CALIFORNIA,PHOTO: STRAUS DAIRY FARM


SUSTAINABILITY ▶▶▶


government funding schemes and cost-share programs that support the adoption of carbon-reducing technologies.


Carbon offsets Although they are used widely across many industries, car- bon credits to offset carbon emissions are not being used by any of the four dairy farms contending to be first in the world to reach carbon neutrality. It’s interesting to note that on 10 March 2022, the well- known US-based Organic Valley cooperative launched a carbon “insetting” program, supporting the use of on-farm carbon reduction strategies by its member farmers to reach overall cooperative carbon neutrality without carbon offsets. Practices being considered for the pilot program include planting trees, improved manure management, renewable energy, energy efficiency and enhanced practices. Organic Valley is one of the world’s largest organic consum- er brands and represents approximately 1,700 farmers in 34 US states, Canada, Australia and the UK.


Temperature advantage Obviously, farms in warmer locations around the world have an advantage over those in colder climates in reaching car- bon neutrality. In warmer climates, less or no heat is needed to keep buildings warm, less fuel is used to run farm equip- ment, pasture can be used year-round or for more months of


Farm name: Straus Dairy Farm Goal year to reach carbon neutrality: 2023 (with all dairy farms that supply Straus Family Creamery to be carbon neutral by 2030) Location: California, US Owner: Straus family Feeding system: Organic pasture-based (US Department of Agricul- ture organic standards require grazing at least 120 days/year) Progress: Very close to goal. State approval is pending for use of red seaweed as a feed supplement, considered “the last piece needed to reach the carbon-neutral goal”. Methane: The farm tested red seaweed with 24 cows in 2021 in part- nership with Blue Ocean; 5 tonnes CO2


e equivalent were averted in


seven weeks. The use of red seaweed has the potential to reduce farm carbon footprint annually by over 2,200 tonnes CO2


e. The biodigester


reduces manure methane emissions by 90% (annual reduction of 780 tonnes CO2


e).


Renewable energy: The biodigester currently provides enough elec- tricity to charge several electric vehicles, including a truck and a 544 John Deere industrial loader. (CEO Albert Straus debuted the first electric feed truck in the world in 2017.) A solar-powered water pump supplies remote troughs. Power from the grid in the area of the farm comes from wind, solar and hydroelectric. Other: The farm’s current 20-year plan outlines a potential carbon reduction of 1,380 tonnes CO2


e every year, between the digester and annual


sequestration of up to 594 tonnes CO2e through regenerative land practices. These include applying compost to pasture, planting wind breaks and hedgerows, rotational grazing and planting perennial grasses.


8 ▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 9, No. 2, 2022


the year, and so on. As you will see below, the contenders in this article are all located in warmer climates.


Measurement methods How carbon emissions and reductions are measured must be very similar for all farms in contention in order for any given farm to fairly claim someday to be carbon neutral. Farms should be able to calculate in a similar way, for example, carbon emissions that existed before changes were made (baselines) and how they are being reduced. (For example, how much emissions are slashed by using manure to replace some of the chemical fertiliser used on-farm to grow feed or pasture? Fertiliser has a very high carbon footprint, but manure kept in lagoons or spread on fields emits a large amount of methane.) Another example is electricity generation. If farms are already using electricity that was produced by hydroelectric dams, wind turbines or nuclear reactors, and then switch to solar or wind-powered electricity generation on-farm, carbon emissions reductions related to electricity use are negligible. However, the situation is quite different if the farm switches to solar-generated electricity from using grid electricity that’s produced, for example, through burning fossil fuels like coal. At the same time, new technologies and methods are being developed to better measure reductions in GHG emissions on dairy farms, such as minimum tillage practices that reduce carbon loss from soil. The contenders are shown in the four text boxes.


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