On February 27, 2019, the Dairy Sustainability Alliance® hosted a webinar with Newtrient. The webinar topic was Ecosystem Services Markets (ESMs) and shared how dairy can benefit from market-based solutions.

The current economics of dairy farming make it challenging to adopt manure management technologies that could provide environmental benefits.Through this approach, farms of all sizes can be incentivized to voluntarily adopt new technologies and practices beyond what they’re already doing, small manufacturers and food companies remain in operation and municipalities don’t pass along multi-million dollar wastewater treatment plant upgrade costs to taxpayers.

Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a joint letter to state environmental and agricultural agencies actively voicing support for collaborative, market-based approaches to reduce nutrient overloading and improve waterways.

Although I am originally from a small farming community in Ohio, prior to interning with Newtrient, I wasn't familiar with the dairy industry, let alone the manure management and nutrient recovery solution opportunities for dairy farms.

As Newtrient LLC enters its third year, we want to share progress toward a new economic future for dairy on the part of 12 leading dairy cooperatives, Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).

Each year, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy gathers experts from academic, government and non-government organizations as members of the Dairy Sustainability Alliance to measure, improve and communicate dairy's role in a sustainable food system. The Forum also recognizes dairy farms, businesses and partnerships whose practices are leading the way in providing consumers with nutritious dairy products, while making the earth economically, environmental and socially better - now and for years to come.

When thinking about manure management technologies and solutions, digesters are often the first solutions that come to mind. But methane digesters are only part of the possibilities. The recovery of phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and fiber from manure can be accomplished in a variety of ways.

Noble Research Institute recently announced its plans to create an ecosystem services market-based platform driven by soil health, water quality improvement and water quantity management. The program aims to incentivize farmers and ranchers to improve soil health on working agriculture lands through a market-based approach.

Newtrient CEO, Steven Rowe, recently attended the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and USDA to renew a joint commitment toward a sustainable future for the dairy industry.

Each dairy farmer's manure management needs and business goals are unique. While there is no shortage of manure management and nutrient recovery technologies in the market, choosing the right technology can be a huge challenge.

Newtrient's Technology Advancement team comprised of highly experienced experts in the manure management technology fields developed a 9-Point Technology Scoring System to universally evaluate and rate all technologies in the catalog. This 9-Point Technology Scoring System indicates the status and assists in the tracking the progress of the technology in the key areas of Commerical Viability, Economic & Industry Value, and Transparency & Interaction. 

There is an abundance of innovative manure management technologies, so it can be challenging to identify which technologies and vendors provide the best solution for your farm's unique business needs. Newtrient is the first company to provide an open-access online Technology Catalog that evaluates over 260 existing and emerging manure-management technologies and provides an unbiased view of today's manure management solutions.  

For hundreds of years, people have nourished their families with milk from farm animals, and today our growing population requires more dairy foods than ever. This presents dairy farmers with significantly more of a valuable byproduct, manure. For the most part, manure has been an underused resource. Some have never realized its full value and potential while others simply don’t know where to go for help.