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If we want to get serious about climate change, it is critical we address our over-reliance on fossil fuels, which are a primary driver of greenhouse gas emissions. Whether it’s diesel, gasoline, kerosene, propane, or coal, burning these sources of fuel emits carbon into the atmosphere, disrupts the naturally-occurring carbon cycle in our ecosystem, and fundamentally threatens our way of life.

However, recycling the carbon already in the atmosphere prevents the extraction and combustion of fossilized carbon sources. 

There has been much talk about the Biden administration’s goal for rural America to play a leading role in combatting climate change, but farmers are still understandably curious and cautious about what those opportunities might mean. Specifically, how the dairy industry’s good environmental work could provide additional revenue for producers might take a number of paths.

In this business case, analysis conducted by The Markets Institute @ WWF—based on assumptions and data shared by stakeholders in the dairy industry—demonstrates that achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions for large farms is possible with the right practices, incentives, and policies within five years. If businesses also step up to make investments and collaborate with dairy farmers in their supply chain, the potential to reach these goals can become even more tangible.

Dairy farmers are always searching for ways to diversify and add value to their businesses. Many are quickly seeing benefits of using manure as an alternative revenue source.

The three founding members of the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance discuss how the pioneering partnership is propelling their individual sustainability strategies.

Cabot Creamery is seeking approval to build a biogas generator at its facility in Cabot that will generate renewable energy from a byproduct of its manufacturing process.

The production and use of renewable natural gas made from organic waste is growing rapidly in the United States. In the last five years, the number of production facilities has grown about threefold, with about 115 facilities making the fuel — which is interchangeable with fossil natural gas — out of landfill waste, animal manure, wastewater, food waste and other organic feedstocks.

As the renewable natural gas (RNG) market evolves, there’s been an uptick in two project types: one is RNG produced from dairy farm manure; another is RNG from manure that’s co-digested with food waste.