Homestead Dairy of Plymouth was honored last Wednesday in Chicago for the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.
The program recognizes dairy farms, businesses and partnerships whose sustainable practices positively impact the health and well-being of consumers, communities, animals and the environment.
The growth of Homestead Dairy, now home to 2,400 cows, has been fueled by a sustainable business plan designed to allow three more members of the family to join the farm. Operated by the Houin family, Homestead Dairy installed a methane digester to generate additional revenue and improve the farm's manure and nutrient management.
Other Dairy Sustainability Award winners include:
Bateman's Mosida Farms of Elberta, Utah also earned a dairy sustainability award. The Bateman family regularly hosts visitors to show that they focus on making sustainable difference for animals, their product and the environment. They have installed a new maternity barn, manure management and sand reclamation system and are starting a solar energy project.
Receiving another sustainability award is Jer-Lindy Farms LLC of Brooten, Minn. The family integrates sustainability into almost every aspect of their 200-cow operation in order to sustain it for the next generation. As stewards of the land, Jerry and Linda Jennissen pursued water-quality certification, precision application of lime and the elimination of commercial fertilizer on the fields. They also own and operate a creamery.
Siemers Holsteins of Newton, Wis. are both "cow people" and "land people" with responsibility for taking care of their soil as well as they do their cows. They accomplish both goals by focusing on long-term solutions and data-driven approaches. Success starts with an intensive 2.5-acre soil testing grid and regimen that incorporates soil sample results, manure tests and yield, and cropping practices to allow for finer-scale management of nutrient application.
Earning the Outstanding Dairy Processing and Manufacturing Sustainability Awards are:
Agri-Mark Inc. and Cabot Creamery Cooperative of Waitsfield, Vermont have incorporated the Real Farm Power project to recycle cow manure, food scraps and food processing by-products to produce renewable energy.
Foremost Farms and Schreiber Foods produce dairy products at separate plants in Richland Center, Wis.Although under certain circumstances the two could be considered competitors, the companies joined forces to construct Richland Center Renewable Energy (RCRE), a state-of-the-art water-treatment facility that generates renewable energy from both dairy plants' wastewater.
Receiving the Outstanding Achievement in Resource Stewardship award is the Yahara Pride Farms of Brooklyn, Wis. bringing together farmers, agronomists and local businesses to proactively support community and environmental health and fiscal sustainability. This rapidly growing partnership focuses on soil conservation and effective manure management in order to improve land and waterways in Dane County, Wisconsin.
Outstanding Achievement in Community Partnership Award winners are:
Noblehurst Farms Inc. of Linwood, N.Y. uses food waste and scraps from 30 Wegmans stores, as well as universities and schools, for a digester at the dairy. This collaborative effort not only keeps tons of food waste out of landfills, it also provides enough energy to power the 1,800-cow dairy.
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank of Harrisburg, Pa. has worked with partners to create a sustainable, replicable model for supplying milk to children and adults who depend on food assistance. CPFB, licensed as a charitable milk subdealer, worked with dairy partners to create a fresh milk program that provides 5,000 quarts—or 20,000 servings—of milk per week to families in need.
"The nine honorees have truly integrated sustainability into their businesses to achieve not only economic success but also to support the well-being of their communities and our planet," said Barbara O'Brien, president of the Innovation Center. "Their achievements throughout the value chain, both large and small, significantly advance the dairy community's leadership in sustainable business practices."
Judges evaluated the nominees' sustainability practices based on their economic, environmental and community impact, also known as triple-bottom-line success. The independent judging panel—including experts working with and throughout the dairy community—also looked for learning, innovation, improvement, scalability and replicability.
With collaboration, long-term planning and creative problem-solving, the 2016 award winners successfully addressed waste and nutrient management, food insecurity, water quality protection, energy efficiency and other sustainability issues.
"For the past five years, we've had the opportunity to see hundreds of examples of how the dairy community is working toward a sustainable future. Some are innovative breakthroughs and others are everyday practices that bring continuous and sustainable improvement," said Paul Rovey, an Arizona dairy farmer, member of the judging panel and chair of Dairy Management Inc. "Best of all, most of the winning ideas can be adopted by others to extend the reach of our sustainability efforts."