DAIRY NEWS – Sustainability is an important standard in today’s dairy industry. Customers, consumers and regulators expect producers to make strides in reducing their environmental footprint while improving animal care. Dairy producers have access to a stream of new technologies, management practices and innovations that can improve their sustainability score while boosting productivity and profitability.
At the upcoming Carbon, Crops + Cows program, presented by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP), participants will learn more about what determines sustainability scores, as well as current models and measurement tools. Guided by industry experts and other progressive dairy producers, attendees will learn how improvements can impact their dairy’s score.
The one-day program will be repeated at two locations: Tuesday, October 14 at Ruedinger Farms Inc in Van Dyne, Wis.; and Wednesday, October 15 at Maple Ridge Dairy in Stratford, Wis. Each field day runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with lunch and program materials provided.
“The critical first step on a sustainability journey is for producers to get their baseline sustainability scores so they can track improvements and understand how investments in new management practices can impact their environmental footprint and bottom line,” said David Trimner, Athens, Wis., dairy producer and PDP board member. “If you have questions about how the models work, what data is necessary for calculating scores or other related questions, the Carbon, Crops + Cows program is the perfect opportunity to learn from experts and peers in a farmer-friendly setting.”
Attendees will use the FARM-ES portal to test different on-farm practices and see their impact on environmental footprint scores. Participants will also review sample reports from three measurement tools — FARM-ES, Comet, and Cool Farm Tool — to see how each works, what data is required and how their use can help farms exceed sustainability standards. Participants will also review examples of SCIP (Sustainability Continuous Improvement Plan) reports that are generated as part of the PDP Your Farm–Your Footprint™ program.
Presenters include:
- Carson Dugger, lead agronomist at Eocene Environmental Group. Dugger oversees the data collection and report development at Eocene and works with producers and analysts to understand the impact of on-farm practices on sustainability. He has previously served as a sales agronomist and earned agronomy degrees from Iowa State University.
- Sage Saffran, manager of sustainability initiatives at National Milk Producers Federation. She works on the National Dairy FARM Program’s Environmental Stewardship and Workforce Development pillars and manages implementation, resources development and stakeholder engagement for both program areas.
In addition to learning from Dugger and Saffran, participants will hear from an active dairy producer who has participated in the Your Farm–Your Footprint initiative to share personal experiences with submitting information and reporting. Attendees will tour the host farm and hear how the host producers have used the information from their sustainability reports to make changes on their operation.
To learn more and register for the program, visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDP at 800-947-7379. Carbon, Crops + Cows is accredited for up to 5.5 Dairy AdvanCE continuing education credits. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following PDP on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”
