Chris Kopman writes in GreenBiz about the many climate-smart practices that U.S. dairy farms are adopting.
- The U.S. dairy industry has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050 while improving water use efficiency.
- One farm in Washington has employed the use of hungry worms to break down bacteria and purify the farm’s wastewater, which is then repurposed for crop irrigation.
- Farmers are also using digesters which convert the methane from manure into renewable natural gas.
- America’s farmers are our first environmentalists and will need to play a major role in any durable climate strategy.
“In addition, the solutions to dramatically reduce U.S. dairy’s GHG footprint, including methane, are emerging and largely exist. These practices include a host of interventions such as digesters, which convert methane from manure into renewable natural gas; feed additives to help minimize the effect of enteric (“cow burp”) emissions; energy efficiencies across dairy operations; and regenerative farming techniques that can improve soil health and potentially capture carbon in the soils.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
