

Overview of DFA’s pilot project 

It starts with accelerating farmer-owners' implementation practices that reduce on-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase carbon sequestration (the storing of carbon in soil) and it ends with consumers, like you and your family, getting to enjoy climate-smart dairy products developed and marketed by DFA. 

The project focuses are: 

1. Accelerating regenerative agriculture (conservation practices like cover crops and no-till or reduced tillage farming)
2. Reducing enteric methane emissions (adapting dairy cows’ rations to increase feed efficiency and reduce gases from the digestive process) 
3. Optimizing manure management (storing, treating and applying manure in ways that reduce gas emissions and maximize manure's nutrient and organic matter benefits for soil) 

DFA’s pilot project has a big goal, which is to create a self-funding circular rural economic model, where DFA’s farmer-owners are provided funds to assist with the cost of adopting practices that may continue to reduce on-farm GHG emissions. In turn, the reduced emissions lead to the creation of climate-smart dairy products for consumers to enjoy. 
 

Learn more 

For DFA farmers-owners seeking more information about the pilot project’s scope or how they can participate, log on to my DFA. 

Visit dfamilk.com/nerd-herd to learn more about DFA's sustainability goals.