Climate Policy
U.S. dairy farmers have been leading environmental stewards for decades, tending their animals, land and water with great care. Thanks to new technologies and evolving best management practices, the environmental impact of producing a gallon of milk requires less water, less land and has a smaller carbon footprint than ever before. In 2008, U.S. dairy became the first in the food and agriculture sector to conduct a full life-cycle assessment.
The U.S. dairy community remains committed to making further progress, setting 2050 goals that support a vision that dairy is an environmental solution and addressing areas where U.S. dairy collectively can have the biggest impact. Specifically, the industry aims to achieve industrywide neutral or better GHG emissions, optimize water usage while maximizing recycling and improve water quality by optimizing utilization of manure and nutrients by 2050.
Dairy farmers can provide solutions to many of today’s biggest environmental challenges, including carbon emissions, nutrient management, soil health and water quality. Industry collaboration, plus support for the research and adoption of new technologies and practices, make dairy well-positioned to achieve its goals.
Our Position
U.S. dairy farmers and their cooperatives are committed to advancing dairy’s effective stewardship of natural resources and building a sustainable future. NMPF supports voluntary industry-led sustainability initiatives , and other industry and public-policy efforts that move dairy forward.
NMPF supports the bipartisan and bicameral Growing Climate Solutions Act, which was signed into law in 2022 to encourage sustainable farming practices by making it easier for farmers to participate in carbon markets, as well as the Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Act, which would renew an existing Investment Tax Credit to cover the upfront capital costs of methane digesters.
Key Points
- According to a recent Life Cycle Assessment, between 2007 and 2020, U.S. milk production increased by 28% to help meet growing demand for nutritious, affordable foods, while greenhouse gas emissions per unit of milk declined by 13%, demonstrating that farmers are producing more milk using fewer resources and with a smaller environmental footprint per gallon.
- According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, since 2005 North America was the only region in the world that reduced its greenhouse gas emissions, even as it increased milk production, making its greenhouse gas intensity for dairy products the lowest in the world.
- Dairy farms are a powerful tool against food waste by diverting byproducts (such as almond hulls, citrus pulp, and brewer’s grains) from other food industries and using them as feed, converting potentially unused resources into high-nutrient foods and beverages. Dairy farmers can also convert food waste and manure into valuable products such as renewable energy and fertilizer.
- Dairy farmers have invested significant resources into tackling manure management, including through biogas systems that mitigate environmental impacts and benefit both farmers and the public. Biogas systems, coupled with nutrient recovery technologies, can transform manure into stable fertilizer for crops, bedding for cows, and fuel and electricity for the farm and nearby homes. The upfront capital cost of installing these systems poses a major obstacle for dairy farmers, making policy incentives an urgent goal.
- Well-targeted incentives that encourage climate-friendly investments among dairy farmers of all sizes and in all regions will aid the entire industry in its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
- NMPF’s National Dairy FARM Environmental Stewardship program details a comprehensive estimate of greenhouse gas emissions and energy use on dairy farms and provides tools and resources for farmers to measure and improve their footprint.
