The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program announced this year’s winners, including Grande Cheese, a National Mastitis Council Sustaining Member. Grande Cheese worked closely with the Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance and Farmers for Sustainable Food, located in Southwest Wisconsin.
Key leaders in these organizations realized that demonstrating the sustainability of farming practices to farmers, customers, the agricultural supply chain, communities and regulators has become critically important. With support from various stakeholders, they developed a replicable framework for farmer-led sustainability projects that is a handbook to help farmers determine what conservation practices are most useful for their individual farms, document the environmental and financial effects, and demonstrate the value of sustainability throughout the supply chain.
The framework was then applied in a pilot project in Wisconsin using a “milkshed” model that encompassed farmers, a cheese processor, a brand and other partners. As a result, participating farmers better understand the effects of conservation on soil health and water quality, as well as on their businesses. Additionally, the needs of Grande and its customers are being met. Plus, the local community has a window on agriculture’s commitment to sustainability and farmers and partners elsewhere have access to a framework to apply in other projects.
U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award winners demonstrate excellence in sustainability and contributions to the industrywide 2050 Environmental Stewardship Goals, as well as positive efforts in communities. The awards, hosted by the farmer-founded Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, recognize exceptional farms, businesses and partnerships for their socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound practices and technologies that have a broad and positive impact.
“Every class of winners is special and this year’s is no different as we celebrate the 10th anniversary for the awards,” said Barbara O’Brien, CEO of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. “Our 2021 winners put U.S. dairy’s great diversity on full display with farms and businesses of all sizes, from coast to coast, showing how dairy is an environmental solution.”
The awards are judged by an independent panel of dairy and conservation experts who consider innovation, scalability and replicability when evaluating nominations. Among the criteria to apply for the awards is participation and good standing in the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) animal care program and agreement to participate in the FARM Environmental Stewardship online tool for determining their greenhouse gas and energy footprint. Both initiatives are part of the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment – U.S. dairy’s social responsibility pledge to consumers, customers and other stakeholders.
