U.S. Dairy Net Zero Initiative
For generations, dairy farmers have reduced the environmental impact of dairy farming by caring for their animals and managing air, land and water resources. Dairy processing companies continually strive to work collaboratively to contribute to those efforts. Dairy farmers and dairy processing companies took their commitment to responsible production a step further by working through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to set industry-wide 2050 environmental stewardship goals.
The goals:
- Achieve greenhouse gas neutrality
- Optimize water use while maximizing recycling
- Improve water quality by optimizing the utilization of manure and nutrients
To support the industry in reaching these goals, the U.S. dairy community in 2020 embarked upon an ambitious and groundbreaking on-farm effort. The U.S. Dairy Net Zero Initiative serves as an essential first phase to produce the foundational research, on-farm pilots, local and regional networks and economic drivers that are key to unlocking dairy’s true potential to address GHG emissions, water efficiency and water quality on-farm and in field. Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration is a key undertaking of NZI.
The work of U.S. dairy through NZI is helping the entire industry to learn, establish and validate the pathway to meet climate change and environmental challenges head-on through a holistic approach to responsible stewardship of natural resources.
NZI Programs
NZI has three foundational tracks: (1) research, analysis and modeling; (2) on-farm pilots; and (3) scaling impact. These tracks reflect U.S. dairy’s commitment to sound science and a recognition that environmental progress comes with economic viability for farmers. Through this integrated approach, NZI makes technology and best practices more accessible and affordable to farms of all sizes and geographies.
Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration is one of three key projects and initiatives in the first track — research, analysis and modeling.
Examples of other featured NZI programs:
Dairy Scale for Good
partners with commercially operating dairies to demonstrate the ability to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve water quality and quantity, while increasing and diversifying on-farm revenue.
Dairy Feed in Focus
aims to pilot, replicate and scale the adoption of practices in feed/forage production and feed efficiency on farms. Farmers participating in the project will receive educational services, technical support and financial incentives.
The Greener Cattle Initiative
is an industry-oriented research consortium that supports the development of commercially feasible solutions to reduce methane emissions from dairy and beef cattle. The program is a vehicle for collaboration and exposure to new ideas while leveraging resources and de-risking R&D. It focuses on feed additives, genetics, feed reformulation and technology.